11 months. 11 countries. Sounds like the adventure of a lifetime, right? If you know anything about me, you know that I am ALWAYS up for an adventure- whether that means kayaking trips, camping on an uninhabited island, climbing buildings, exploring tunnels, planking on random objects, skydiving, dumpster diving and the like; I live for these experiences. While the World Race will be nothing like the “typical” adventures I have experienced, I believe it will be the most shaping and life changing adventure of all. I am ready to be pushed out of my materialistic, comfortable, easy life. I want to meet people from all around the world and serve them in whatever way I can. I have been so blessed in so many ways and now it is time to give back. It is a time to be a blessing to others. I am laying my life down, dying to self, picking up my cross and following Jesus. When I made the decision to commit my life to Jesus about four years ago, I never thought He would become the center of my world, that I would be willing to risk all for the sake of the gospel and that God would call me to serve Him around the world.
Am I scared? Well, of course! But I will not let fear stand in the way of what I know God is calling me to do. Earlier this week while praying through my anxieties and fears, God led me to a passage in Acts 1. Jesus is speaking to His disciples and He says in verse 8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” The word “power” and the phrase “to the end of the earth” instantly jumped out at me. The Holy Spirit is powerful. Do you know that the very same power that raised Christ from the dead lives in all believers? The Holy Spirit will work in me and through me on this trip, giving me no reason to fear or to doubt. Jesus has called us to be his witnesses, to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19). I believe this command is just as relevant and necessary today as it was 2,000 years ago. Jesus is calling me to go; therefore, I will obey. I believe that the more we listen to and obey God in life, the more doors He will open for amazing opportunities. I am so blessed that He has allowed me to take part in His story and through that has provided a greater purpose for my life than I ever could have imagined. 
