Alright, so that's not entirely true. Heck, that's not even true at all!
I am STILL leaving for training camp in less than two weeks and I am STILL leaving the country in less that two months! It STILL costs the same and I STILL have the same financial deadlines. The changes involve the people I will be traveling with and the countries I will be going to.
So, to finish that sentence, change of plans: I am not going to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam/Laos, Mozambique, Tanzania, Swaziland, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Romania, Moldova, or Ireland. I am not going to be traveling with J squad.
God has remained faithful and this is no change to Him. He knew that this was going to happen. Last week my mobilizer emailed our squad asking a few of the girls to switch routes,since the girl to guy ratio was fairly lopsided and for the sanity of the boys as well as the issue of safety. As soon as I got the email, I immediately looked up the route I would be switching to in order to see what the changes would be. I also looked up who was on the squad already. I prayed and prayed and prayed some more about this decision and God quickly gave me an answer.
You see, the truth is, I never took much time to consider which route to sign up for. One of the interview questions was how did you pick the route you applied for. I honestly didn't know; my answer was that that was the route I was looking at when I clicked "apply." After I was accepted, I was looking over the routes and was almost wishing that I was on a different route. But I was trusting God that He had me right where He wanted me.
So back to the decision to switch…. I had immense peace about changing routes, which led me to believe that the idea to switch was indeed wisdom for above (James 3:17). My parents seemed more at peace with this potential new route and honestly, I felt more excited about the new list of countries than the one I had currently and I felt God telling me that He could use me in so many impactful ways on this new route. So, the next day, I emailed my mobilizer to volunteer to switch. I had to wait almost a week to find out if I was officially switching, but I still had that peace from the Lord about the decision and knew that everything would go through.
So here I am. Now a member of L squad, September Route 4. I will be traveling to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Philippines, Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda. Nothing has changed; except for the countries I'm going to and the people I am traveling with; no big. I have spent the last four or so months getting to know the members of J squad and am thankful for the encouragements, tips, and conversations that I shared with them all. We will still be attending training camp together, so hopefully I will still get to meet them all face to face.
This whole change of plans reminds me of Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." God has revealed to me what He has planned for the next year of my life, and I made plans to do this thing called the World Race. I didn't put any thought into what route I was to go on, and I planned the general direction in which I was going. But the Lord has been determining each and every step along the way. Think of it in terms of hiking: I planned the path I would take, but God is directing me as to which foot to place on which rock and which root to step over and when. I have the path all mapped out, but God sees the sticks and rocks and hills that will need to be carefully maneuvered to get me through the path in front of me.
I thank you all for your support thus far, and hope that this change in routes does not change your attitude in supporting me. Please know that this is totally from God and that I could not have worked this out so perfectly. God's will was sought in the making of this decision, as it will be every step of the way on the race.
If you would like to read more about the countries I will be going to, check out this link:
http://www.worldrace.org/?tab=routes&subtab=september-2012-4
Grace and Peace.
