This is a question I have been asked too many times to count, and I never know quite how to answer it. The Lord placed the World Race on my heart over a year ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I ignored it and denied it at first by researching a lot of shorter trips with other organizations, but I somehow kept coming back to the World Race. Eventually, I stopped being so stubborn and realized that this is a true desire that the Lord has given me, and everything has fallen into place since.
Over my spring break earlier this month, I went with a group from UGA’s Wesley Foundation on a mission trip to Tijuana, Mexico. This trip was my fourth short-term mission trip (I’ve been to Jamaica twice and Peru once, all with groups from the Wesley Foundation), and I came back home from all my previous trips knowing why God had called me to go there and what He had taught me. However, I’ve been home from Tijuana for almost 2 weeks now, and I’m still learning why God called me to go there. It was an amazing experience that I will never forget; I fell in love with the city and the people; and I’ve made some amazing new friends, but what did God teach me? What was my purpose there? I’ve been pondering these questions ever since I left Tijuana, and my conclusion is that this trip served to prepare me for the World Race.
First of all, answering God’s call to Tijuana prepared me to answer His call for the World Race by teaching me about obedience – how to always obey Him no matter how scary or impossible it may seem. Signing up to go to Tijuana made no logical sense, because I didn’t have the funds to pay for it, but I did it because I felt an instant calling to go. As a result, God blessed me with more than enough money for my trip, and Tijuana opened my eyes and changed my heart. In the same way, going on the World Race makes no logical sense. I’ll be traveling around the world for 11 months, going to poverty-stricken areas to live and work among the poor, instead of searching for a job and settling down in a career like many of my friends. I’ll be in a different country each month, experiencing culture shock after culture shock. I will be completely out of my comfort zone, traveling with nothing but a backpack. But guess what? Our God is not logical. He is Lord of the supernatural! And we’re not meant to be comfortable — He wants us to follow Him with reckless abandonment.
Also, before I went to Tijuana, I feared the World Race. Don’t get me wrong — I was definitely excited! But I was fearful of the unknown. I’m still nervous to leave my family, friends, and everything I know for 11 months. Who wouldn’t be? But my trip to Tijuana replaced all my fears and doubts with more excitement. There is now no doubt in my mind that this journey is God’s plan for me. Any time I would tell someone about my trip to Tijuana, their response would be something like “Oh, that’s such a dangerous place! I’ll pray for you.” But I had NO fear. Fear hadn’t even crossed my mind until I heard responses like that. And even then, I would just shrug and say, “God’s got this! He’ll protect us.” And I have to say, it was amazing to go on that trip with that mindset. It allowed me to be so much more open and willing to try new things. Having this mindset on the World Race will pave the way for amazing things to happen.
In January, I will embark on the journey of a lifetime. It will be messy. It will be difficult. God will break my heart for what breaks His. And I can’t wait.
P.S. Support letters are coming soon! Thank you all so much for your love, prayers, and support!
