Why am I Going on the World Race?

That is the big question when it comes to this whole trip. That is the question that my family and friends tend to ask when they hear that I’m taking such a large step when it comes to my faith. Even I ask myself this very question.

Now to start off, missions has become a real passion of mine. I believe that God placed in me a desire to reach out to the ends of the earth and spread the gospel – and he made it apparent to me at a young age. I went on my first mission trip to Ecuador at the age of 13 and it changed the course of my life drastically. For context, prior to this trip I had never taken any big risks with my faith, the most I had done is help with the Bible school program at my church. Even that felt like a lot at the time. However, I decided that I wanted something more. Because of my newfound go-getter attitude, I decided to commit to the mission trip to Quito, Ecuador. I almost backed out of going on this trip because I was completely and utterly terrified of leaving my family and sharing the gospel – both being pretty uncomfortable things. Nonetheless, I prayed, and prayed some more, and finally felt an inkling of peace that only God could provide. I went on the trip and felt God working through me continuously. It felt like I was learning more about God and who he truly is than I ever had before. I can safely say that this single faith-filled step changed my outlook on my faith completely.

After the Ecuador trip I went on a couple more mission trips and events with my church. I even became a youth group leader for middle schoolers. Taking risks in my faith became something I sought after continually.

Fast-forward to this year. I’m a senior in high school and my faith is continuously growing and I’m looking for more opportunities to further God’s kingdom. Then I heard about this World Race Gap Year where you get to spread the gospel with people who may have never heard it before and do good works for the glory of God. It almost felt surreal because it lined up perfectly with what my experiences in the church prepared me for. I prayed a lot about whether this trip really was right for me, because it was a whole nine months long, which is way longer than any trip I had ever done before. A verse stuck with me that solidified my mindset on going. 1 Peter 4:10 says, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

I may not be sure about a lot of things, but I am sure about one. I know that God has a plan for me and the rest of the members of the World Race that is beyond our understanding. He is bringing each member of our group together and I know for a fact that we will be used in incredible ways. That is why I committed to World Race. I want to see God work not only in my life, but in the lives of those all around the world. I truly believe that the World Race is an amazing vessel to help do that.

Thank you so much for reading my first post. I hope you follow along throughout my trip as I will be posting more blogs and updates on the trip.

-Gabriel Day