So… what are you doing??

My route begins in about 5 months (crazy) and I am now 75% funded (SUPER CRAZY)!! The beginning of this journey has been incredible; the Lord has continuously provided for me and given me so much encouragement through His presence and the people He has brought to walk alongside me. I’m so thankful and so excited to see all that is to come!!

I thought I’d take a moment to tell you a little bit more about what this year on the World Race will look like and answer some of the questions I get pretty often:)

Soooo first things first: where are you going? when are you going?

Great question, thanks for asking:) Before I can answer that specifically, let me explain a bit about how it will work. The World Race functions on a hub model meaning that although I know my specific regions, I don’t know all of my specific countries. I will be sent to a “hub” country for each region I’m supposed to visit where my squad and I will spend a month learning about the culture and people of that region. From there we will be sent to surrounding countries based on the ministry needs at the time. I won’t actually know exactly which countries I’m heading to until about a month before I’m sent there. That being said, I do know my hub countries and the potential countries I will be visiting! My route is called the Global South and below is my map! My hub countries are Ecuador, South Asia, Ethiopia, and Eswatini. If you’re interested in learning more about my route or these countries you can head to the World Race website and check out the info for my route (go to Trips, All Available Trips, World Race, Global South 2021)!

My trip is set to leave the beginning of August 2021 and I’ll return the end of June 2022!

Next questions: what will you be doing?

Another wonderful question that I again can’t give a definitive answer to. Ministry is going to look different in every country I go to and will depend on what ministry partners my team and I are working with that month. I really won’t know what I’m doing until I’m doing it. Ministry on my route could be working with local churches, partnering with children ministries and schools, working with refugees, assisting in anti-human trafficking ministries, and so much more. I’m really excited to witness so many different kinds of ministry and get the chance to learn about each of them. You’ll just have to follow my blog to see what exactly I’ll be doing;)

where will you be staying?

This is also pretty dependent on which country I’m in and the host we’re working with. Sometimes I may be staying in an actual house with our hosts, I might be staying in a local church, I also might just be camping sometimes. Oh yes, you read that right – camping. For a girl who has never been camping, I’m actually pretty pumped at the possibility of camping at some of my sites! Depending on how often that occurs my feelings might change about that, but still it’ll be an adventure! If you haven’t realized this already, this trip is going to be super go with the flow. A lot of the particulars are just kinda up in the air for now, but honestly I don’t mind that.

who are you going with? do you know anyone?

For this question I have some clearer answers! I’ll be traveling with a “squad” of *currently* 15 people, there could be more if more people apply. My squad will be broken into teams of 5-7 people – I will be with my team at all times and my full squad some of the time (again just based off where we are and our hosts).  On my route page you can check out all the current members of my squad! Do I know any of them? Sorta. I’ve never actually met any of them, but I have been getting to know some of the girls on my squad and we’re currently going through a devotional together! I’ve really loved starting to get to know them and I’m really looking forward to meeting everyone at training camp in July!

what about covid?

GREAT QUESTION. I know this is a huge concern and a lot of people are confused about how this trip could still be happening. Although covid impacted the World Race trips for last year, they currently have several teams back out on the field! Adventures In Missions (the organization that runs the World Race) has an excellent risk management team that monitors where racers will be traveling – if any issues arise they will make adjustments to our travel plans to ensure our safety to the best of their ability. Covid is now one of the factors they are monitoring and they have worked hard to set up safety guidelines to protect both racers and the communities we will be visiting. If covid, or anything else, becomes a concerning issue in any place I’m supposed to travel my route will be altered and I’ll be sent somewhere new. If the pandemic were to get much worse while I was gone I would be brought home, and if that happens before I leave and my trip has to be cancelled then I will have the option to defer my trip to another year. My squad and I will be adhering to all national rules while we are traveling and will do all we can to make sure we are not spreading the virus.

These are some of the big questions I get asked so I hope it was helpful in getting at least a little understanding of what I’m up to. You might be reading this and wondering how I’m okay with all the uncertainty – and my answer is I trust the Lord will place me where He wants me, will provide for all my needs, and protect me in everything I do. I don’t feel like I need to know, and honestly I’m excited for the adventure of just following the Holy Spirit wherever He leads me. If you have other questions feel free to check out my blog, the World Race page, or leave me a comment below!