Hey everyone! I am extremely humbled to be writing this blog today. I've also never written a blog in my life so bear with me ya'll! This journey of applying and committing to the World Race has actually been a long time coming. I don't know where to begin with that, but I'll start by explaining what the World Race actually is.

Long story short, the World Race is an 11 month international missions trip where we partner with different ministries and are immersed into different cultures to serve where needed, share the love of Jesus Christ, and experience the Lord in deeper ways. I hope as I go throughout this journey, I can share the "long story long" with you all, and post more blogs as the details of ministries and countries become realities! As someone who has a heart for Jesus, adventure, and travel, this has been something on my heart for years; but I have only just recently found God's timing for this journey to begin.

God has truly taken me on such a ride just to get to a place in my life where I was ready to be bold in my faith and jump into this. I have had a few of my friends do the race and I've never felt like I was qualified or equipped enough for this kind of trip. Something I heard a while back that really challenged me in my faith was "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called." That's something I will definitely hold on to in this trip. I know that it's going to be a year of stretching, growing, seeking and praying for sure.

This is the story of my "why." Why am I going on the World Race? For a few years I've considered applying. Missions has been on my heart for a very long time, but I never knew where to begin or how to go about it. About 6 months ago I did apply, and I went back and forth in my head on whether or not this is something God wanted me to do. I prayed countless times about it but never felt clarity. I was waiting for God to just tell me "yes," this trip is the opportunity He wants me to jump into... or "no," this was not in His will. After months of this cycle of prayer and waiting, it became apparent to me that God doesn't always give yes or no's. Sometimes, He wants us to make the decision on our own. That is the beauty of freedom and grace; if it's the wrong choice, He guides us with His gentle hand to where we need to be. I realized that if I was going to do this, it would be my choice, and I would have to trust God more than ever before, make the decision, and just full-on send it.

The word God gave me for 2021 is "intrepid." I decided early on in January that I was not going to live this year out of fear and question all the choices and decisions I make. I want to live life fearlessly and accept any adventures that God puts in my path.

About 6 days ago, I was going through my typical thought cycle of "should I do it?" or "should I wait for God to make it clear to me?" And I felt this need to pray. Again. After months of pushing this missionary opportunity to the back of my mind from this feeling of not being equipped or strong enough for something like this. But I prayed. And I just said to God, "If you want me to do this...to commit tonight, submit my deposit, and make this a reality, please make it known to me right now." And instantly, before I could even say "amen," the reference of Luke 12:33-34 came to my head. I didn't know what the verse was or if the 12th chapter of Luke even had that many verses. I googled right away and this is what is says,

"Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (ESV)

I stood there in my hallway looking at my bible app just dumbfounded at the clarity and the answer to prayer. Even then, with a sign so clear, I hesitated. I decided to go to the World Race website and click the 'submit deposit' button just to get a feel for what it would be like, and right there, on that page, was the verse "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matt. 6:21, ESV).

In that moment I just chose to say yes. It was an opportunity. I waited for months for God to say "yes" or "no" to it, yet all I could hear from God was that He wanted me to make this choice. I could have chosen a different path and still been doing something to glorify God, but He so graciously gave me this opportunity to see Him work among the nations and use me as a vessel to bring glory to Him. I feel humbled that He would use me for such an epic journey, and I am honored to be a part of this team.

I would love for you to connect or reach out to me if you have any questions, and would love to share even more about this World Race with you! Please consider coming along side to support me, I need prayers and tips on how to live an intrepid life, ya'll! It would mean so much to me. Thanks for reading! :)