Do me a favor and read the paragraph in the image above. The short passage is from the book Love Does by Bob Goff. If you have never read the book before I recommend that you do. Bob Goff has a way of telling profound stories from his life, but in a simple and personable manner. I really like when he says above “[words] have their own power” and “..the words people say to us not only have shelf life but have the ability to shape life.” I agree. I hope that my words in this blog may be not only powerful but also spoken in humility and sincerity.

 

So If you don’t know by now, I am going on the World Race! But what does that mean? It means I will be going to 11 different countries in 11 different months, spending 1 month in each of those countries. Each day will look different. We are split up into teams and we will be doing anything along the lines of construction projects, VBS style programs, teaching English classes or wandering the streets simply exploring new places. Above all though, we will be meeting, serving, praying for, and loving on people. 

My route is going to the following countries and in this order as well.

Caribbean and Central America

-Dominican Republic

-Haiti

-Costa Rica

-Nicaragua

-Guatemala

Asia

-Thailand 

-Malaysia

-Philippines

Africa

-Swaziland

-Botswana

-South Africa

 

That is a lot of places to go and a lot of people to meet, isn’t it? The only place that i’ve been to from the list above is the Philippines. My mom was born and raised there and in the winter of 2008, she, my dad, my sister, and I all went there for a 2 week visit to MEET family members we had never known before. Well, my mom knew them but the rest of us had only seen these people in picture albums. It was crazy, fun, and eye-opening. I can only begin to imagine what it will be like to live abroad for almost a whole year. 

There is plenty to be nervous about in this adventure and there is plenty to be excited about as well. I am looking forward to seeing new places, meeting new people, and trying new things, but I want to also remember that this about something bigger than just myself. This is about serving others. This is about knowing God more. This is about being open to God working in my life, stretching, changing, and growing me to be more like His son. This is about love.

Have you read anything by C.S. Lewis before? His words speak volumes of wisdom and truth. This is a quote from his book Mere Christianity.

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

 

I can’t wait.