One year ago today, Adventures in Missions posted the August 2017 routes for the World Race.
I remember this moment very well because it was the moment that the ball started rolling…and that ball has not stopped rolling yet. In fact it is just now picking up speed!
One year ago I read through all the different routes and the different countries and was immediately brought to tears of excitement and wonder. I thought of all the different adventures I would have and all the places I would see.
It only took me about a week to finish filling out the application and decide which route I would choose. At the time I was overwhelmed with all the choices. There was a total of five routes leaving in August and they were all going to different places. How could I choose?!
I turned to the people closest to me and asked them which route I should take. Most of them just said things like, “They all seem great!” or “Which one do you feel drawn to?” I didn’t really have one I was drawn to so I started to pray over each route. I asked God which countries He wanted me to be a light in.
I can’t say that I heard the voice of God, but I did have a feeling. I can’t really tell you what it was, but for some reason I felt drawn to India and Nicaragua. There was only one route that went to these two places…so route 1 it is.
Flash forward a couple of months. My route changed. Instead of going to Belize, Republic of Congo, Cameroon, and Gabon, I will be going to Honduras, El Salvador, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. This change was a bit shocking to me, but very much a confirmation in my heart. My very first mission trip was to Honduras when I was sixteen years old. I remember a time on this mission trip where I knew in my heart that I would go back one day. This route change was my confirmation that this was the route the LORD had planned for my life because He was fulfilling my hearts desire to go back to this beautiful and broken place.
Flash forward again to today. Here I am, one full day, two sleeps away from leaving Soddy Daisy and going to Atlanta for a couple of days of training and then catching a flight to El Salvador. It is crazy to think that one year ago I didn’t know what I was doing or getting myself into…I still don’t really know, but I do know more than anything in the world that THIS is what I am supposed to do and THIS is just the beginning of an amazing life I will have with the LORD by my side.
I cannot wait to look back at this day in another year. All of this will be over and I will be back in America, but I will be far different person than I am today. I will have learned many lessons and seen many new things.
One year ago, I started this journey and now one year later I am REALLY starting this journey…and I am just as excited, if not more excited than I was a year ago!
Thank you to everyone who has supported me and helped me along the way this past year.
Here’s to another year full of excitement, adventure, and the Holy Spirit!
Here goes nothing!
Niki Ables
