World Race Gap Year. Three continents in 9 months. I could be going to college instead.. doing what everyone else is doing.. so why not? Why did I decide to spend a year traveling with people that I don’t know yet, to places that I’ve never been before?
It’s a question I get a lot, in lots of different forms, and to answer that question in the simplest way, it’s because I love Jesus. I love Him and I want to share His love, because He loved me first. I can do nothing apart from Him, and He’s the one who has graciously brought me to this place.
Now if you’re asking “well how did the Lord guide you to World Race?” here’s my story:
I think my first introduction to the idea of a gap year dedicated for missions was in middle school. I had heard about World Race through some friends, and it became a dream of mine. Of course, as a seventh or eighth grader, I didn’t ever expect it to actually happen, but the Lord is faithful 🙂 Once I started high school, I began going to Mexico with my church during the summers and doing missions work there. These trips are hard – super remote, lots of opportunities to get sick, and we usually lose some of our luggage too. Even in those difficulties, though, the Lord works in crazy ways, in ways that I would never expect here in the states, and it blows my mind. It’s these trips that fueled my love for international missions and encouraged me to keep pursuing a gap year opportunity. As I continued to get closer to college, my interest in World Race turned to excitement, and I brought it up with my parents again. We did lots of research about lots of different programs, talked to lots of people, and prayed about it a ton, but my excitement about the Race only grew, and the Lord unified my parents’ hearts with mine. I sent my application in about a month ago, and since then, I’ve had an interview, chosen a route, and already got in touch with some of the people I will be traveling with!
I tell you all of this to say that the real reason I’m doing World Race is not because it’s a cool travel opportunity, because I get to meet new people, or because I want to fulfill a middle school dream – the reason I’m here is because I love Jesus and I want to make Him known. He is my Savior and there’s nothing greater for the world to know than what Jesus has done for us, so that’s why I’ve decided to do World Race 🙂
