Mozambique
Swaziland
Madagascar
Mongolia
China
Myanmar
India
Nepal
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
El Savador
On January 7th I will be leaving the States to head out to the countries listed above. If you have been following my journey you know that these were not the original countries I had applied to travel to. After a few weeks of developing deep relationships with my amazing team on Route 3 (now called S-squad) I realized I was still having a hard time connecting with the countries I would be serving for 11 months. Route 3 became full and some of the team was put on a waiting list. Later that evening after we received the email in regards to Route 3 God asked me to consider switching routes. WHAT? But I have already developed some pretty awesome connections with my squad mates. WHY?
The next morning a fellow co-worker, Julia, walked into my office with a purpose. I prepared myself to listen to whatever scolding I was about to receive – instead I received a different type of talking-to. The first sentence out of her mouth was “I think you’re on the wrong route” … followed by “I think you should switch to Route 2 and here are the reasons why…”
Talk about having your world rocked at 9 a.m. with a word from God through a friend that was not to be ignored.
Fast forward a few weeks – the transition is complete! I am now on Route 2 with R-squad. I pray over each of the countries daily and am even beginning to receive visions of people we will be serving. The Holy Spirit is connecting me to places I have never been and to people I have yet to meet.
Financially, I am 81% funded with $14,170 raised, the majority of my gear has been purchased & a donor has contacted me stating she would like to sponsor ALL of my vaccines! God is seriously blowing my mind with the people He is placing into my life. However, I have to be honest – updating you on the logistics is not what God would like me to focus on in this blog. He has actually sent me with another message completely and I pray I do His work in sharing it with each of you!
Fear. It’s part of human nature, but it’s not something we got from God. Second Timothy 1:7 says: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” When I imagine God creating each one of us and planting a purpose deep in our hearts, I never imagine that purpose being mediocrity. While the Bible doesn’t tell every person on earth specifically what his or her life’s calling will be, it does include a lot of general direction
“You are to find me in the least of these.” Yes.
“You are to leave your earthly possessions and come follow me.” Yes.
“You are to love and serve the Lord God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.” Yes.
“You are to go and make disciples of all nations.” Yes.
“You are to entertain strangers and lepers and tax collectors.” Yes.
“You are to show mercy.” Yes
“You are to live a life of mediocrity and abundance, holding on tight to your comfortable lifestyle, lest you lose it.” NOPE!
I don’t think “mediocrity and abundance” aren’t there. However, mediocrity and abundance, comfort and ease, do seem to be safe choices for many people, myself included. In stark contrast, leaving our possessions, following Jesus when we don’t have a well-defined plan and entertaining strangers – well, that does sound a little scary. But what if, just beyond the risk, just beyond the fear is a life better than anything we have ever imagined: life to the fullest.
I certainly do not believe everyone should sell all of their belongings and pack a suitcase and move to Africa. I don’t think people all over the planet should drop everything to go somewhere far from everything familiar and be missionaries. In fact, I believe anyone can be a missionary right where they are.
Every day, we have a choice. We can stay nestled in our safe comfortable places, as I did when the rat was in my room. We can let fear of something that really is small compared to the greatness of God cripple us. Or we can take a risk, do something to help someone else, make a person smile, change someone’s world. Life to the fullest exists. It’s available. All we have to do is decide to get up and embrace it.
– Kisses from Katie.
I recently read the book Kisses from Katie. Katie is a missionary who left her comfortable life in the States and through a period of transition and listening to God’s plan for her life – ended up moving to Uganda permanently and adopting 14 children. Now I am not by any means saying that by going on the World Race I am going to move away and adopt a bunch of children, but what I am saying is that this exert encompasses everything that was going on in my heart in the months and years leading up to me saying yes to the World Race. I personally think that anyone doing mission work can relate to what Katie is talking about. Kisses from Katie is raw, real and everything that I needed to read to confirm that the World Race was exactly where God wanted me to be. When I read Katie’s book I got so excited about the year to come!
