As a child I was always aware of difference & I don’t recall ever being afraid of it. As a young child I was passionate about adoption, especially international adoption. As time went on, my heart for the nations only grew. When I was in high school, I was able to leave the country for the first time on a mission trip. I worked hard to raise money and go to Costa Rica for a week with a missions team from my school. It was a great week, so the next year I went back to Costa Rica. & to Dominica with Samaritans Feet. They were all great trips, and we went with great intentions. Looking back knowing what I know now, I’m not sure if I would have gone and done exactly what I did. But I truly believe the Lord used it and it certainly made a huge difference in my life.
Once in college my heart for the nations grew all the more as I continued to learn about the injustices and inequality, not only occurring in my own nation, but also in the world around me. When presented with the chance to go and study for a semester in Uganda, I was quick to accept. I could obviously, talk all day long about my experiences and encounters in Uganda, but honestly, you’ve heard a lot of it, or at least all I’m willing to share on a public blog, so I won’t go into details. But it changed me. It changed the way I thought about myself, the world, the people around me, and ultimately the Gospel (just to clarity, obviously the Gospel did not change, but my perspective on the Gospel, certainly changed a lot!)
Not long after being in Uganda my heart began to change towards missions and towards international aid. & not in ways you might expect. Very quickly I became very critical of a lot of missions and international aid. I remember getting so frustrated at myself for how I allowed myself to take part in the mission trips I participated in as a high school student. Before I knew it cynicism and bitterness took root in my heart. I’ll never forget sitting in the Chicago airport on my way home and praying, asking God to send me back out to the nations… just not in the name of missions! I wanted to go, but I became terrified of the word missions and what it has the potential to do to people & therefore I wanted nothing to do with it.
Yet, the reality is. Regardless of my understanding of missions, I am called to missions, all followers of Jesus are. While, I do not think everyone is called to take the Gospel internationally, into different cultures and contexts, He certain calls some people to. It’s very clear in Scripture. Therefore, making this statement, was in direct contrast to the will of God on my life as a believer. & a God, as good as the God of the Bible, the God I serve, does not let His beloved sit in the weight of sin. Little by little He began redeeming the idea of missions to me and calling me deeper into His love and grace!
Of course, you can probably see where this is going. Tell the Lord not to do something & He’s just going to laugh. Little by little, the Lord began redeeming my idea of missions and international aid once I returned to the United States. I could go into great detail, at what that looked like for me & maybe one day I will, but for now I’ll spare you the details and say that I just began to feel called to take a gap year and do missions. Using the skills I’ve gained and experience I’ve had studying social work and internships and partner that with the Gospel to help make a difference in people’s lives in an international context. My thought was long term, a couple years in a country partnering with the same missionaries located there long-term. And so I started researching organizations. & I wasn’t really drawn to any of them. Sure there are great organizations that do wonderful things, but none seemed to give me a peace.
& then the Lord brought me back to the World Race. The exact thing I didn’t want. A long-term mission trip, filled with many short term mission trips. I wrestled with it, but continually the Lord gave me a peace about it and continued to call me to the World Race. I was thankful that He was redeeming my view of missions and helping break the cycle of cynicism in my heart. & then I opened my email and read the list of possible routes. Of course, the one that God called me to was the route that traveled to East Africa. A part of me wanted to cry and another part of me wanted to dance for joy! Oh, how I’ve missed Uganda! & simply, yet seriously the Lord whispered to my heart that He was not done fully restoring my cynicism and redeeming my view of missions… that He was only beginning the process of reconciliation. While I have a lot to give, I still have a whole lot to learn! & His plan was to take me back to the very place where my heart and mind were challenged and let me serve there, not as a social work intern, but for the sake of the Gospel, in a missional aspect.
& honestly, full of hesitations and still unsure, I had to simply surrender my thoughts and my will to the Lord. & the peace He brought in that moment was overwhelming. I have no hesitation that this is where He wants me and where He is calling me. To go on the World Race, after graduating in May! Today, I am excited, yet still a little hesitant, and somewhat nervous, but full of faith about what the next year looks like. Next October I’ll head off on the World Race, an 11 month mission trip to 11 countries everywhere from East Africa, to South Asia, to Europe, and Northern South and Central America.
I might not fully understand why this is what the Lord is calling me to, but I can say which much certainty that this is where He is calling me. To serve others in a variety of ways, using the skills He’s already given me. Diving deep into faith and culture and continuing to ask the hard questions about serving a global God, meeting people and forming new relationships, and restoring my view of the church and our mission.
I’m excited. Very excited. & I’d love for your prayers as I embark on this journey. Please pray that the Lord would continue to give me peace and clarity about the race. Pray that the Father would only deepen within me a love for people and the desire to serve and share the Gospel. Pray that I would be able to raise all the funds necessary to partake in the world race and that when fundraising, I would continue to trust the Lord who is the provider of all things. & lastly, pray for my family and my parents as they help me navigate this and prepare to send me off! I knowing, sending me off to various nations for 11 months is a daunting thing to do, yet just as the Lord is using this to teach me, I know He is also using this to teach them.
In the days to come I’ll share more information about how you can partner with me in prayer and financially. But for today, I just ask for your prayers. I’m excited to be embarking on this adventure, and hope you’ll stick around to hear all about the Lord teaches me during my months abroad serving Him!
“For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then can they call on the one they have not believe in? An how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how are they to preach unless they are sent….?” Romans 10:13-14
