Hi Everyone! If you know me or if you’ve been following my blog or my social media, you may be wondering why I’ve been so quiet about the World Race… especially since I was supposed to be leaving right about now. First, I wanted to let y’all know, I am STILL going on the race. However, I will now be leaving in AUGUST rather than this month. I will be going on the Expedition Route leaving that month with a new squad. A lot went into this decision, but I’ll get to that later in this post.
What is the Expedition Route?
The expedition route is a route that mobilizes missionaries solely within an area of the world known as the 10/40 window. This region goes from North Africa to Southeast Asia and is the most unreached area of the world for the gospel. We will be working to bring the Good News to areas of the world that don’t have as much access to it, if any.
What countries are you going to now?
This route (which is subject to change) will be going to Spain, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and China.
Will the money you have already raised be transferred to this new route?
Yes. The plane ticket for my last route was already purchased, so that amount will be taken out of my account, but all other funds donated to the World Race thus far will stay in my account and will be transferred to this new route leaving in August.
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There are a lot of factors that went into this decision, and I assure you that it was not an easy one to make. I would say that the seeds of this decision were planted back in August, when I took a Strategies for Mission Work class at Dallas Baptist. This class was honestly the best class I took at DBU, and it is one that I almost didn’t take. This class really caused me to look at missions differently and also touched my heart for the 10/40 window. It was during this class that I learned that 17 million people in the world die EVERY YEAR without ever having heard the Gospel in their lifetimes. Learning this and so much more about this region of the world broke my heart into pieces. So much so that it was during this class that I first considered transferring to the 10/40 window route leaving this month. I had a few close friends praying over this decision, as well as my professors for that class.
Circumstances during that time led me to continue with the original plans and the original route. I believed that perhaps this new calling on my heart was meant for after I got back from the race. So I stayed with my squad and my route and went to Training Camp in October. Training Camp was absolutely amazing. I can honestly say that I loved every single person on my squad. I was really excited about my team as well. However, while everything was great with S Squad, I still felt like I had a decision to make. I was happy where I was, but I felt like something was off somehow. I brushed those feelings aside though because I was dead-set on leaving in January with these amazing people. I was more than ready to finish school and to leave the country as soon as possible.
However, towards the end of November, the Lord began to teach me about patience. He wanted me to trust in HIS plans, not my own. But I didn’t want to leave later. I thought I was more than ready to go. I thought everything with my squad, my route, and my team was about as perfect as it could be. I tried to ignore any possibility of leaving later, but something just wouldn’t let me. So one day, after a few days of prayer, I scrolled down to the 10/40 Window route and my heart was completely won over (it is worth mentioning that when I initially signed up for the Race last year, the expedition route wasn’t even a consideration in my mind). I was reminded of that class I took a few months ago and I immediately felt like the Lord was putting this puzzle together in my mind. Not only was this route going to the 10/40 Window, but one of the countries on the route is Cyprus, a place and a people that I have had a heart for since my first trip to London.
After this experience, I sought counsel from friends. I talked to my parents about the decision (and they were surprisingly more supportive of the idea than I thought they would be). I prayed a LOT. With each new day, the August Expedition route continued to take hold of my heart. Through my family, friends, and my own personal time with the Lord, I realized that I had been rushing the Race and that I needed to use this time now that I out of school to just simply rest in the Lord rather than immediately jump into an 11-month trip. This was an extremely difficult decision, but it is one that I am completely at peace with. Although I love S Squad, I am confident in where the Lord is currently leading me.
All that being said, please continue to pray for my S Squad family who is currently launching for their race. Pray that their hearts would be strengthened. Pray that the Lord would orchestrate divine encounters. Pray for the people they come in contact with. Pray for the countries they are going to. Pray that the Lord continues to work in and through them not only during these next 11 months, but every month afterwards. These men and women of God are truly special and I am excited to follow their journeys as I move forward in my own.
Finally, if you would like to partner with me in this new endeavor, you can do this in a few ways: Pray. Please pray as I continue to prepare for the Race and pray that the Lord would use me starting now, not just in August. Financial Support. If you would like to partner with me financially, you can do so by clicking the “Donate” tab at the top of this blog.
Thank you all so much for reading this blog. Thank you everyone who has already donated or who has already been a part of this journey so far in some way or another. I am truly grateful!
