It’s actually here, I’m leaving for the world race August 4th!! That’s only a week away and it’s so crazy to believe it’s actually time! I’m excited, nervous, gitty, and have no idea what’s going on all at once. But, before I left, I wanted to introduce to you all my team, the 6 wonderful women who I’m going to be doing ministry alongside.
First though, I wanted to break down some terms and roles for you all, because I know a lot of the terms that I’m using and will be using, are somewhat confusing.
Squad: To begin, there’s my squad, J squad. These are the 55 individuals who travel to the same 11 countries as me.
Team: Then there’s our teams, once in squads we are split up in teams of 7. My team is ‘Gentle but Fierce’. These people are the people we will be spending most of our time with. Our teams travel to different ministry locations around the countries we are working in.
Squad leaders are the people who travel with us for the first 5 months showing us how to do things because they’ve done the race before. Then there are team leads, racers who are in charge of specific teams. There are 2 logistic people on our squad who help us figure out how we’re getting from place to place, and there are team treasures (me!) who help treasure your teams finances, as well as a couple racers who are labeled as storytellers!
Now that we have that our of the way, Meet my team!
Jamie– Jamie’s from the beautiful state of Colorado and is children’s book author as well as hair stylist!
Jenna– Jenna is also from Colorado and has a passion for the outdoors and spent a year working on a ranch!
Kimmy– Kimmy is also from Colorado, she graduated with a degree in vocal music and plans to attend seminary when we get back from the race!
Madison– Madison is from Alabama, she graduated with a degree in social work and has a huge heart for helping people of all backgrounds! (She’s also our team leader 🙂
Morgan– Morgan is from Iowa and for the past two years served as a leadership development consultant for Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for women!
Rachel– Rachel is from Minnesota, and actually attended Bethel University with me, but we didn’t know each other! She graduated in 2015 with a degree in elementary education and has a heart for children!
So here’s the heart behind us, team ‘Gentle but Fierce’!
How did God call you on the race?
Back in high school, I had a desire to do some kind of long term mission work but nothing ever fell into place after senior year or during college. I ended up changing majors my senior year of college which meant I graduated that year. That was a wakeup call for adulthood and I was not ready for reality. I began to pray about where God might have me and missions came up again. I looked into yearlong mission opportunities and through people and “google”, the World Race kept popping up. I kept denying it because of the price tag. I finally gave in and felt at peace. I applied and was accepted (The timing is a whole other God story in itself) and was fully funded in less than four months, the same week of my college graduation. – Kimmy
I have always known that I am called to mission work (whether in America or overseas). Two summers ago, a friend of a friend posted on Instagram about the race and I thought it was so rad. The thought of the trip stirred my heart. I started reading WR blogs and I even called my sister and nana to get their opinions of the race. After all the initial hype settled, fear set in. The money was too much, I wasn’t qualified, I would never be able to do something like that… Needless to say, I forgot the race and began to apply for internships for post-college. The next summer I ran across the race again, but this time my spirit was stirred. I decided to take a few days and talk to God about it (rather than talking to anyone else first). Three days later, while sitting at the pool of all places, God spoke to me and said, “This earth is not your home. Stop living like it is.” I was taken aback because I thought I was doing fine in the area of kingdom living. After He said that though, I realized how wrong I had been doing things. I had been preparing internships, I had been looking at apartments in fun, new cities, I had been looking at grad schools. All of these things would have been great and wonderful, but I was doing them for selfish gain rather than for kingdom benefit. I told The Lord that day that I was ready to lay all of my plans down at His feet so that I could run the race He has planned for me. Needless to say, here I am a year later and I’m so excited to see what God has in store for His kingdom’s gain through the world race!!- Madison
Two years ago someone told me about the world race at a bible study after I shared with her how much I loved missions. I looked up the race, prayed about it, looked at the price and backed away from it. I told the Lord, it would take me 2 years to raise this kind of money, so call me in two years. I continued my career as a hairstylist and began building a clientele at a new salon. These plans fell through and I ended up leaving hairstyling. Then the Race dropped in my lap again. I had numerous people tell me they had gone on the Race or knew someone who had gone. My mom told me to go do missions! Two years later, I’m going the Race! Just I told like Jesus to call me 2 years later. – Jamie
When I was in college studying business, I had a solid plan for my life. I interned with a great company and worked towards the ideal full time offer only to find myself unfulfilled. Junior year, I started to search for more and came across the World Race through none other than a Google search. The race seriously resonated with me but I was conflicted – Follow the neatly drawn plan that aligns with expectations or defy expectations and leave it all behind for “more”. My senior year, I needed change. I knew I couldn’t accept the offer I had worked years for and sought a new opportunity in student affairs as a sorority consultant. When you live out of a suitcase, jump on an airplane to travel across North America every 4-7 days, and constantly are surrounded by new people you learn a bit about community, relationships and faith. After a year of this experience, I grew closer to God and built a faith that allowed me to finally say yes to His call. After 2 years of consulting, I’m finally at peace and ready to trade my suitcases for a backpack to work with God’s people across the nations! – Morgan
What is one thing your excited for on the race?
