Let me start off by saying I have not, nor do I ever see myself, running in a race. It is not that kind of a race.
The World Race…. an 11 month mission trip to 11 different countries…. I have been staring at this Race for 5 years now….. 5 YEARS! I first heard about Adventures in Missions from my friend Rachel through a letter. Yes, I know its hard to believe but an actual letter. As in sitting down with a pen, paper, envelope, and yes even melting wax and stamping it with a seal…. It was a whole production for us. Ever since I have been hooked , following on social media, watching videos, and reading lots and LOTS of blogs.
Have you ever felt a tug towards something seemingly impossible but couldn’t get it out of your head?
That’s how this felt to me. I knew in my heart that it was something I needed to do but it always felt like one of those dreams that everyone else would do and I would just sit back and watch. I kept telling myself it wasn’t the right time, in a few month or next year would be better. I kept making excuses for why I wasn’t following Gods call. Yet the more I pushed it away the more I felt called to follow it. It got to the point I didn’t enjoy going to church because every message seemed to be telling me to just go….. trust that God will provide.
But guys…. Let me tell you something…. That is a lot easier said than done! It’s not easy to go after something that most people find crazy. It’s not easy to quite your job or step away from your pets or kids or whatever you are responsible for, for an entire year and simply trust that if this is truly Gods calling on your life that he will be there for you.
But then I was listening to an audio book and what was said made a drastic impact in my life. It said “God is great not just because nothing is too big for Him. God is great because nothing is too small for Him, either.” “You can have faith or you can have control, but you cannot have both.” If you want God to do something off the chart, you have to take your hands off the controls.” (Mark Batterson) I have also read his book Chase the Lion and his Lion Chaser Manifesto has become my personal mantra to live by. In it he says, “Quite living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.” “Set God sized dreams.” “Go after a dream that is destine to fail without divine intervention.”
Finally I decided to apply. I stopped waiting for the perfect moment to come and am trusting that this is the path I need to be on.
Before we go on I better introduce myself….
My name is Jordyn Thompson. I am 25 years old and from St. Johns Michigan, a tiny town 20 miles north of Lansing. (woohoo Go State!)
I have been a pet groomer for the past 5 years. Animals are a HUGE passion of mine. If I am being honest I know my calling is centered around God and Animals just not sure how they intertwine just yet.
I have a dog, Tuna. He is a 3 year old Black Russian Terrier. I originally got him to show but just haven’t had the time and he would rather go swimming in the summer than sit with a ton of hair.
A cat, Calcifur, I found him in my apartment dumpster in Tennessee. He is black and white and I think around 2 years old. When I found him the vet thought he was around 5 months.
Then I currently have 3 horses as well. Did I mention I love Animals? Solo, my old man, is an 18 year old Quarter horse and only has one eye. Fun fact though, his name was Solo before he lost his eye! Mission, is an 8 year old Off Track Thoroughbred Race Horse, and last but not least is little Ava, a 3 year old BLM Mustang!
I am a total nerd and love books! I am very much a dreamer and love fantasy books! I spend a lot of time outside no matter the season. I also love doing yoga although I don’t always have the time to do it.
I am that person who always has a camera or video recorder with me. I think I learned this from my Aunt….( you know who you are, Love you!) I think my love for stories is part of the reason I love photography and videos so much. I love being able to tell a story and show the amazing world God has created.
Well that’s all I can think to say for now, I am sure you will learn more in the near future….. now back to the Race…
When the routes were originally launched this route wasn’t even on my radar. I had marked yes to expedition route in the application but had no idea what it would entail. Once I was asked to join I had to make a decision between two routes…
The first was Romania to Uganda. An amazing route with some of my dream destinations. It also looked to be fairly spread out so I liked that I would get to see more things. A big seller on this route was South Africa (did I mention I loved animals?) and it has always been a dream of mine to travel to South Africa. So I figured the land of animals and getting to spread Gods word….SOLD!
But then I started to consider the Expedition route…. Turkey to Indonesia. This route has some amazing countries as well, however it didn’t go to Africa at all (kind of a bummer). As I dug deeper I really got to learn what the expedition was. That all of the countries are in the 10/40 window. This is where 97% of all unreached people are.
I still struggled with which to choose so I did the best thing I could do…. I prayed. I prayed and looked up more information and talked to others (shout out to my brothers friend Jon for helping me out). Finally after much debate I made a decision.
So without further ado…. In August of 2020 I will be leaving on the World Race Expedition route. I will start in Turkey continuing on to Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, China, Nepal, India, Myanmar, Thailand, and ending in Indonesia.
I decided on this route for one main reason….
A few weeks ago as I sat in church our pastor talked about Jesus commanding his followers to go and make disciples of all nations. He talked about how there are two ways to make disciples. The first is going out and spreading the gospel to people who have never heard it. This is what most people think of when they hear this. However, there is also another way. As the disciples went out and spread the word they noticed that the widows were not being taken care of and being left behind. So they decided to appoint someone to focus on the widows and make sure they were being taken care of…. his job was to pour into the people and deepen their relationship and knowledge of the Lord.
So two ways….. Spreading the Gospel….. and pouring into the people to deepen the relationship.
I was a youth director for 6 years and while I know I have a lot to learn I have worked on the pouring into people during that time. The one thing I have not had the opportunity to do is share the gospel with those who haven’t heard it. While this route wasnt my first choice I feel like God is going to do amazing things in this year.
I am very excited to see what the future holds and see how God will use me in the coming years!
Please pray for me as I begin this Journey! Hit that subscribe button to get notification when I post a new Blog and follow me on social media (Both FB and Instagram) @Rampant.Mermaid You can also send me an email if you would like to know more or have any questions for me…. [email protected].
‘til next time ya’ll!
