How I Got Here…

In the summer of my sophomore year in high school, I went on a church retreat to Gulf Shores, Alabama. It’s a popular spot for a lot of churches in Texas, and probably in the south as a whole, but the location isn’t what made this trip so memorable. On about night three of our week-long stay at this camp, I was eavesdropping. A couple kids and a counselor were one floor below having a conversation that I wish I could thank them for now.

One of the girls was talking about a mission trip she was going to be taking soon. The counselor asked her which route she was taking. It was interesting, not knowing what they meant and having so many questions. A girl came out from one of the rooms below and joined the group. She asked them what they were talking about, and that’s when the counselor started talking about the World Race.

Now, as I reflect on that night, it was such a subtle suggestion from the Lord. That I would have been quiet at any moment in time was already a miracle, and having been in the place I was at the time I was simply couldn’t have been a coincidence. I could never thank Him enough for what he began to do in my heart that day. I never for even a second stopped thinking about the World Race, and as soon as I came home I started researching. Everything I read made me more excited, and I knew it was something I wanted, or rather needed, to do. 

The day I turned seventeen I began my application. Two or three days later, it was complete, and I was beside myself with happiness. I went through my interview, and I waited for what seemed like years to find out whether or not I was accepted. I prayed and prayed for a yes, I told myself that whatever they said it would not mean that this was all the Lord had for me. I was preparing myself for a no, quite honestly, and when I finally got my call it felt like the world was going in slow motion. They had decided to move forward.

Since then, I’ve not slowed down for even a second. Getting started has been nerve-racking, but I have had so much support. My family, my church family, my friends, and World Race advisers have been helping me every step of the way. When I pray now I do it with a new clarity. Sometimes it’s absolutely wild to see the hidden places he’s been, trying to push me towards this, and that he could use things like book suggestions and street signs to get me to see Him in my life. The Lord has been working for me, through me, and with me even when I could not see it, and that is how I got here.