What I didn’t realize was that by answering the call that God placed on my heart everything was about to change. If I told you that life over the last 7 weeks has been easy I would be lying. In fact, although the days have been filled with joys and exciting moments they have been equally matched with tears and stressful moments. God has been placing some pretty amazing people in my life, but unfortunately there have been people stepping back and even stepping out of my life. When you take on a life changing journey you have this vision of the individuals who will be in your corner and how it is all going to come together. Let me go ahead and tell you – I’m 7 weeks in and it is nothing as I have envisioned. It is so much better and at the same time so much harder than I could have ever imagined! I got up, I embraced it and then my world was flipped upside down!
I struggle daily missing the individuals I love deeply that have stepped out of my life. I often find myself asking God Why me? Wouldn’t life be so much easier if I would have chosen to go to Cuba on a 2-week mission trip instead of the World Race for 11 months? Why me, God, why me? I find myself feeling inadequate and missing a sense of purpose. There are days where I could jump out of my skin in excitement ready to go and then there are days where I feel like God is going to drag me kicking and screaming as I think about everyone and everything I am losing and leaving behind.
… and then I remember one of Jesus’ teachings in Matthew chapter 10:
“(30) And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. (31) So don’t be afraid you are worth more than many sparrows. (32) Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. (33) But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. (34) Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. (35) For I have come to turn a man against his father; a daughter against her mother; a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law – (36) a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household. (37) Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. (38) Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. (39) Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
DEEP!!!
I came across these verses while reading a new book. The book is called Kingdom Journeys by Seth Barnes. Crazy thing is – Seth Barnes is the founder of Adventures in Missions! If you don’t know Adventures in Missions is the organization who backs the World Race. I picked up this book and cannot put it down. The content in Kingdom Journeys is fundamental for me as I prepare to leave in 4 months. If you are a fellow racer reading this blog and haven’t read Kingdom Journeys – stop reading now and go purchase this book!
Seth states “God has a lifetime of Adventures for you, but they won’t happen by accident. You have to make the decision to go. It’s up to you to take a chance, to risk security and comfort and leap into the unknown. Life may send a crisis, but when you’re trapped by comfort, only you can choose to leave.”
He later goes on to say “Waiting on God is hard work. Sometimes, the distractions and comforts must be excised from your life so you can wait attentively. It takes strength to say no to the things that distract you from God. Knowing that on the other side of brokenness is hope, restoration, and renewal, we do well to press into the pain. His words to us are, “Embrace brokenness for the gift that it is. Push through the process until it’s complete.”
If I could choose one word to describe how I feel when I wake up in the morning and when I lay my head down at night – I would choose broken.
I am not alone in this brokenness. Everyone experiences brokenness at some point in time in their life. Depending on their choice to run from or press into the brokenness some people experience brokenness for longer periods of time than others. I am not ashamed to admit to you that I am broken. God is breaking me down day after day and night after night to equip me for the journey that lies ahead. I am not running from this brokenness – I am simply pressing harder into it! I feel every heartache harder than I have ever felt before. Again, I find myself asking Why me? What I have come to realize after reading this book is that there are three steps one must take in order to leave on a kingdom journey:
- Abandon your comfort zone
- Embrace your brokenness
- Depend on God
So, as I embrace the brokenness surrounding me I now realize it is for the good of God and for His kingdom! I press on through the pain and through the suffering because at the end of this journey there is hope, restoration and renewal. There is a quote from Henri Nouwen that I absolutely LOVE in regards to this topic.
He says, “We live with broken bodies, broken hearts, broken minds, or broken spirits. We suffer from broken relationships. How can we live with our brokenness? Jesus invites us to embrace our brokenness as he embraced the cross and live it as part of our mission. He asks us not to reject our brokenness as a curse from God that reminds us of our sinfulness, but to accept it and put it under God’s blessing for our purification and sanctification. Thus, our brokenness can become a gateway to new life.”
Thank you all so much for being a part of my journey! Because you are a part of my journey you are a part of my brokenness and because of that you will also be a part of my restoration & renewal! The community of support I have received is overwhelming in the most amazing way. I feel so blessed that each of you see a purpose in my journey big enough to donate towards it.
My goal is to be fully funded by October 15th. If you feel connected to my kingdom journey in any way and feel called to support my journey financially – you can do so easily through this blog by clicking donate now. $3,247 stands between me and my journey being FULLY FUNDED! God is going to do BIG things with these funds and I am so glad each of you are a part of it!
God Bless,
Kayce
