For a long time now, I’ve had a strong pull to be involved in international missions. I believe that every follower of Christ is “called” to a life of missions, but God has directed me to one overseas. When I was in junior high, one night in the car, I told my dad that I felt that I was supposed to be a missionary. As the years passed and I was in my junior year of high school, I was still so unsure about how God wanted me to live that out. I had looked into different Bible schools and discipleship programs, and while they all looked absolutely amazing, I just wasn’t able to say yes to one with the confidence that that was what Christ wanted for me.
Well one day, I randomly remembered that a family friend had taken a gap year a couple years back that was life changing for him. The World Race. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of it sooner. So, I went onto their website and was looking at routes and reading blogs and all I could think was “I have to do this.” Instantly, I had tears in my eyes. I had never felt so drawn to something before. But I didn’t say yes yet.
For the next year, I thought and thought and prayed and prayed about the World Race. I talked to a lot of people and finally decided to take action. I told my mom I was going to apply, but then that very night, something came up that halted me right in my tracks. I won’t go into detail on it, but basically, I was given another option for after graduation, very different from the race. While it was another wonderful program, it didn’t hit home for me. I think God put this circumstance into place to show me how much the World Race was truly on my heart, because when the thought of not going came into my mind, I was shaken. My mind was instantly rattled and I was so confused, but when I settled back on the race, I was calmed once again.
After that I applied and scheduled my phone interview. When I was accepted on the spot, I couldn’t stop myself of jumping up and down on my bed and kinda freakin out! For so long, when I was in the in between, I was lost in confusion, but when I finally said yes to what God had been whispering over and over, I was overwhelemed by His abounding peace and joy and I am still embracing that and can’t wait to see more in these next 9 months!
