Hi, I’m Maddie Hodgett and I’ll be launching on the January 2020 Unscripted Route. Here’s a little bit about me:
I’m 24 years old and live in Shell Lake, WI
I first heard of the World Race in 2016 while doing a 2 month mission trip with Adventures in Missions. My first thought was: “God, please never make me do the World Race. Anything but that, it just seems too hard.”
I’m an artist and a writer, which is funny because if you told me a few years ago that I’d ever consider myself an “artist”, I for sure would have laughed. I guess you could say it’s a recently discovered talent and I think it’s so beautiful that God can bring gifts out of us that we never knew were there. I even have my own online art shop! www.maddierose.threadless.com
I lived in Minneapolis, MN for a few years and used to be a barista. I’d do that again.
I secretly LOVE practical jokes, and I think the reason I’m so good at them is because no one ever suspects me.
In 2017 I did a Discipleship Training School with YWAM which consisted of 3 months of discipleship in Perth, Australia and 3 months of outreach in Manila, Philippines.
I’m chronically ill. I have an autoimmune disorder called Graves’ Disease which causes the thyroid to become hyperactive. In 2018 I underwent 3 months of steroid infusions and had my thyroid surgically removed in order to treat Graves’ Disease.
I had originally signed up for the January 2019 Unscripted Route, but the Race had to be postponed after being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia a month before launch. This year has been dedicated to allowing my body the rest it needs to heal and learning to manage the many symptoms of Fibromyalgia (which include widespread muscle and joint pain, debilitating fatigue, sleep problems, mood swings, digestive issues, and many more).
It’s been a really hard couple of years dealing with chronic illness. No one ever expects that they’ll be young and chronically ill until it happens. But I know that nothing we suffer through is ever in vain, and I’m so excited to see how God uses this for His glory. He’s already begun such a beautiful healing work in my mind, body, and spirit in the last few years, and I cannot wait to share that with others while on the World Race.
