As I typed out the title for this post I thought to myself “well shoot, really though, why the World Race”? It’s a great question and one that I’ve been asked pretty frequently lately.
If you don’t know what the World Race is, it’s an 11 country, 11-month mission trip focused on spreading the word of God and serving others around the world. I decided to pursue this because I know that there is something more out there for me (cue millennial jokes). I don’t want to go straight into a 9-5 job because I have the rest of my life to do that! The hardest part will be leaving Austin, TX and the people in it! This city has been my home the past four years and I have grown a tremendous amount. There is so much more of this world that I haven’t seen, but more importantly, there are people who have never heard the gospel. There are people who don’t even know who Jesus is! (crazy, right?) This opportunity to go on the World Race caught my attention my freshman year in college by my cousin’s roommate who went! She had nothing but incredible stories to tell and ever since then, I’ve prayed about it. I prayed that if I was REALLY supposed to take a leap of faith, that God would simply have it make sense when it came time to apply. And God has done just that and more! I’ve always heard people say the moment you decide to follow God and His plan for you, that is when you start to see doors open that you never knew could. It’s the truth, y’all! More doors than I could have ever imagined have started to open for me. Whether that be finding people who are willing to donate or having it be a conversation starter with people I never thought I would be able to talk to about the gospel. I’ve started to have a feeling of true contentment and let me tell ya, it is one of the best feelings. When you decide to drop everything for Him, He makes it easy for you to get where He wants you to be and provides you with the strength and qualities needed to get there. He rewards you when you listen! The rewards might not always be obvious, but they are there.
Now, here I am in my last semester of college. The moment I saw that the August routes for 2018 had been released, I automatically jumped on it. Without hesitation, I filled that darn application out and submitted it with confidence! I knew that even if I didn’t get accepted, God was going to have a better plan. One of the biggest lessons I have learned lately is my plan and goals for my life are not big enough. When something doesn’t go my way (aka all the time), I know that I need to dream bigger. These past few weeks God has revealed himself to me by telling me that going on this race will change my perspective for the better. Even though there are many things that have the potential to hold me back, I have to trust that they will be there when I get back. I will without a doubt miss my family and friends… and Canes (s/o to them), but I can’t let that be the reason I don’t go!
I want you to know that I’m not writing this post to brag about my travels or try to portray my life in some perfect light. The main reason I am going on this race is because even though I will never measure up to what God wants me to be, He loves me anyway. And that’s amazing! I want this entire world to know and feel that love! This race is going to be HARD. It will be physically and emotionally draining, but so rewarding just from being able to watch lives change from hearing the gospel. I have been told multiple times to go into this without any expectations, but I can’t wait to experience and share what the Lord has in store for me and my team in the next year of our lives.
So there is my little rant about why I’ve decided to go on this race after graduation. The moment I was accepted I could not control myself. There was so many happy tears and I honestly still feel like I’m dreaming. This time next year I will be in another country doing His good work! Nothing better. I would love if you joined my team by donating or more importantly praying over this adventure. It would mean so so much to me!
xx, Mace
