Update: World Race Expedition August 2020
Happy New Year everyone!
First, I would just like to thank everyone who has chosen to support me in this mission trip with your prayers and contributions both financial and with supplies. I truly appreciate your support 🙂
Second, I thought I was going to be in Peru right now with my Unscripted squad, but I’m not. And that’s ok. I didn’t raise enough funding to launch in January, and there are still a lot of loose ends that need tying up here at home, but this is not to say I am not ever going on the World Race.
I have joined a different route that is launching in August 2020, and I am super stoked to be getting to do this particular route. It is the Expedition route. The Expedition route consists of countries all in the 10/40 Window. The 10/40 Window is a geographical spread of countries that happen to consist of the least reached countries in the world, countries that are often hostile and prohibitive towards Christians. The new journey includes Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Back in October, I was praying really hard for an answer about whether or not I was going to be going in January on the Unscripted route, and I had an inkling in the back of my mind that I wasn’t. But I honestly wasn’t sure if it was fear of not raising the money and lack of faith, or if the Lord was really preparing me not to go in January. I prayed and fasted, and prayed some more and He answered “This.”
Around this time I ended up reading K. P. Johannan’s book Revolution In World Missions. It is a fantastically eye-opening read about missions and supporting in-country nationals as missionaries in their home countries, so I highly recommend. But the largest part that stood out to me at this time was that a disproportionately high percentage of foreign missionaries go to countries that already have established histories with the Church, like Latin America and many countries in Africa. And this bothered me. This is not to say that missionaries shouldn’t go to these places, no. We need missionaries and believers everywhere to share the Gospel! This bothered me probably because I have lived in a country that is openly hostile towards Christians. So I guess the question in my mind was, why aren’t more people going to these 10/40 countries? Because it’s difficult and scary? Because is easier to evangelize and share in places that already have a modicum if familiarity with Christian theology?
I felt this sense of indignation rise up in me all over again. I had this feeling before while I was living in China. Except I wanted to fight it, I wanted to run. In my mind I was like, Lord! Please no! I don’t want to go back to places like China, not for this.
So a quick recap on this whole China business.
I lived in China for about three and a half years where I was working as a PE teacher. However, while I was there the Lord opened my eyes to what was going on with the Chinese church, the government, and showed me what I could do about it. ( I really want write a full length detailed explanation about my Christian experience in China but I need to pray about sharing it as I am a little worried about saying too much too soon. In the mean time, please visit bitterwinter.org to learn more about the religious freedoms in China).
Long story short, I now have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with China and being there. I liked living in China and the lifestyle there, and most of the people I encountered. But what made me crazy and honestly angry was knowing people who have gotten arrested, threatened, and harassed for being part of the Church. Knowing I was not allowed to share the Gospel with Chinese people. Knowing that some of my Chinese friends are not legally allowed to teach their children about Jesus. Witnessing other people fear for their safety and having to wipe their phones out of fear of being caught by the police for having Bible verses and fellowship message groups. And that’s just the surface of things. These things made me so upset I wanted to runaway and not deal with it. But thank God for His unending grace, strength, and encouragement.
I have finally come to terms with the Lord putting this burden for persecuted Christians on my heart, and now I’m totally in fire for what the Lord is doing in these countries! It took me a while to grapple with the idea of going back to China. I felt like Jonah being sent to Nineveh, except I’m not going to run away because we all know how well that worked out haha haha~ no really, I’m not going to run from something like this because the Lord in all His infinite wisdom asked me, shown me, and has prepared me for exactly this, and it’s an honor to go in His name.
If you have read this far, bless you! If you would like to be a part of the journey to support missions to unreached places, please add me to your daily prayer lists, and prayerfully consider sharing this post, and donating to the cause by clicking the big orange DONATE button at the top of the page. Thank you!
Ps. For other information about restricted and hostile countries, please check out
xoxo, Julita
