Hi, there =)
My name is Kylie Kimie Fujimoto.
I am 22 years old–will turn 23 on the Race–and I just graduated from the University of California, Irvine (UCI) with a bachelor's degree in psychology and social behavior.
Since high school, I've been pretty set on pursuing a career in some form of counseling. However, virtually any counseling position requires further schooling, and I knew I didn't want to go to graduate school directly out of college.
Enter the World Race.
But God has brought me a long way to get to this point in my life…
I was born in Honolulu, HI–my mom's side is all from Hawaii–but spent my earliest years of life living in New York with my mom, dad, and later, my brother Reid (he's three years younger than me). My family finally settled in southern California when I was about five-years-old.
My parents raised me and my brother in the Catholic church, so from a young age I knew I believed in God; but I never learned what it meant to have a relationship with Him. Given this, I didn't see the purpose in going to church and thought it was the most boring place imagineable–needless to say, I hated it.
But then, in 7th grade, my friend invited me to her church's youth group. As I started to attend services regularly, I began to learn more about what it meant to have a relationship with God and be a true follower of Jesus.
Since then, the Lord has been ever-increasingly growing my faith, alongside my loving brothers and sisters from my home church, the Navigators campus ministries, and the many serendipitous encounters and events He has orchestrated in my life.
The most singularly impactful moments in my walk, though, have been through missions experiences. I have been on two official missions trips: 1.) The summer before I entered college, I stayed in the inner-city of Los Angeles for a week, helping with various community projects and serving those in great spiritual, physical, and emotional need. That trip opened my eyes to what it meant to serve "the least of these." 2.) For two months during the summer before my third year of college, I went with the Navigators to Tokyo, Japan. We partnered with the missionaries there to develop relationships with the university students by way of an on-campus English club started by the Navigators. Through Bible studies, English conversation practice, sports, and traveling, we were able to share the gospel and discuss our faiths with many of the students (the vast majority not being believers), as well as establish lasting friendships. This trip taught me how to approach new cultural experiences as a "learner," that even though we are there to serve, it doesn't mean we are more advanced by any means.
Going on the World Race wasn't even on my radar until just before graduation. I never thought I would ever encounter an opportunity like this–to travel the world, serve others, and share God's love–but, as He has shown me quite consistently, His plans are always better than mine =).
A passage from the Bible that I try to live by comes from Philippians 2:3-5:
"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should not look only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. You attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…"
I think that the sins that I most often struggle with stem from pride and can lead to selfishness; so I constantly pursue humility and ask the Lord to give me a humble heart.
Thanks for getting to know me =). Stay tuned for more!
