I’ve continuously answered the questions, “But why? What do you expect to get out of this trip?” Each time I’ve responded, I’ve noticed a deeper understanding for the reason of the season. My “why?” started with wanting to do mission work in general, traveling with a purpose, impacting and building relationships with communities outside of my own, and a billion other things, including the fun of it all, creating lifelong friendships and getting out to see the world. It wasn’t until the day Deborah told me to write this blog that I really started to question why I really wanted to be away from home for 9 months and put myself in a place that could be uncomfortable.
Sacrifice.
“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28
When I get back from the World Race in May 2020, I hope to live more like Jesus. As stated in Hebrews, Jesus sacrificed his life for the sins of every person living on this earth. He didn’t want sin to make us feel like we are carrying a backpack full of rocks everywhere we went so he brought us salvation so that we could free from those sins. It may never get as serious as sacrificing my whole life but when it comes down to it, I want to sacrifice all I can to live a God-fearing life. When I first applied for the World Race and got accepted, my first thought was, “Wow, I’m really not going to be able to sleep in my bed for 9 months AND I’m going to be so dirty all the time, how am I possibly going to do this??” Yes, I still ask myself the same questions every day but it seems as if every time I pray for peace in this area of my life, God continues to remind me about the sacrifice he made for ME, the largest and greatest sacrifice of all that doesn’t even come into comparison with the sacrifices I choose to make. Living more like Jesus means that I am willing to give up my life to do His work. Although I still have those thoughts of missing my bed and family, I also get so excited at the thought of leaving my entire life behind to build an even better relationship with the King of all Kings.
I’ve said yes to going on this trip because I cannot wait until the moment I get to see children playing, laughing, singing and dancing with the largest smiles on their faces. I can’t wait to see the lives of communities being touched by the Holy Spirit and lives being healed in miraculous ways. I can’t wait for the deep talks amongst other racers and the relationships we will be building throughout this trip. I am expecting to see God move in ways that I would have never thought. I’m expecting Him to speak through me and use me as an advocate for his life. I expect hard days, bad days, sad days, days of missing home and all of my loved ones, but I know that the void will instantly be filled with his love. I want this trip to make my relationship with God stronger than it has ever been. I want to be filled with biblical knowledge and become the best version of myself. I hope to become an even better leader, daughter, sister, niece, grand-daughter, and future mother. It feels like years that I’ve been praying for God to really step into my life and direct me in a place that isn’t normal, a place where I may feel discomfort and the only choice I have is to TRUST in him. It was in the time where I was feeling the most hopeless that he literally dropped it down from the sky. One day I didn’t even know what the World Race was and the next day I was already applying for something that I hadn’t even researched. You could say that the day I received my acceptance call, I was more surprised than anything, I instantly started reading people’s blogs and finally researched what I just got myself into. Throughout this time, there was never a part of me that was pulling away from the idea of going, I was all in and I knew it was really a God thing.
I cannot wait to see how God works through the lives of every single racer to reach communities that have never even heard about our Creator. The World Race is not going to be just a trip filled with fun traveling to different countries. The purpose of this trip is to share God’s love with those around and to learn to live more like Him.
Love always,
<3 P
