Attention Please! I Have an Announcement

As the Thai school year came to a close in the beginning of April I looked into my near future.  It was completely void of any plans, any direction.  It was a scary place to be.  When I initially decided not to return to GES for a third year it was because of the World Traveler Internship.  I put all my eggs in that basket, I had to, and you know how that worked out.

    That’s not to say that I havn’t enjoyed myself for the last few months.  My summer was pretty incredible and full of adventures.  But I always felt unease in the truth that I had absolutely no idea what was next for me.  Now, I do.

    On July 1, 2011 I will be joining dozens of other young people in the July squad of THE WORLD RACE.  So what is this world race? Well, it’s NOT the same as The Amazing Race.  In fact, I’m not sure why they call it a race at all.  In reality it’s an 11 month, 11 country mission trip. For almost a year I will be traveling with a squad of around 60 young men and women (spilt into teams of 6 or 7). We will be participating in service projects like house building and yard cleaning.  We will be working in soup kitchens, playing with orphans, hosting camps, teaching English and befriending women caught up in the sex trade.  But most of all it will be an opportunity to share the love I’ve found in Jesus.  A time where I can initiate change and be changed. I have to admit, it scares me a bit.  For a good portion of the 11 months I will be sleeping in a tent or on the floor in my sleeping bag and partaking in cold bucket showers.  All my possessions will be stored in a backpack and my clothes will seldom be washed.  It’s definitely not the level of comfort most Americas enjoy. 

So where will we be going?  Well, I don’t know yet, and I probably wont for a couple months, but to give you an idea here are the routes for the two January races.

Route 1:

India

Nepal

Indonesia

Malaysia

Australia

South Africa

Mozambique

Swaziland

Romania

Ukraine

Ireland

Route 2:

Haiti

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

Peru

Bolivia

Cambodia

Indonesia

Thailand

Tanzania

Kenya

Uganda

   As with all things however, this trip is not free. AIM (the org that created the world race) expects us racers to fund raise our support.  That’s scarier to me than sleeping on any cockroach infested dirt floor (and that’s pretty scary).  I chose not to go on trips in the past because fundraising scared my THAT MUCH.  For some reason this time though, I feel like I can do it, and that’s particularly amazing considering how much we have to raise.  Are you ready for this?  We have to raise $14,300.  Yikes!  That’s a new car!  But really the cost makes sense.  It includes all transportation once the race begins, food, lodging and some other various costs. 

   I know you’re all probably thinking “who does she think she is? She’ll never get that much money!”  I know it because I’ve thought it before.  I thought it when I first heard about the race last October.  I thought it when I randomly ran into a World Race team in the Kuala Lumpur airport last April, and I thought it when my friend Erin told me she would be doing the race this January.  The fact is, I don’t deserve for people to just give me their money.  I know that.  But I also know God can do big things.  I see this race as an opportunity for many to stir change in the world.  This person acting is nothing without the people funding.  It’s a vital partnership and it is the only way to stir change.

Over the next 9 months I’m going to be fund raising in several ways.  From support letters to the more tangible “traditional” fundraisers, and I would love it if you came on this journey with me.

   Soon I will be setting up a new blog through the World Race site.  When I have the link I will be posting it both here and on facebook.  There you can get all updates concerning my fundraising, our travel route, and anything else to do with my race.  I wont be neglecting this blog though, it will still be up and running, just with different content than my race blog.

Whiew! If you made it all the way through this mammoth post, thank you for reading.  I’m really excited about this journey I have ahead and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Take a look at this promo video for the race.  It only gives a glimpse of the program, but it's enough.