What’s Next?

Hello!  To start off, I would like to apologize for the long delay in writing an update on my plans and where I stand with my World Race journey.  As I am sure you all know, I was unexpectedly pulled from the mission field in March because of the escalating spread of the Covid-19 virus.  At that point, I had only completed half of my mission trip.  Coming home early was really hard.  The suddenness of our return was a lot to comprehend.  Our squad found out that we were being recalled from the field, and less than 24 hours later we were on a flight to NYC.  That is not a lot of time to say goodbye to the people who had become like family in just a few short months.  The first few months back home were full of grieving missed opportunities, time spent with my squad, and life on the mission field.  I am not normally a very emotional person, in fact I rarely ever cry, but I had lots of emotions about coming home and it took time to process through all the emotions. 

                There was also a lot of uncertainty regarding if or when we would be able to return to the mission field.  To be honest, there are still a lot of unknowns.  In May, Adventures in Missions sent us an update describing all the different options we could choose going forward.  There were options for domestic trips, international trips, trips with our squad, trips with a new squad, missional communities, and so many others – all for varying lengths of time.  The options were very overwhelming.  The first time I committed to going on the Race, I knew immediately when and where God was calling me.  Making a decision a second time was not such an easy process.

                Shortly after receiving that email, I once again began to feel the Lord tugging me in a very clear direction.  However, I allowed doubts to creep in and take over, clouding my clarity.  For months I wrestled with whether or not this was actually what God was calling me to.  Only recently did I surrender my doubts and make the decision that I should have made months ago.  As soon as I made the decision, I felt an overwhelming amount of peace.

                With all that being said, I have officially committed to once again go on the World Race for eleven months.  I will be leaving in January.  As of right now, Adventures in Missions has tentatively planned for my route to go to the following regions:  Central America, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Southern Africa.  Because of the global pandemic, there is a lot of uncertainty so we may or may not actually leave in January and we may or may not actually travel to the scheduled regions.  All I know right now is that God has called me to this specific route, at this specific time.  Whether or not any of that remains the same is up to Him.  He asked me to step out in faith and that is what I am going to do.