Experiencing the cultures. Learning their traditions, food, clothing, holidays, music, church, ect. – Kimmy
COMMUNITY. Maybe I’ll hate it after the race, but for now, I am so stoked to live with my team and my squad for 11 months. I feel like we all are going into battle together, and I can’t imagine a better 55 people to fight alongside. – Madison
Working with orphans! I’ve felt called to work with them since I was in sixth grade! Seeing children without the love of parents breaks my heart and I have a passion to see them know the Love of their Heavenly Father! – Jamie
The people. I am so excited to meet people from across the world and to share God’s love with them all while they share their culture and traditions with me. And community – Oh boy I am excited for the community God is building in my squad and team. The experiences we’ll share and bonds we’re creating are beautifully made because their foundation is in Christ.- Morgan
What is one thing you’re nervous about?
Saying good bye and feeling isolated and lonely. – Kimmy
Bugs. I’m not a huge fan. – Morgan
Food, cause I think you all know I’m kinda a picky eater. And preaching, we’ve been told there will be numerous times we are called on to, without warning give a sermon. That scares me. -Me
What location are you most looking forward to and why?
Haiti. I went there this summer and loved the people and culture.- Kimmy
Nicaragua. Two years ago, God specifically said ‘Nicaragua’ to me and I initially told Him that I thought He had the wrong girl. Let’s be serious though, God doesn’t make mistakes, so I’m excited to see what He has in store for us there! – Madison
South Africa- I’ve wanted to do missions in South Africa since I was a little girl! I heard Jesus speak South Africa to me when I was young. It’s a dream come true. -Jamie
I don’t have a particular place in mind! Traveling the States for two years has taught me that there is beauty in every place you go…sometimes you just have to look harder and be open to new experiences. – Morgan
Vietnam! I don’t really know why, but God has told me that some really powerful things are going to happen there so I can’t wait to see how He shows up! -Me
What will be the thing you miss most?
Rooted! (My college ministry) I will miss worship and retreats and random game nights with my best friends but I am excited to hear how God works back in Durango as I am gone.- Kimmy
My family. If I could pack them all in my backpack, I would. They’re my heart and my rock. This year will be challenging being away from them, but I know that I cannot forsake the call on my life for anything or anyone. They’re so supportive and I am excited to see their faces via Skype for 11 months!- Madison
My family! My mom and I are so close! My dad and I have such a good relationship. My 2 nieces(Haddie and Lilly). My nephews(Ethan and Jackson) I’m so in love them! I’ll miss like crazy!- Jamie
Hands down, my family.- Morgan
If you could explain to people in 2-3 sentences why you were going on the race, what would you say?
I heard His call and I said yes…I don’t have much more than that! I don’t know why God called me yet, I don’t understand His reasons, but I do know the peace I found when I said yes to the World Race and I have faith that He’ll reveal His plan for me in His time.- Morgan
I’m going for something more than myself, to serve, learn, love, and grow. Our lives shouldn’t be about ourselves, the race is a place we can give up our worldly comforts for Godly ones. I’m going because I care about our kingdom journeys. – Me
So there’s my team, gentle but fierce. We are all gentle souls in fierce pursuit of our God and looking to spread his love across the globe. I’m more than excited to start this journey with them, and even more excited to see how God’s going to change lives this next year!
