As the door of the plane opened and my instructor pushed us to the edge, every rational thought left my brain. Staring 14,000 feet down to the ground, all I could do was scream as Lonnie propelled us out of the plane against every logical fiber of my being.
That’s how God calls us sometimes.
In a moment, He can dramatically alter our path and cause us to radically change our course.
Other times, though, He calls us with a whisper-slowly building on a path He already had us going down until we look up and see where He’s been leading us all along.
That’s how I have felt called to the World Race-not the way I felt called to go skydiving and face my fear of jumping, but like He was drawing me down a road I had been walking for awhile before I looked up and saw the street sign marked “World Race.”
Over the last three years, God has been opening my eyes to the people around me in new, beautiful, and heartbreaking ways. As a junior in college studying abroad in Dublin, I encountered urban homelessness for the first time. After having coffee with a man named Richie on a bridge, I couldn’t go back to ignoring those I passed on the streets, failing to acknowledge their human dignity and incredible value and worth in God’s eyes.
As I’ve lived in other cities, from Seattle to Indianapolis, I have continued to meet and see more people who lack not only life’s basic physical necessities, but who also go without experiencing the compassion and love each of us deserves.
Over the last year, I’ve dabbled in different areas of service while wrestling with this idea that everyone should have a home and a place where they belong. I’ve struggled to try to help people meet not only bodily needs, but spiritual ones, and while I’ve failed and learned a lot along the way, God has continued to place this burden on my heart and continued to provide opportunities for me to grow and to partner with Him.
The World Race snuck up on me like a whisper. I first heard about it through a podcast by Stephanie May Wilson, a World Race alum, and then more personally through a new friend, Alexa, who had done the World Race. At first, I thought it sounded cool but “wasn’t for me.” I resisted the idea of international missions, questioned the effectiveness of short-term aid, and balked at the idea of having to raise almost $20,000 and leaving my friends and family behind for nearly a year.
It’s funny how God always seems to say “I can” when I say I just can’t.
I had been discerning what I would do after my two-year Fellowship program ended and realized that over the next year, I wanted to truly dig in and serve with a focus on others rather than myself for a change. I wanted to see if I really believed that God is enough, that I can trust Him anywhere in the world. I realized that the World Race would allow me to meet people vastly different from myself and to forge relationships with people on the fringes of society, people God loves deeply. I realized it would expose me to different languages and to non-Western cultures for the first time in my life, and that it would be a chance to leave behind the comforts I’m used to and see how the rest of the world lives.
After talking it over with some dear friends and trusted advisors, after gaining more information about the value of short-term missions, after praying and crying and wrestling with God, I finally surrendered, telling Him I would go wherever and however He called me. He responded quickly, opening doors and providing affirmations I hadn’t anticipated so soon.
And here we are! It’s crazy to me that in eight short months, I will be going to training camp in Atlanta and then taking on my first country (Guatemala) with a squad of new friends I haven’t met yet. I am terrified and thrilled to be embarking on this voyage, and I would love to have you come alongside me as I go.
The plan is to spend roughly a month in each country-Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Morocco, Ethiopia, Djibouti, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, and Indonesia. We will stay with a local host and help out wherever they assess the need to be greatest. We could be doing construction, teaching English, loving on kids, or anything else they could use a hand with while also sharing the good news of the Gospel.
To make this trip happen, I will be spending the next few months raising support to offset the costs of participating. I would love to have you join the team of people sending me out through prayer and financial support. If you feel led to donate, you can do so at the top of this page.
I would love to talk more in-person about this door God is opening and invite you to reach out if you want to hear more!
I cannot wait to see how the Lord works throughout this adventure. I know that His goodness is MUCH bigger than my fear, which is why even though I’m going afraid, I am beyond excited to be going on the World Race!
Praise the Lord!
Adventures In Missions is a tax-exempt organization under IRS code 501(c)(3) and is a member of the ECFA. (Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability). Due to IRS and ECFA regulations governing the administration of tax deductible donations given in support of a particular trip/program, support contributions given on behalf of an individual will be used to offset the costs of the trip/program you are involved in. All contributions are non-refundable regardless of the participant’s success in completing the program.
