It’s a common prayer of mine that everyone has at least one person in their life that inspires and encourages his or her heart. This holds especially true for the wonderful men and women on my squad and the journey we are all working towards.
I’m blessed to have many people constantly pouring their support and encouragement into me, but there is one friend who is probably way more of an inspiration than she even knows! Her name is Carly, and she went on the World Race in September 2010. So a while back, I decided to start reading all of her blog posts in order to better understand her journey and to provide insight into what my experience might be like!
Here are some of the things have learned from Carly:
1. The purpose of mission work is to minister to others, but God is going to be ministering to you. He will awaken your heart in ways you will never expect.
2. One of the best ways to prepare for the journey is to pray, "Lord, prepare me in every way so I can serve you fully this next year".
3. It’s amazing what you will learn if you just seek the Lord.
4. You are never alone. Do not give into the lies of the devil that you are not part of a community. People in your home town love you and especially the people on the World Race.
5. Love is the foundation of living like Jesus. It’s okay to not have been to a Bible college or Seminary. (This is one of my biggest concerns!) You can still show God through your and His love.
6. We will encounter darkness and difficulty. But we should not fear. We are the light of the Lord and we will shine because God is always with us.
7. You probably will get discouraged with fundraising, but if God called you, He will send you!
8. It’s perfectly normal to be so excited that it’s basically uncontainable!
9. Life can be overwhelming, but don’t forget to get overwhelmed by God! It’s the best feeling in the world.
10. God is going to show up in incredible ways! Be patient in prayer and get ready for your mind to be blown!
11. Get ready to get creative in fundraising! Whether it is a garage sale, hair cutting fundraiser or a “gear shower”, there are many ways to get what you need!
12. Get ready to become a great story teller! You are going to not only want to tell your stories, but the stories of other racers and the people you meet along the way.
13. There will be a lot of things that you will no longer be able to say after the phrases “I will never…” or “Never have I ever…”
14. Others will see things in you that you have yet to see in yourself. Embrace it!
15. It may be intimidating to ask people for help, but people are always looking for ways to support others!
16. A community of Christians is filled with broken people, and community may be hard! But it is worth all the tears to work through it.
17. It’s hard to let God control your life, but you need to let go and let God.
18. God is going to push you outside of your comfort zone, especially in speaking about your journey. The great news is He will also give you the comfort and calmness you need!
19. There is no point in expecting things from God. Your expectations will just be blown away every single time! It’s a foolish thing to limit God’s power (even though most of us do from time to time).
20. As it becomes time to depart for 11 months, you are going to feel so many crazy emotions all over the spectrum. Blessed, loved, excited, anxious, overwhelmed, encouraged, and empowered are just a few!
Okay, so those were just the lessons from her blog BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE RACE alone! It’s crazy how God will teach you so much before even leaving for this journey. Of course the lessons continued on the trip as well, but this blog would be pages upon pages long if I talked about all that she taught me through the blogs on the actual race! (However, they are very good so if you’d like to read some of her blog posts here is her link: http://carlycronin.theworldrace.org/).
One last lesson that she has taught me is that once you get home from the race, your heart for missions will be strengthened. Carly leaves for Nepal (one of the countries on her route) on Wednesday! She will be serving as a missionary with Tiny Hands International for at least a year. (If you would like more information on this organization, here is the link to the organizations website: http://www.tinyhandsinternational.org/).
Before, was already concerned with my life post-race (and we are still 6 months from departure). Where will I find myself? Will I have a job? Where will I live? But, as Carly has taught me, I have no idea how God is going to shape my heart over the race! I may be called to live long term as a missionary! I’ll just have to give God full control of my heart and my life! (Tip #17)
I ask that everyone who reads this prays for Carly on her journey to Nepal, and I cannot wait to visit her in November!
God Bless!
