Why the World Race?

I’m having a conversation with an old friend, and they’re asking me about my plans for the fall. I tell them that I’m going on a missions trip called the World Race that goes to 11 different countries over the course of 11 months.

We chat a little more and pretty soon they say “How did you hear about the World Race?” or “What made you decide to go?”

Well, it’s a bit of a story; and I’d like to share it with you.

If you’ve read my bio (https://kaitlynnheil.theworldrace.org/?filename=bio), you know that missions has been on my heart for a while. I have often considered living overseas and doing the Lord’s work there, and over the years I’ve filled out forms indicating interest in a variety of missions opportunities. Be that as it may, between finishing college and needed seasons of personal growth, I never went on a missions trip that was over two weeks long.

During much of this time, one opportunity that intrigued me was the World Race. A mentor had shared with me about it, and it sounded interesting to me. The variety of experiences that it offers, its moderate time frame, the potential for appropriately challenging experiences, and the built-in structure and support of the World Race all seemed like positive aspects.

Today, I still agree that those aspects make the World Race a unique and beneficial opportunity for me personally – perhaps even more so during my current stage of life than in years past. However, if I had to pick one thing about the World Race that resonates with my heart and mind most strongly now; it would probably be the potential for challenging experiences.

“Challenging experiences?” you may ask.

Yes, challenging experiences.

The reality is that I have grown comfortable living where I live and working where I work. This, of course, is not an entirely bad thing in and of itself! But my personal tendency to play it safe, avoid situations where I may fail, and stick to my comfort zone sometimes prevents me from knowing the Lord as intimately as I could.

I look at it this way; Christians are called to walk in faith and to depend on the Lord. Often this includes stepping out and taking risks in order to follow where He leads. In doing this, Christians can grow in intimacy with the Lord in ways that they never would otherwise. My hope is that this trip will provide opportunities to grow through taking new steps within a community of people that is also pursuing the Lord’s heart and His will.

Undoubtedly, there are other reasons that I am looking forward to the World Race as well; but it would take too long to give all of them a fair run down. So here’s a few teasers just to give you an idea…

On the World Race I’m also looking forward to the potential of:

• Gaining mission field experience.

• Learning more about who the Lord is through interacting with diverse people.

• Growing in ways that make me a more fruitful servant of the Lord.

• Investing what God has given me for the benefit of His kingdom.

• Showing others the love of Christ.

• And, of course, the once-in-a-lifetime experience of traveling across multiple continents and living out of a backpack.

Yet, even bearing all of these reasons in mind, I’m mostly excited for this trip because I’m excited for the opportunity to grow closer to the Lord through stepping out in faith.

Please pray that I would be faithful both in the preparation process and abroad, that I would be bold and follow the Lord with abandon, and that I would truly allow the Lord to shape me through this experience.

Thank you for joining in this journey with me.