I have always loved to travel, my trips abroad have been some of the highlights of my life thus far, between my trip with People to People the summer before 8th grade to the United Kingdom for three weeks, which gave me the travel bug like never before or my trips to Mexico City since the end of high school where I have gained some amazing friends and family that I couldn’t imagine not knowing even if we talk infrequently. I have wanted to travel more, I have wanted to do something outside of the United States, I looked at studying abroad both when I was still in high school and looking for colleges and during my junior year of college. However the right opportunity never arose, be it because of my fear, my boyfriend at the time or a multitude of different reasons. It wasn’t until this previous January that the circumstances started to change. In January I started my part time student teaching, which typically means one more term of college, I could see possibilities. I read about the World Race on Facebook, from someone I hadn’t talked to in years, I began looking at blogs and wondering, “Was it possible to go this September?” I even started an application, once again things just didn’t work out, my graduation Spring term turned into graduating this Winter and I never finished the app.
In June things finally turned around with Oregon State, I was signed up for my full time student teaching for fall term, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the World Race, just ask my friends and family, I was talking about it constantly, thinking about if I could do it or not. I talked to a few people at church asking them to be my references on my application. I cried just thinking about the possibility that I could go on the trip, when I asked one of the ladies to be my reference.
The last week of June I finally went through and completed my application only this time for January’s Route 2, or so I thought, a couple weeks went by and I never heard anything, I tried to be patient, but then I remembered an e-mail from back in March basically telling me to let the AIM staff know if I wanted to resubmit my application at a future point. At that point I was done being patient, and e-mail the AIM staff to ask if my application had been submitted. It hadn’t been but they reset my profile and I submitted my application. It was finally time for my interview! Where I sadly found out I had applied for route 3 not 2, however I was told that if I got accepted I could switch routes if it wasn’t full yet, that gave me hope. My interview was on a Tuesday, as everyone who has applied knows you get told they will let you know what was decided within 7 days. Those seven days tried my patience; I took my cell phone with me EVERYWHERE so I wouldn’t miss the call. I was okay with whatever God had in store for me, I really was but at the same time a REALLY wanted to get accepted! It wasn’t till the middle of the afternoon on day 7 that AIM called me, at that point I had started to question when they told me they would call, “Was it 7 days or 7 business days?, Do I have to wait till Thursday to find out, instead of today?"
After my acceptance call and found out I could switch to route 2, the route I really wanted to go on. I immediately called my mom at work, I was so excited! I was still trying to process the call and needed someone to talk to, I called a close friend and just cried on the phone with him because of it all, he knew how significant this was for me. I spent the rest of the day struggling to keep my emotions in check. I was so humbled! God chose me to do the World Race, He saw something in me.
With my acceptance stood one big struggle, Training Camp. With my student teaching this fall, I didn’t know if I could get the time off to go to Training Camp, and I knew that if I couldn’t get OSU to work with me I wouldn’t be able to go on the trip. I immediately sent an e-mail to one of the program advisors, who I wasn’t even sure could answer my questions asking to meet with her. In the back of my mind I was questioning God already, “Would He let me get this far, be accepted only to have OSU say I can’t go to training camp?” The advisor had me in her office the next day where I was shown that God was working for me, I was able to get permission to go to Training Camp. I happily went home and paid my deposit for the trip. Later that night I wrote:
“It was really humbling to be chosen. It shows me God really does have amazing plans for my life. It is hard to think that God chose me to serve Him across the globe, in places I never thought I would go. I am beyond grateful for this opportunity and SO VERY EXCITED!”
The confirmation I received in my choice to go on the World Race continued throughout the next few days as I traveled to the Boise Vineyard, in Idaho for Cultivation Generation as a chaperone for our youth group, but that is a story for my next post.
