A year ago I never would have imagined myself going on the World Race and if you time traveled back and told me that this is what I'd be doing July 2011 I probably would've laughed at you. About a year ago was when I first heard of the Race from a WR veteran and my reaction was, "Wow, that's insane. I could never do it, but that's so awesome!"
About a month later, I was talking to a friend about how I wanted to take a year off for missions after graduation, but I wasn't sure what to do and she suggested looking into the World Race. Again, I told her that I knew a little bit about it from Ben and it was an awesome ministry, but I didn't think it was right for me. I spent the next couple of months searching for different short-term mission opportunities, but couldn't find anything that seemed to fit. All I knew was that I wanted to serve physical needs alongside spiritual needs.
Last October, when Jake invited me to a Facebook group to support him on the January 2011 World Race (read all of his amazing stories here), I decided to finally visit the World Race website and look into the ministry opportunity that kept popping up in my life. As I browsed the website, I realized that this was it. This is what I was called to do after graduation. I have no explanation for what changed in my mind, just that God worked in my heart to open it up to the possibility of going on the Race. Now, I'm so excited to go and I couldn't imagine spending the next year any other way. I'm so excited to be traveling to each of the countries on the route, even though, prior to deciding on the World Race, I knew very little about most of these countries. God has really grown my love for each of our ministry locations: Romania, Ukraine, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, India, Nepal, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
My top 3 reasons I love the World Race:
1. I get to love on people by serving physical needs while sharing the Good News! Perfect combo 🙂
2. Adventure! It's going to be an awesome challenge to live out of a backpack for a year.
3. I'll get a little taste of everything, so I can better discover my passions.
