The World Race’s so Nice, I’m Gonna do it TWICE

As I’m sure you gathered from the title… I’M DOING THE RACE AGAIN! Sort of. I’ve been invited back as an alumni team leader for Gap Year this fall! I will only be out for three months instead of nine this time so I can help the racers as a mentor and friend who’s been where they are and knows what they’re experiencing their first few months. I have such a passion for mentorship and discipleship among believers and this is such an amazing opportunity to step into an intentional time of living that out. If you had asked me two months ago if I would’ve even considered coming back the answer would have been the most resounding NO. I was dead set on starting college and being home for a while with the family and friends that I haven’t stopped missing since I left and being able to watch my brother’s junior season of college football and just all the things I felt so entitled to. PLOT TWIST: God had other plans in mind and who am I to tell him no? 

I’m definitely not doing this because I caught the travel bug or because I enjoy living out of a backpack and never knowing where I’m going or what I’m doing until I’m there and doing it. I am going to miss another round of fall birthdays (I LOVE birthdays so this is a hard one), another football season, postpone college for another semester, and miss another Thanksgiving at home but if God has taught me anything in the past couple years it’s that HE. IS. WORTH. IT.  Yes, I am so excited and humbled to be able to come back in a leadership position and lead racers who are where I was eight months ago, Lord knows how bad I needed my leaders at that time, but I’m also a little bit sad to leave again, nervous I won’t be a good enough leader, and I’m not really looking forward to fundraising again (help a girl out, my Venmo is alex_west25 and PayPal is PayPal.Me/alexhwest and you should be able to donate on my world race page pretty soon!) Despite all these pros and cons, the main reason I said yes is because God asked me to. In Costa Rica I was desperately homesick about 105% of the time. I couldn’t FaceTime my family/best friend without crying for way too long afterwards. This was such an issue because I knew/know without a shadow of a doubt that overseas missions is a passion that the Lord has given me and something I know I will spend a good portion of my life pursuing and I could not fathom feeling the way that I did then every time I leave home for extended periods of time. In November I made a promise to myself and God that I would never say no to him because of the fear of missing out on something at home. I kept that promise when I said yes to alumni team leading.

This isn’t necessarily going to help me work toward my future goals, I don’t get any scholarship money or college credit from it, and I have absolutely no idea what is going to happen during those three months, but one thing I know for sure is that God wants me back out on the field during that time and that he will teach me things I couldn’t have learned at home. I’m going into this with the mindset of a leader and a learner. I know I have wisdom, experience, and truth to share with my new team and at the same time I am so ready and open to learn so much from them, the Lord, and whoever we cross paths with along the way. THIS IS GOING TO BE SO BITTER SWEET!

Now, I do still get home in June and have the summer to process the last nine months and get ready for another three: a much needed time. I will be fundraising (but gone too much and only home for such a small amount of time I can’t get a summer job) so if I could babysit, dogsit, water your plants while you’re gone or even keep your hamsters company for you I would be more than willing! I’ll be posting about fundraisers soon but feel free to email, text, or call me in the meantime with any questions or if you just want to talk! Thanks so much for all the support and checking in, it means so much to me!