How did I get to the place of deciding to travel the world for 11 months in a tent? How did I find an organization that does this kind of crazy thing? How did I even decide this is what I was supposed to do with my life? These are questions that I have been asked as I tell people what I am about the journey I am about to embark on, so I thought why not share the whole, intimate side of how I got here.
Of course this all happened as an accumulation of my entire life from being raised by an extremely adventurous mother, to having a love for geography and people, to having all the great opportunities to travel around the world with my church. My connection with The World Race specifically started on my trip to Nepal February of 2015. I had been asked to go on an amazing mission trip to Nepal to help sow refreshment into the lives of some of the local missionaries working there. The organizer was holding a retreat for them but wanted to make sure their kids had a great time as well, and if you know me you know how much I love children. So I decided to go on the trip as a way to check another one of the countries off my list of where I had been and love on some children in the process. I really didn’t give it another though until I went to one of our training meetings.
I walked into this training pretty sure of myself. Although I had never been to Nepal before I had been to Uganda, Mexico, and the Philippines on many mission trips, so I thought I would be walking in as close to an expert despite being the youngest one. We started off the meeting in pray and it absolute broke me as I listened to my other teammates who had traveled very little pray. Everyone around me was praying intensely for the people of Nepal, praying for people by name and problem, clearly showing they had done their research on what we were walking into. I heard these prayers by people who I felt were amateur missionaries; they were desperate cry for God to show up in these Nepali’s lives. All of a sudden I felt extremely unqualified for this trip. Who the hell am I to be going on this hand selected team that is suppose to refresh missionaries who do this kind of work every day of their lives. At that moment I told God that I had no right to be on this team of people who were actually filled with compassion for Nepal, unlike me who was just in it for another country checkmark. I felt small, unworthy, stupid, and young.
In this moment of beating myself up for agreeing to this trip with all the wrong intentions, God made it abundantly clear through my team that I was suppose to be on this trip. Despite me sitting in that meeting silent, sulking, and completely zoned out (which is clearly very strange behavior for me) the leader of my team spoke words that God used to tell me that is was HIM who had placed me on this team, and despite my flawed intentions He has already made my crooked path straight. So I sucked up my pride of why I thought I got there and decided that I actually knew nothing when it came to what we were about to do, which is exactly where I needed to be.
Fast-forward a little bit… so here we are at the end of February in Nepal. We have been here for about a day and are starting to figure out the lay of the land. Our team, of about 9 people, go to lunch in a small café rated to hold about 20 people total. In this café at the same time there is a team of World Racers, which at this point in time meant nothing to me. Our leader was like “Katelyn talked to them… what they do is something totally up your ally; Traveling the world for 11 months going to 11 different countries.” So I talk to them quickly, it kind of sparks my interest but it mostly it was one of those things that you are like sure that would be cool to do, maybe one day, but you never really consider. So I go back to eating my lunch and go on with my day.
So we do the retreat, I have a blast with the kids, and we just have a few other worship seasons to lead in the upcoming days before we head back home. Since I was brought specifically to help with the children I figured I was just going to sit back and watch as the real leaders do ministry. God has a funny way of allowing things to happen that completely push us out of our own expectations.
It’s the morning of where we are leading worship for this Anti- Trafficking network of believers when all of our “leaders” get extremely sick. It seems like everyone over the age of 30 was puking, dehydrated, and/or trying to recover from those symptoms. So here I am, a non-talented, very unqualified young person sent to help lead worship to this missionaries fighting Human Trafficking day in and day out. Again God has a funny way of calling the unqualified so that it is known that He is the one doing this amazing work; its not based on us, our gifting, skills, our even our motivation. This worship set was so powerful and refreshing, unlike any that we had done before. We had many people moved to tears, lives spoken into, bondages lifted, and spirits refreshed. It was so cool to just be a part of it.
I know I know, how does this all connect to where I am now, sorry I tell really long and detailed stories. Well at the end of this very powerful worship set one of the local guys comes up to me, “Hi I am Bipin, can I pray for you?” Yes it was just as random and strange as it sounds. He starts praying for me, telling me in the middle of it “you are very strange because you just step over God’s blessings like they are just golden coins because you are not satisfied with the blessings, but you are just looking for Him. It is very strange but very good” Bipin finished praying and left just like that. It was all a very strange interaction but I just keep it moving, talking to some of the other people there. Bipin then comes back and gives me the equivalent of $17 US dollars in Nepali money (which is a huge amount here because the average person here makes less than $2 a day, that almost 18 days of work). He tells me that God told him to give it to me and that it was the 1% for the World Race.
At this point I am totally creped out, I had just found out about this organization a few days earlier. There is no way that I am going to leave my family for 11 months to do who knows what with an organization I have never heard of. And why is God telling this man, someone who I am suppose to be there to help, to give me money? Being the very direct person I am I tell Bipin, “I am not going on the World Race, maybe you are suppose to give it to someone else, not me.” Looking back I realize how foolish I sound, being like “No no you heard God wrong, Sorry. “ Bipin being so gracious responded telling me “Well whether it is direct for you maybe you are suppose to give it to support a World Racer yourself you will have to work it out with God. He told me to give it to you so here it is.” He put it in my hand and walked away to go talk to the next person.
It took me about a year of wrestling with God to finally put in my application (Yes even with a sign that incredibly clear… I might be a little bit hard headed). It was exactly a year from when I left from that trip that I received the call that I have been accepted into my program.
So as you hear this journey for me hasn’t been one of extremely courage, bravery, or determination like many people see it on the outside. Here I am an unqualified, stubborn, selfish, and broken individual who is simply putting her life in the hands of a perfect, loving, powerful, compassionate, gracious God! I got here not because of my own strength, will, or understanding…. I am where I am today because I chose to submit my life to the only one who can make anything out of it. I encourage you as you are walking out your life, don’t put God is the box of your own understanding. Your brain is only about 3 pounds, why not take the risk and trust the God who created you. Let Him take you down the path that looks absolutely crazy, because then you and everyone else will know that it was all on Him, not on you!
