The Call
I was crammed into a ten-passenger van on a long road trip home from New Orleans. I was trying to rest after just finishing a short mission trip serving in the Lower Ninth Ward and I did not expect to hear God’s voice, but I did. God told me, “Pack your bags, go overseas, and serve.” It was March 10, 2012.
I listened, but I doubted. There is dire need in the United States. Why leave when there is so much work to do here? I prayed for wisdom. Over time, I realized serving other countries will increase my world view, allowing me to see how other cultures interact and problem solve. When I return, I will have more tools to creatively address the issues that exist here.
Now fully committed, I pursued the Peace Corps vigorously. I attended informational sessions and networking socials, and reached out to active Peace Corps members and alumni. Nine months passed and I returned to New Orleans to serve. There, I met Jessica Fischbach, a returned World Racer. As she spoke about her Mission, I was instantly flooded with knowing. This is what God wants me to do and this is why God put Jessica and I together for the conversation that changed the trajectory of my life.
The Pursuit
It is surprising to some that I am pursuing this Christian mission. My family did not attend church and I had little (or no) spiritual guidance. Then my grandmothers came to live with my family and they introduced me to Jesus. They were here four years, but returned to Colombia in 2002. I was only eleven when they left, but I knew that I needed to figure out how to pursue spirituality on my own. I asked friends and hopped from church to church by myself. I learned about many Christian denominations and gathered wisdom from all of them. I have never stopped attending services.
At thirteen, I accepted Jesus when I was visiting family in Venezuela, but I worried even then that my knowledge of Jesus came from conversations and services and this feeling I had when I prayed. I never opened the Bible… there weren’t any in my home. Recently, I purchased a 64 CD audiobook of the Bible and have listened to the entire New Testament. I am now beginning the Old Testament. Hearing Jesus’s words through the text has inspired me and filled me with longing to know more and dig deeper into the text.
Expectations of Life In the Field (What Other World Racers Have Experienced)
This trip will not be easy. It will test my body and my spirit. I will travel with whatever fits in a backpack and attempt to make a single pair of shoes last me the entire trip. I will often be hungry, dehydrated, and dirty. I might be held at gunpoint. I might become seriously ill (with malaria and water-born parasites). I will experience extreme heat and cold and I will sleep in tents with the earth as my cushion. I will have no contact with family or friends for extended periods of time.
But none of this is what worries me. What I will see concerns me more than what I will feel. Instead of just reading about world problems, I will witness human trafficking of children and adults. I will visit massive orphanages where children are treated cruelly. I will watch as thousands die of HIV, AIDS, and malnutrition. It will crush me and change me in ways I can’t begin to imagine. But I trust in God and I trust that when I return, it will change how I do business, interact with people, and spend my “free” time. It will make me into the man that God intended me to be and I will have a disciple-like understanding of God’s love for us all. I will take that understanding wherever I will go and attempt to spread God’s love. I am ready to answer God’s call.
