you’re doing what?!

Before I start my very first official blog, let me start by saying 1) God is faithful in every season of life and 2) when you say yes to God, things start shifting… a lot

So, here’s my story with the World Race. its messy. it’s not perfect. but God is at the center of it.

For a super long time, I’ve been interested at the thought of a gap year. The idea was always hypothetical and never taken too seriously. If you were to ask me where I wanted to go to college/ what I wanted to major in, my response would have been, “I have no idea.” And its true! I truly did not know what I wanted to do after high school.

So fast forward to the summer before senior year! The college pressure is in full gear and I still had no idea what I want to do. Everything was up in the air. But I got the opportunity to go to Laos for a couple of weeks volunteering which made me realize the heart for service that God gave me. When I got back, I wanted to go on a gap year a million times more than when I left.

I couldn’t picture myself following the structured path that was college immediately after high school. I could feel a tug on my heart to do a gap year. It was all I could think about! So I started going crazy- googling gap years for hours on end, every chance I got. But I had no luck. Every gap year program I looked at were either sketchy, for a short period of time, or purely travel-based. (Disclaimer: none of those gap year programs were bad- they just weren’t what I was looking for) Although I started feeling discouraged, thinking a gap year maybe wasn’t in my plan, in the back of my head, I couldn’t shake the thought of the World Race Gap Year.

I found out about the World Race through social media during my junior year. I saw some girls from the Atlanta area go on it and I was immediately captivated- traveling for nine months spreading the love of Jesus, what could be better?? I felt peace thinking about embarking on such an incredible year of purely serving Him and others.

And that’s when the doubt, fear, and anxiety came crashing in; and feelings of insecurity and unworthiness seemed to drive out my thoughts of eagerness. I started to doubt myself and began to think it was crazy that I even thought that I could go on this journey. But amidst the hole of doubt that I was stuck in, God showed up with a huge ladder and changed everything.

I started praying for clarity and peace for the future, and boy did God answer that prayer! And so *cue* the 500 signs God starting chucking my way to stop doubting Him and to. just. say. yes. These signs came in all shapes and sizes. In songs like Housefires’ “The Way (New Horizon),” that sing,

“And it’s a new horizon and I’m set on You

And You meet me here today with mercies that are new

All my fears and doubts, they can all come too.”

They came in sermon series titled, “Your Race with God.” He even showed up through someone at an art market who worked for Adventures in Missions and ended up telling me that I shouldn’t be worried about getting accepting. I mean, He could not have gotten any clearer in His decision for me.

So I did! I brought all my fears, doubts, anxiety with me and I applied! And got accepted!! Woooohoooo!

Psalms 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”

So… what exactly is the World Race Gap Year?

The World Race GY is a nine-month gap year offered to 18-20 year olds that is mission- based! There are six routes with around 50 other people and I will be on the sixth one; which means I will be in Swaziland, Thailand, and Nicaragua for three months each! I will be living out of a backpack, carrying everything I need for the next year. Ministry will look a little different within each country. Some days will look like helping at orphanages, praying over strangers, fighting human/sex trafficking, or simply sharing the Good News wherever we are. God is at the heart of everything we will be doing and I could not be more thrilled to be given this opportunity!!!

So now what? How can I help?

I need to fundraise $16,600 for my gap year, and while it may seem daunting, I have full faith that God will provide!! For my first fundraiser, I will be selling shirts/crewnecks/sweatshirts. The design is hand drawn by my dad and the link for those will be here: www.bonfire.com/theworldrace/

They will be on sale starting January 22nd until February 11th!

If you feel lead to donate, please do! Any amount is appreciated!!  You can donate directly through the “donate” button on the top of my blog.

I am also asking for prayers throughout this journey!! Prayers for this season, fundraising, my team, our families, the people we will meet and serve, safety, and everything in between!! Thank you thank you thank you!

If you have any questions regarding anything about the World Race, please don’t hesitate to reach out! I will gladly answer any questions!! I will be using this blog throughout the next year and a half to communicate upcoming fundraisers and everything related to the World Race! If you would like to receive updates on when I upload new blogs, you can click the “subscribe” button!!

Thank you so much for reading!! I can’t wait to share what God has in store for the next year and a half!

With love,

Lauren