“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
I’ve been staring at my screen for hours now, letting words and thoughts run through my head; trying to articulate some meaning behind everything.
Quick Recap:
February 2019 is when my life changed for the better. I reconnected with my faith and decided to grow closer to the Lord. I graduated college in May 2019 and started my first teaching job. In October 2019, I felt this overwhelming feeling of needing to do more and offer the world more. I decided that I wanted to do mission work again, as I had been a part of several trips in the past. When hearing about the World Race, I knew that this was something amazing, but something that would also challenge me and allow me to grow both mentally and spiritually. After getting accepted into the World Race, I started to prepare for this lifetime of a journey; fundraising, buying gear, and making friendships. After countless of hours on zoom and finally meeting some of my teammates, my heart is overflowing with love. I knew that these people would be in my life forever. In the past year, I have grown significantly; in all aspects of life. If you read my previous blog, you would know that my original October launch was canceled, and that I ended up choosing to wait until January to launch internationally. (All things considered)
Now:
We are in month 6 of living through COVID and the uncertainties that life has. In these past several months, I have found myself overthinking an overwhelming sense of fear came over me because to me, the unknown is terrifying. As I’m sure many of you have been, I have been feeling a little lost and unsure of what I want my life to look like. When making the decision about launching in January I thought I would feel more at peace with the decision but in fact it was the opposite. I wasn’t at peace, I didn’t have clarity and something wasn’t right.
So, what I’ve been waiting to share. After much thought, prayer and consideration, I have officially decided to withdraw from the World Race. I strongly believe that this isn’t the right time for me to go as I originally had planned and anticipated leaving internationally in October. A lot of reasoning came from the impacts of COVID on my life and the unknowns of what will happen next.
BUT WAIT… there is something exciting to share. Missions is one of my passions and it’s something I feel led to do. Adventures in Missions offers shorter adult mission trips. These trips are mainly open in the summer months and are only about 1-2 weeks long. With that being said, I have chosen to use the money that you all have graciously donated to me and apply it to several of these trips. I am excited to figure out what this looks like in regards to the different countries I will be going to.
I am finally at peace with this decision. Although I have no idea what the future looks like, I know that God has a plan for me. For me, this is a huge step in my faith because I can confidently say that I am ready to give myself to the Lord. I am 100% trusting Him and His plans for me.
From the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you to all of my supporters. Thank you for supporting me through your finances, prayer and words of encouragement. Thank you for following me during this journey and I only hope you continue to follow me through the next. I am so excited to see what my NEXT looks like.
