It sounds cheesy but it’s as if the World Race found me. I wasn’t looking for anything like this. I NEVER would have thought that I would be going on an 11-month missions trip. NEVER. When I first heard about the world race in February, I saw it more as a fantasy not a reality for me. But the crazy thing is, when I look back at the events of my recent life, I can see how God has orchestrated it all for such a time as this. There are so many things I thought I wanted for my life right NOW but time and time again God keeps teaching me to wait on Him because He is never in a rush. Now I see that God had a bigger plan for my life than what I could see then. There are so many ways that He has been preparing me for this all along.
I felt a strong need to apply to the World Race……. So I did.
I was hoping I wouldn’t get accepted………I did.
I was worried about leaving in January in the middle of a school year…….. World Race opened a June route for the first time in 10 years allowing me to return at the beginning of May, providing enough time to find another teaching job for the next year.
I was afraid my family would be TOO worried about me……….they were extremely supportive, told me I should do this and would help me get there.
I was afraid to pay $150 to save a spot and commit since it is a year out from now…………an amazing couple from my church gave me $150 to save my spot knowing I may back out. They called it “seed money”.
I still didn’t know what the route was and prayed for specific countries…….almost all of those countries are on the route. Thanks to the couple who planted the seed, when the route was revealed I was so excited and instead of thinking “where could I go?” I thought “where am I going?”� which by the way the 11 countries are, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Morocco, Ethiopia, Djibouti, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia.
I was afraid of having to miss work for the two week training and prayed that it would take place over spring break so that I would only have to take off one week……….. training camp doesn’t start till June which means I do not have to take any work off for that.
I was afraid that I had to leave the school year early at the most hectic time……. I do not have to report to the world race headquarters until June 5th, AFTER school gets out.
There are 500 more fears I have but I know God will show up in all of them. He has made a way for everything so far and I believe he is going to continue to make a way because that is who He is. Every time I worry about what I will miss when I am gone and what could go wrong God leans over and whispers, “I am GOING WITH you AND I am STAYING WITH the ones you are leaving behind.”�
If you are a Christian then it is your calling as it is mine, to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). You are commissioned for that. We are all called to go. For some of you that may mean across the street to your neighbor’s house and invite them over for dinner, for others it may mean going across the room and admitting you are wrong and ask for forgiveness. For some it may mean flying across the world. None is greater than the other but we are all called to GO and step out of our comfortable zone! If you are wondering if you are called. YOU ARE!
