And so I go

My entire senior year of high school, I thought I would be in Africa right now. I committed to the World Race in September of 2019, expecting to live in Africa for six months and Cambodia for three in the Spring. I am instead writing this blog from my home in Colorado, on Thanksgiving break from my first semester of college. The Lord works in mysterious ways, but boy does He work. 

When I applied for the Race over a year ago, I would have called myself a Christian. I went to church once in a while, I liked looking at Bible verses, but I was still stuck in the same sin patterns and hadn’t given my whole life to the Lord. It is scary to think that I could’ve been stuck living as a luke-warm Christian forever, and that many people are in fact still there. BUT GOD, in my sinfulness and unworthiness, has scooped me up and called me His daughter. Out of all the people in this world, He chose to save me. I cannot bow low enough. Since committing to the Race, He has placed some downright amazing people in my life to walk alongside me. He has shown me the truth of His character through reading the gospel of John with my mentor. He has given me conviction of sins that I hadn’t let go of. He has given me the strength to let many of them go. He has changed my heart in a way that can’t be explained by anything other than a supernatural working. I cannot bow low enough. 

In June, I made the difficult decision to attend Colorado Christian University for a semester with hopes of serving on the mission field during what would have been my second semester of college. Looking back on my decision, I may have chosen CCU for some of the wrong reasons. But God works anyways, and so I went. My time at CCU has been nothing short of amazing. I have grown so much in my relationship with the Lord. He teaches me new things everyday about Himself and how to do life with Him. I am learning so much in my classes (my favorite class is Old Testament, seeing how the ENTIRE story points to Jesus). I have built the most incredible relationships here. A big prayer going into CCU for me was that God would direct me to the people who are on fire for the Lord, and He was so faithful! I have had more genuine fun and experienced more genuine love with these people than I ever had walking in the sinful ways of my previous life, because it’s all centered around Christ. Even though CCU wasn’t part of the plan I had made for myself in 2020, God has used my time here in unbelievable ways. I cannot bow low enough. 

As January 2021 approaches and I look back on how much the Lord has moved in 2020, I am dumbfounded. He has been SO good, SO faithful, and SO in-control this whole time. Every time I think I know what’s best for me, He surprises me with something better. 2020 has been a year of fear and unknown, but God is shaping me into someone who trusts in Him no matter what. And so I’ll go. On January 3rd 2021, I will launch to Atlanta, Georgia where I will be trained for one week. After that week on January 7th, I will launch with 28 other racers to Nicaragua and serve for three months. The following three months will be spent in either Costa Rica or Cambodia, or both! Although this seems nearly impossible with the state of the world right now, with God nothing is impossible. The world NEEDS the hope of Christ more than ever right now! My plane ticket has been booked, and God has been preparing my heart all this time. Although I know it will be hard to leave the seeds I’ve planted at CCU and beyond, I trust that He will water them anyway. And so I go. 

More information about my trip:

https://www.worldrace.org/route/gap-year-2021-6-month-option/ 

On-field COVID Plan:

https://www.adventures.org/MyStuff-Documents/EmailAttachment/Field_Covid_Plan___FAQs_-_January__21_International~3.pdf