11 countries in 11 months. Sounds pretty crazy. Completely irrational. How did we end up doing this? We had our jobs, our house, our dogs, our families, our friends…everything was kind of set here. But our hearts weren’t set and we knew that the Lord was leading us to leave those things and follow Him. It’s something that is hard to explain and even harder for the world to understand.
I’ve felt drawn to international missions ever since my first solo overseas trip in 2006. God began to show me that His heart is for the nations and I began to see Him change my heart towards that as well. I loved building relationships with people and sharing Christ with those who had never even heard His Name. There is no greater joy than to see lives changed and know that He is meeting the needs of hurting. I knew that in my life I was going to spend time overseas sharing Him; I just didn’t know how. I ended up going to nursing school, marrying my best friend, and settling into life here. But I’ve felt what I refer to as a “holy unrest” before and I began to feel it again, knowing that He was leading us elsewhere. Little did I know, Myers was feeling it as well.
For us, missions had always been on the table but it was not supposed to happen for a few more years. We sort of started looking for mission opportunities earlier this year. We looked at a lot of options but nothing seemed to fit. Then I found the World Race. It was something I had looked into after I graduated college the first time. It sounded awesome but I never applied. Revisiting the idea was very exciting and I couldn’t wait to share with Myers. However, he wasn’t quite so pumped. I honestly expected him to say “Sweet! I’ll quit my job tomorrow and we’ll leave in three months!” Looking back, I’m glad he didn’t say that. It gave us a chance to pray together that the Lord would unite our hearts and put us on the same page. Slowly, that started to happen. Myers starting reading blogs, researching countries, and checking out gear. We talked to former racers, asked lots of questions, and continued to feel the Lord’s favor in this endeavor. And then we felt His perfect peace and that “holy unrest” settled. We applied and were accepted and now we are preparing to leave our lives here and go to the nations.
We are expecting some great things through this trip, both in our own lives and in the lives of people we meet around the world. We are expecting Him to guide our steps on this trip and after it is over. We are expecting to miss our families but to find family in our groups and in those around us. We are expecting to be in awe of a holy God that would choose to use us. We are expecting to be changed forever.
