Two and a half years ago, a man at my church came up to me and told me that He felt like the Lord wanted him to tell me this following statement:
“For I have made your feet light, so that you may run the distance in ministry all over the world.”
I’ll be honest, I had no idea what this man was talking about, none of it made sense.. But I felt like I needed to write it down so that I would not forget it. So, I wrote it down, wrote the date, and although I had no idea what it meant at the time, I knew, that I would know exactly what it meant in due time. It did not apply to my life then, so I couldn’t understand, but now, looking back, I see that it was a promise, a prophecy, and it was God showing me what He was doing, and what He was going to do in our lives. He was showing me how He was preparing us, and what He had prepared for us.
Years go by, seasons changed, and things even got hard too… But God remained faithful, and we knew that He was still writing our story. So we waited, and prayed. Then one day, I found myself scrolling through Facebook, and one click led to another, and before I knew it, I was on The World Race Website. Everything about it just felt “right”. We had nothing holding us back. Well, nothing expect fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of leaving loved ones behind, just fear. So as we were in the process of praying about doing the race, I kept asking God if we were supposed to do this.. if we were, “called” to do this. But then I realized that I had been asking God the wrong question. Are we not called to do something? Because I think Jesus was pretty clear. We cannot deny the great commission:
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” -Matthew 28:17-20
We also cannot deny the need once we have seen it, and Justin and I have seen the NEED for Christ in this world. The NEED is the call, and we cannot just sit back, we have to respond.
The same day that I realized this, The Lord brought back to remembrance what I wrote down on November 12, 2014. I immediately stopped what I was doing and ran around my house, earnestly searching for this piece of paper. And I found it….
And immediately it all came together. It is as if God was saying, of course you are supposed to do this.. I prepared it for you long ago..” And I was reminded of what Ephesians 2:10 tells us,
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We are absolutely thrilled for this next season and adventure in our lives! We would have never guessed that we would actually be doing THIS! Wow! We are so excited to share the love of our Jesus with people from all over the world that so desperately need Him. We are excited to experience different cultures and countries, and to see how God is going to use The Race as a part of our story. We believe that The Race is going to propel us into whatever God has next for us, something bigger, and even greater. Whether that is full time missions somewhere, or to come back home and take what we learn to our own communities. We aren’t sure, but we also aren’t too concerned. We are living for today, and letting God plan out our tomorrow!
We only ask for a few things if you’re reading this! We desperately need your PRAYERS. We believe in the power of prayer, we have seen God work wonders in our lives through it. So nothing would mean more than to have you pray for us in the following areas:
1. Pray for successful fundraising and success in reaching our deadlines.
2. Pray for peace and confidence. (Because y’all, fear is REAL when you’re leaving everything you’ve ever known behind for a year)
3. Pray for protection as we prepare to leave, and while we are on the field.
4. Pray for peace for our families.
5. And last, but not least, pray for God to do exceedingly and abundantly above all we could ever ask or think on this trip. In peoples lives, and in ours.
And, if you feel led to support us financially, click the donate button on our home page (donations are tax deductible).. OR if you are interested in other ways that you can partner with us in support, look out for fundraisers that we will be hosting.. We have some good stuff in the works that you won’t want to miss!! (5k, T-Shirts, Hats, Dinners, Tournaments, Photo Sessions, and more!) So be on the look out!
WE ARE SOOOO EXCITED!!!!
With love, Justin and Tessie West
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” -Hebrews 12:1
