Hi again! For my second blog post, I’m going to be telling you about how and why I chose the World Race: a gap year program where I will be spending nine months in Eswatini, Costa Rica, and Thailand spreading the Gospel and being the Lord’s hands and feet. Here’s my story- 

I always hated being asked where I wanted to go to school and what I wanted to do because I didn’t know the answers. The only thing I knew I wanted (or so I thought I wanted) to do was to continue my cheerleading career. Cheer is something that has been part of my life for the past nine years so I knew that continuing it into college was going to keep me comfortable despite not knowing my career plans. I started contacting coaches at schools with successful cheer programs to show my interest. I visited a couple of schools and was invited to attend clinics and practices but never felt completely at home or called to any of the colleges. It wasn't until the country shut down for COVID when I realized that I didn’t need cheer to be comfortable, I just needed a stable relationship with Jesus. 

After I figured out that I didn’t want to cheer after my senior year, college was even less appealing to me. I never desired the whole “college experience” as most high schoolers do. It's a huge social norm in today's society and especially in my area and school to go straight to college after high school and start working towards a degree. However, I didn’t know what I wanted to study so why would I even go? My dad is a successful entrepreneur and therefore has never pressured me into college but I still needed a plan for after I graduated. 

In March of 2020, I had the amazing opportunity to go on a mission trip to Guatemala with my church youth group. We spent a week doing manual labor working to build a facility for girls and their children seeking shelter from their traffickers. We also visited an orphanage and school to interact with locals and spread the love of Jesus. This trip was life-changing for me and helped me to realize that I wanted to pursue some kind of future in mission work and ministry. 

Fast-forward to the end of the summer when it was time to apply to colleges; I applied to the schools I visited when I had the intent of cheering to give myself some options. However, I was still feeling very lost and unsure of my future and began asking God for a sign as to where he is leading me next year. Soon enough, my parents began encouraging me to look into and apply to the World Race Gap Year: a nine-month-long mission trip to three different countries. Believe it or not, my dad actually brought this option up to me when I was a sophomore and I turned my nose up at it. However, this time I began looking deeper into it and decided it was something I was genuinely interested in. While still learning about it and going through the application process, I felt the peace of mind and was so excited about what was ahead of me. At the end of my phone interview, I was informed that I had been accepted and I was over the moon excited to find out that this was God’s plan for me. 

The months leading up to my college decision were full of emotions and frustrations but my favorite and most comforting verse throughout this whole process was Psalm 16:11- 

You make known to me the path of life

    you will fill me with joy in your presence,

    with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

I am so overjoyed that this is where the Lord is leading me. I have no doubt in my mind that this is the path that God has prepared for me. If you would like to donate to my trip please don’t hesitate! I have quite a bit to raise in a little under a year and will be grateful for however you would like to support me in my walk with Jesus. My goal is at the top of my page and I will be doing many fundraisers before my launch next September. If you have any questions or comments about my Gap Year feel free to ask me- I’d love to talk about it with you!! Thank you in advance for your support!

Avery