In March, God stirred my heart to go on The World Race. At that time, I was trying to decide between a route leaving in September and a route leaving in January. After very briefly thinking about it, I decided that I would go in September. A friend asked me why I chose Septmember instead of January and I said that leaving in September would allow me to be back in time to apply to grad schools. That was my answer. It had nothing to do with where I felt God was leading me, etc. Also at that time, my dad had accepted a job offer in Cleveland, OH and we would be moving on April 21st. Moving then would give me 4.5 months to adjust to life in Cleveland, find a job, find a church, make friends, and continue fundraising. I was comfortable with that. After that, I didn't give much thought to my route and just jumped into fundraising being 100% confident that God had called me to The World Race.
Fast forward to May 7th. We are still in Hershey and our move date has been changed to May 26th. I get to work that Monday morning and out of no where, I feel compelled to look at January 2013 route 2. So I grab my computer, get on the WR website, and look at the route. I felt very strongly like I should change my route to January however it was a sudden decision. I called my moblizer and we decided to talk again in a week since I wasn't completely sure and wanted to take more time to pray about it. All week I wrestled with this decision. Leaving in January was definitely the easier choice. It gives me more time to fundraise, it gives me more time to find a job in Cleveland, more time to find a church, more time to build new friendships, more time. I also think I will enjoy the countries more. This option was easier. Leaving in September had me feeling rushed to find the right church within my first 2 weeks in Cleveland, feeling rushed to find the right friends and make the right connections to fundraise, limited my job options in Cleveland to summer jobs, and I wasn't in love with the countries on September route 1. This option was the harder option. It seems like leaving in January would be the clear choice. However, I wrestled with this decision because I didn't want to be limiting God. I know that God would provide everything I needed (a church, job, friends) if I left in September. I had to be sure I was confident in this. Choosing January because it was easier to made me feel like I was limiting what God could do. Had He called me to be on September route 1? Was He trying to test my trust in Him? Was He wanting me to rely on Him more? I couldn't decide. One day I was changing my route to January and the next day I was going to stay with my original decision and leave in September. I wrestled with this alot. I even got to a point of wondering if I could make a final decision.
After hours and hours of praying and thinking about this, and after talking to my moblizer a week later and still not having a decision, I finally received CONFIRMATION from God. He said to me, "I called you to go on this journey. You are doing that. You can decide which route you want to go on. I know you trust me. No matter which route you choose, I'm still going to work in your life and I will still teach you the lessons I have planned." Peace. I felt peace that God was giving me the freedom to choose. I felt peace knowing that my fears for changing had been addressed. Confident. I finally felt confident in where my heart was taking me. I thought and prayed about it a few more days to be 110% confident. Well today, two weeks later, I officially changed my route to January route 2.
This will essentially give me more time. I will have to time to settle into life in Cleveland before leaving. I will have time to find a good church that feels like home. I will have time to build friendships. I will have time and won't be entering this journey on burnout. And I'm in love with this route. I firmly believe that God will do incredible things in my life and in the lives of those I interact with not only on the race but also in my time in Cleveland before my race. I am 100% confident that this is HIS plan.
New details: I will be leaving in January 2013 and my new route will be Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Romania, Ukraine, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique, Thailand, Malayasia, and Cambodia.
To my old squad: I will miss you guys dearly. I will be follwoing you as you head to training in camp in July and then launch in September. I will be holding you up in prayer and maybe we will cross paths somewhere along the way.
