I know there are lots of blogs that talk about how God used the World Race as a tool to change our
lives and how it wasn’t just the race but the Lord. And that’s true, the World Race was like a
pressure cooker that brought out many different things in me that would have been hard to address
otherwise. I was set in a new changing environment with new people and new way of life. There
was no manual, no direction with what the race could be or should be. It simply is but is not that
just like life. The race isn’t separate from life it was just a part of it for me, going home and the
time there isn’t my “real life.” It’s just also a part of the story that God is writing. God wrote the
World Race into His story for me and used it to open wounds, being healing, teach me love in hard
and good community, and grow me as a person. That is all a part of life with Christ and it’s not
ending when I go to the States; it’s also not beginning when I go to the States, it just is and is
descriptive of my life with Christ not prescriptive of what others lives should look like. Am I thankful
for it? Oh, one hundred percent. Do I believe I was following the Lord when he called me to it? Yes,
in every way. Do I believe that God could have used anything to grow Christ in me? Yes, He is that
good. Would I do it all again? Joha, Eh, Sí, Yes. God used this time to mold me and shape me more
into the image of Jesus and I am so thankful that He continues to do that. He has opened my eyes
to the need of His love in the world and the result of people receiving it is His Kingdom coming. Life
with Christ is alive and colorful and exciting and it’s not because we travel from where we are but
because His Spirit is with us wherever we are. And He is has been with me everywhere I’ve been, whether in the flat terrain of Cambodia, the Ethiopian foothills, or the Nicaraguan mountains and valleys of Costa Rica the Lord has been there and done work in me and through me. If I had to write a small book on what me in each country on the race this is how it would look:
Victoria’s Life
Period: World Race
written by God
Table of Contents
Cambodia—————————————————————————————-Rest
Ethiopia—————————————————————————————Healing
Nicaragua————————————————————————Love in Community
Costa Rica———————————————————————-Future promises/Grit
Cambodia (Joha)
God showed me his perfect power in my rest in his strength, yet I was learning about it and not so much applying it, but learning through failure isn’t shameful but rather human and where/when we grow the most.
p.s check out my blog https://victoriaschafer.theworldrace.org/post/rest-even-god-does-that
Ethiopia (Eh)
I experienced healing in deep parts of my heart in the quiet of Ethiopia and walked out the rest I was learning in Cambodia. My love for the Lord grew in those days of learning more about Him away from the business of Western culture.
Nicaragua (Si)
God confirmed the healing in my heart here in Nicaragua and began trusting me with more of him as I began to walk it out and learned more about the heart of the Father for healthy loving community. He has a heart for reconciliation. Always. reconciliation.
Costa Rica (Si)
Costa Rica has been my favorite country. Here the Lord has reminded me of him in the everyday, it has been difficult but also worth everything. Here God has given me dreams of the future and glimpses of his heart for others and how I can be a part of it. I know I am loved by him and desired by him and worthy. He calls me worthy. He is forever.
