Why I’m Going on the World Race!

Ever since I was in 7th grade, I knew I wanted to travel the world. When my relatives and teachers would ask what career I wanted to pursue in the future, it always came back to simply wanting to explore the world. However, I never knew why I gravitated towards jumping on a plane and seeing the various, unique places this planet has to offer. Well, apart from being able to experience diverse cultures, try exotic foods, and see the beautiful pieces of nature God crafted for our adoration. It wasn’t until I was introduced to an opportunity to do mission work in the Dominican Republic last year that I realized why I felt called to leave my small hometown of Wisconsin. 

The 9-day trip was a lot of firsts for me: first time flying on an airplane, leaving my parents for more than the span of a weekend, and leaving the country. But the biggest first that weighed on me as the trip approached was that it was my first mission trip, where I would be expected to boldly share the Word of God and spread the love of Jesus. I grew up in a Christian home, where I attended church every Sunday, heard all the classic Bible stories, and sang along to many worship songs, so it’s not like this concept of being a disciple of Jesus was foreign to me. Whenever possible, I would try to gain the courage to talk to my peers about Jesus, which I sometimes succeeded in doing and other times shied away from. However, I had never done anything like this. Like traveling with a group of people I barely knew, to a place I’ve never been, to bravely spread the gospel with confidence, with a language barrier acting as the cherry on top. 

Officially committing to attending the trip was a big act of faith for me, since I was throwing myself into the unknown with no preconceived expectations of what was to come. But my desire to go on the trip burned like a flame that would never go out. I couldn’t stand the idea of missing out on this opportunity that was laid out in front of me on a silver platter. That’s when I knew that this constant longing, this continuous craving to go out from the place I have lived my entire life and am so familiar with, was a desire planted in me by God. I knew at that moment that embarking on that small adventure was a path God wanted me to take, to further His kingdom among the DR communities as well as strengthen my relationship with Him. 

And so, I went, and I learned so much that I never would have expected to learn on such a short trip. I saw God work through the mission team in many ways from assisting in renovating school buildings and conducting VBS to playing with children and praying for those who needed and wanted prayer. While I was serving in the communities, I felt very connected to God and his purpose for me. I felt thrilled and overjoyed to be given the ability to help people in need through my God-given gifts, even while being away from home in a distant location. Even though the trip wasn’t long at all and I was only just introduced to contributing to others through missions, I knew I wanted to do more. To continue making a positive impact through mission work later down the road and to continue growing in my relationship with Jesus and my faith. 

My realization led me to begin looking into more mission work opportunities out there, specifically gap year programs, which I had already been interested in prior to the trip. The first 3 months of my senior year consisted of researching mission organizations, taking many phone calls, recording notes for each organization, and asking God what He would like me to do. Two organizations immediately caught my eye, which were the World Race and YWAM (Youth With A Mission), so I researched them thoroughly in hopes of discovering which one appealed to me more. Even after gaining all the research I worked so hard on obtaining and asking God every day which trip He would rather have me go on, I felt lost. I didn’t want to make the wrong decision, which sparked unnecessary fear in me and caused me to become very anxious and overwhelmed. I became so stressed about the decision that I strongly considered not even going on a trip at all and just staying in my hometown to work for a year or attending college that I had no desire to go to. I went to God in my uncertainty, asking Him to direct me on the path He wanted me to take and to remove all this fear that was piling up inside of me. I prayed that God would allow me to fully put my trust in Him in taking the wheel for my life and steering it where He needs me to go. I am a control freak, so making such a request as this was somewhat difficult. But I knew I needed to stop trying to control everything and let God work his magic, especially since He already has my whole life plan written out for me, and all I need to do is trust Him with that plan. 

As soon as I stepped down from the controlling position and let God take the reigns, the fog that once covered the road ahead cleared and I saw the actions God wanted me to take. It was as if all my questions and doubts that were swirling in my mind unfolded from their compact box in front of me and I could finally see clearly what God was attempting to show me all along: that I need to take this year to follow him fully through mission work, or else I would lose my mind knowing what I could have experienced and where I could have made a difference. 

Now that I knew I wanted to take a gap year and for sure do mission work abroad, all that was left to do was decide if I would be going through World Race or YWAM and pick where I wanted to go for ministry. After weighing the pros and cons between the two and praying once again, I picked World Race! As for the route, it was difficult to choose since I was interested in going on any of the 4 routes with 4 countries each, so I narrowed down my suspects based on my strengths and where I felt God pulling me to the most. After scrolling through the possible routes, I noticed that the country Ethiopia kept piquing my interest and found the name kept coming up in my mind, almost as if God was whispering it in my ear over and over again. One night as I stared up at my ceiling before going to sleep, I was thinking about Ethiopia yet again. The next morning, when I was reading my book at school, the author began talking about a mission trip he took to Ethiopia. I thought “What are the chances of me reading about this guy taking a mission trip to Ethiopia right when I was thinking about it the night before?!” 

Of course, after that very obvious clue that God hinted to me that He wants me to go to Ethiopia, I selected Route 2 as the list of countries I will be traveling to serve in God’s mission: Ethiopia, Thailand, Cambodia, and Guatemala. Once I submitted my $200 fee to secure my spot on the trip, I felt so excited, I couldn’t control myself. Overflowing happiness gripped my soul and I could repeatedly hear God saying “You trusted me and you made the right decision.”