why i’m going on the world race

Why are you going on the world race?

The short answer is that I felt the Lord call me to it. However, the long answer is a long, long answer because I love being able to share why I was so interested in taking a gap year, how I found it, why I chose the route that I did, and how much peace the Lord has given me about my future since deciding on this adventure. 

What made you so interested in taking a gap year?

Two summers ago I spent six weeks in the Czech Republic. I was living with an American missionary family who I absolutely adore while also being able to spend time with exchange students my family has hosted in the past and spending time with other missionaries my family considers close friends. I had some free time one afternoon that I was spending with Tereza and Spencer, basically my older siblings, and we were just talking about the future and things that we were all passionate about. Somehow we got on the subject of college, which I used to hate talking about because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my future, and Spencer started telling me about this thing called a gap year. I was immediately intrigued. A year off from school? Heck yes!! Now I just needed to figure out what I would be doing with my year off, because I didn’t want to just work or sit around like a bum. 

How did you find world race gap year?

Fast forward to my junior year when I was chillin at home one day just scrolling through facebook. All of the sudden I came across this thing called World Race. I saw that one of my friends who I trusted a lot had like their post, so I clicked on it and just started looking through their page to see what it was: a gap year for missions, adventure, and discipleship. I sort of kept it in my mind for the next few days and next thing I know this organization is showing up all over my social media! Coincidence?? I think not. I started doing some more research on what it was, started to follow some racers on social media, and even took a quiz on their website to see if I was racer material. My mind was set, but my parents’ weren’t… I looked into the cost and some other factors with my mom, and she even helped me look for more gap year programs like world race that were cheaper and for a shorter amount of time. I always found a reason to say no. 

For the next few months, I began to be more and more confident in my decision to take a gap year with world race. As I started telling people my plans, I even started to meet people that knew others who had gone on world race! My heart was so content with this decision, even though I hadn’t even been accepted yet. 

Why did you choose route six?

As part of the application process, world race asks you to choose one out of six routes before you submit your application. I was sitting between my parents looking through the routes, and the first that caught my eye was a route with two of the countries on my bucket list. Obviously that was the route I had to choose… right? 

I had a little bit of a rude awakening over the next few days as I was pondering which route I was going to choose. Was I doing this gap year only for the travel aspect? I knew the answer was no, but I was offended by myself that I hadn’t even looked at the ministries that each country would focus on. Once I realized this, I looked at the two routes that went to three continents instead of just two and began to compare the routes solely based on their ministries. As soon as I read the ministries of route six (read my about me page for more info!), I knew that was where my spiritual gifts would be used the most and where I would thrive in each of the ministries. 

Although it was extremely hard for me to take a step back and ask myself why I was going on the world race aside from the travel aspects, I am so glad that I did. There are so many other things that I am drawn to about world race, and travelling is only one of the hundreds of reasons- I even made a list to convince myself haha. 

Why are you so at peace with your decision to do world race?

I know this is what the Lord has planned for me. There were so many signs that I experienced beyond what I have already shared, and probably more than I can process that lead me to this decision. 

It really is so simple for me. It’s as simple as saying yes to having a servant heart. 

All I want to do with my life is to help fulfill the Great Commission and to serve the Lord with all that He has blessed me with. 

The Holy Spirit has given me so much peace with my future plans. I have no idea what I’m doing after World Race, but that’s ok because that’s still a year away. 

I would love to chat more about world race if anyone wants to take me out for coffee! I love talking about the future ahead of me with an open heart(:

Love ya’ll, Kate