If you’re reading this, you probably already know a few things about me, including the fact that I’m currently a physical therapy student at VCU and I will be graduating in May with my degree. Because that is my current stage of life, I’ve been asked many times why I would decide to go on such a long mission trip, that is unrelated to the physical therapy field, when I’m entering the season where I’ll finally, after 19 years, be transitioning from student to professional. If I was in your shoes, I’d be asking the same thing and truth be told, I asked the same thing to the Lord when he put the World Race on my heart. Before I get into answering the “Why?” I’ll start by answering the “How?”
I found out about the World Race through a young life leader who led at my high school. She went on the World Race after graduating college and I loved following her journey from fundraising towards the crazy $$$ amount before her departure, all the way through the blogs she sent out while on her trip and after she returned. It sounded like an experience of a lifetime. Travel to 11 different countries, spend significant amount of time in each country learning the culture and forming relationships with the people who lived there, build deep friendships with your teammates as you face the many challenges a trip like the World Race is guaranteed to bring, spread the Gospel to nations hungry for a savior and most importantly grow in your individual walk with Jesus.
It WAS an experience of a lifetime, I just never thought it would be for my lifetime, because lets face it, when did I have time to go travel for 11 months? I was pursuing my undergraduate degree at Virginia Tech at the time and I was on the fast-track towards physical therapy school. Once I received my acceptance letter from VCU, it was time to put my dreams of going on the World Race on hold while I pursued my dream of becoming a physical therapist. The plan from then on, was to get my degree, pass the board licensure exam, and then immediately jump into the working world to start “adulting” officially.
Fast-forward to about a month ago, when my friend Calli was preparing to go on adventure of her own to New Zealand after graduating from college. She was taking a bold step of faith by going abroad to live for a year without knowing where she would work or live and she decided to push her friends into bold steps as well. For me, it was a push to apply for the World Race. Calli and I had talked about me going on the race after I graduated PT school because it was “perfect” timing between finishing school and beginning my future career. After Calli encouraged me to apply, the Lord confirmed this as His will for me in many ways, including expediting the process of being accepted. The turn-around from application, to interview, to acceptance, took a whopping three weeks time. When the Lord opens doors this abruptly, you pay attention.
After spending a week in prayer, and many conversations with my mom about logistics I knew I had made my decision. I knew the fundraising amount was lofty, I knew it was a risk to take a year off before applying to my very first job, I know it was a long time to be away from home, I knew it would be an adventure full of challenging situations and not-so-pretty living conditions most of the time. However, I also knew of the Lord’s faithfulness, his provision and his strength, his power and his promises.
So, I committed and here I am. Eight months from finishing my physical therapy degree and a little less than a year away from leaving my family, my friends, my home, my church, my dog, my bed, my air-conditioning, my running water, my security, and my comfort zone for MY experience of a lifetime on the World Race.
Now to more directly answer the “why?”:
- I want to be stretched.
- I want to grow in my walk with the Lord and learn to trust him fully. I want to know what it feels like to put my life in his hands and watch him perform miracles through my surrender to his will.
- “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” Matthew 10:38-39
- I want my heart to break for what breaks the Lord’s heart.
- From my comfy apartment, with my closet and drawers full of clothes, my fridge and pantry full of food, wrapped in a blanket on my couch, typing on my new laptop, I can pretend to give you a definition of suffering, but this would be naive. I do not know what true suffering is, I’ve only heard about it. I’m ready for my eyes to see the pain of the Lord’s people and for my hands to feel their wounds and scars. I’m ready for a new and broader perspective, one that is a little closer to what the Lord sees daily.
- “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1
- I want to be obedient.
- After much time in prayer, I truly believe the Lord is calling me on this journey. He’s asked me to “go.”
- “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'” Mark 16:15
- I never want to make a decision out of fear.
- Fear has been a huge roadblock for me in many areas of my life. Fear of not living up to expectations, fear of inadequacy, fear of judgement, fear of failure, fear of being forgotten. When the Lord asked me to go on the World Race, my immediate reaction was not fear, but excitement. As I looked more into the trip, I heard of the dangers, the vaccinations I would need, the safety risks each country held, and the reality of being away from home for almost a year and needing to raise over $18,000 hit hard. Fear of the unknown came over me like a freight train. However, as I laid this fear at the Lord’s feet, he filled me with his peace and spoke his promises over me once more. I now understood, that if I chose not to go on the race, I would be choosing to fall victim to fear.
- “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:7
- “The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid” Psalm 118:6
I’m praying this post helped to reveal my heart for this trip. Thank you so much for taking the time to read about why I chose to do the World Race!
I hope you’ll subscribe to my blog to follow me on this journey. I’ll have more blog posts to come about my race preparation, information about fundraising events and how you can support me financially and of course updates from my experiences while on the race! Stay tuned!
Want to know what countries I’m traveling to and learn more about me personally? Check out my about me here: http://laurenluttrell.theworldrace.org/?filename=bio
