I made a huge leap the day before training camp; I switched routes. I will be traveling to 11 different countries than I originally planned and with different people. About a month before training camp, Adventures in Missions was asking people to prayerfully consider switching squads to even out the numbers. My initial response was, “Heck no, I won’t go!” Then they sent another email two days before training camp. My mind said no but my heart said yes. I knew this was when I needed to pray about it more than ever.
As I thought and prayed over the switch there were a few things that went through my head. One, I am supposed to surrender my life to serve the Lord. If I wasn’t willing to surrender by switching routes, what else would hold me back later? Two, I put too many “tourist” expectations on the original route, such as seeing Mt. Everest, the Great Wall of China, and going to Europe for the first time. I am not a tourist. I am a missionary and that needs to remain my first priority. Lastly, going somewhere on the new route that is similar to why I wanted to start doing missions. Last summer my family and I went to Costa Rica for a family trip and I fell in love with the country. So much that I considered going back to live for a few months before I found out about the World Race. The new route includes two countries in Central America that are similar to Costa Rica and what I would have been doing there.
Switching squads on short notice put me outside of my comfort zone. I showed up to the airport not knowing a single face or name. It was like showing up to the wrong family reunion. But once I got to training camp and started to set up my tent, I was overwhelmed with warm welcomes from my new squad-mates. Throughout the week I started to build more friendship with people and felt more and more like it was where I belonged. I can’t image having it any other way. So thank you D-Squad for making me feel at home!
Meet D squad! These are my people; therefore they are my home.
For information on the new countries I will be traveling to visit my blog “New Route!”
To meet my team that I will be traveling with visit my blog “My Teammates, My People, My Family.”
