It is 2017. Its also “World Race Year”!!
I’m feeling all the emotions as I think of that. In just 8 short months, I will have my backpack and tent ready to go (hopefully!) and I will be on my way to the first country with my new squad-family for the year! I am currently getting to know my future squadmates through facebook and I am super excited to experience life with them!!
How did I end up on the World Race?
Well, back in 2010, after I graduated from college, I had applied to go on a mission trip for a year in Malaysia. I didn’t get accepted. I was upset that I didn’t get accepted, frustrated that my plan wasn’t working, and confused about what to do. My thought process at the time was that since I didn’t get accepted to go overseas, the next best thing to do was to move to a different state to ‘start my life’. I applied to teach at many schools in several different states and refused to apply for jobs in my own home state of Florida. That was MY plan. I didn’t get a job in any other state, so I ended up with a job in Florida, but I had the full intention of moving to a different state during the summer. I tried for three years, what felt to be an eternity, to get a job in another state so I could move and “be happier”. That was MY plan. GOD had other plans. God continued to shut the door to tell me, “Hey, Katie, I don’t want you to move, I have great plans for you here in Florida!” I was too busy complaining about the one door being shut that I didn’t see God opening a window. God was cultivating an amazing plan for me that just needed time. Looking back, I can see that God had certain relationships in store for me. God was also working on my heart and giving me time to grow and develop a more personal relationship with Him. Because of this experience, I am able to better understand when God answers my prayers with “Not yet.” I have always felt the call to go overseas, but the timing had never been right. This past year, it has been on my heart that this is the time to make this journey. Last summer, I went to South Africa and Swaziland for 3 weeks and that experience ultimately led me to the World Race.
