grateful

Wow. I cannot believe that I’m coming on here to write a “goodbye World Race” blog. My journey as a missionary with the World Race turned into one that was so much longer, so much sweeter, so much harder, so much more growing and so much greater than I ever could have imagined. 

If I could sum it all up in one blog I would. I know, however, that nothing will ever fully communicate how blessed I have been by this season of my life. 

It’s been nearly 2 years since I started this thing in January 2020. 3 if you count the amount of time since I was committed to the race. 18 months of ministry “on the field”. 83 squad mates – including mentors, coaches, leaders and dear friends. 8 different teams. 11 different countries. 23 hosts. 18+ different ministry organizations. I’ve slept in countless numbers of hostels, airports, hotels, bus stations and people’s homes (not to mention the months spent sleeping in my tent). I’ve traveled by plane, bus, boat, motorcycle, van, tuk-tuk, train, truck and often times my own two feet. I’ve been able to worship in churches all over the world and witness the different ways that people praise our Heavenly Father. I’ve been blessed to feed the hungry, pray for the hurting, comfort the mourning and see God move in ways that I never could. I’ve laughed and cried harder than ever before and grown an inexplicable amount and I’ve learned that the world is SO much bigger and more beautiful than I ever could have dreamed. 

When I look back over this past season of my life, my heart bursts with gratitude. I praise my Heavenly Father that He trusts me enough to be His hands and feet here on earth. I thank Him for His provision, His protection, His love, His grace, His mercy. I praise Him that He’s a God of abundance who gave me infinitely more than I could have ever dreamed or imagined (Ephesians 3:20). I thank Him for the growth, for the hard times and the good times, for the adventures and the memories that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I praise Him for the people that I have met all over the world who I can now call family. 

I thank you, reader. I thank you for the prayers, the support, the financial provision. Thank you for following along, for the encouraging texts, the blog comments, the incredibly generous donations. I feel beyond blessed that the Lord provided me with such an incredibly supportive community. I absolutely could not have done this without each of you and it meant so much that I got to share in the joy of this journey.

I already know that I am going to struggle putting into words what the past two years have meant to me. I don’t really know if I will ever truly be able to. But if I could share one of the greatest things that I have learned on the Race it would be God’s love. 

It sounds simple; and in some ways, it is. But it is also complex and mysterious – our greatest treasure. God’s love is vast and indescribable. It’s unfailing and pure and merciful and gracious and perfect. His love for us is patient and kind. It never gives up on us, never loses faith, it endures through ever circumstance. His love for us is unlike anything we have ever experienced

“The love of the Lord remains forever” (psalm 103:17) this is our greatest reality.

The greatest thing I have learned on the race is that no matter how much you think that you understand God’s love, there is still more to uncover. There is still more for you to receive. He will continue to lavish upon you more love than you could ever imagine, and much more than you could ever think you are worthy of or deserve. 

Throughout every country and place that I have journeyed to over the past two years, the Lord has continually told me, “Annie, tell them about my love”. Through this I have seen small glimpses of the intricacy and fervency in which the Lord pursues His beloved people. It is beautiful. Life-changing. And as I would go out to tell people of His love, whether it was through words, actions, letters or gifts, He would also continue to lavish more of His love upon me. I cannot believe how good the Lord is. 

I still cannot wrap my mind around the extent of His pursuit of us. The ways He seeks each of us out individually. The fact that every place I’ve gone, from Indonesia to Honduras to Lesotho, is a magnificent display of what He created for us and the ways in which He crafted us. No matter how far we run, how hard we try to avoid or deny it, the Lord’s love will find us. 

All we have to do is have eyes to see the Father’s love and a heart to receive it. This gift will change everything about what we believe about ourselves and the way that we live our lives. 

I believe that this is, at least one of, the biggest take aways from my time on the World Race. I hope and pray that the rest of my life is spent 1. Continually growing in deeper understanding of the extent of God’s pursuit and what His love means for me and 2. Helping other people, in whatever ways that I can, understand this for themselves. 

I leave the World Race extremely thankful for what has been and extremely hopeful for what the Lord has in store. I will never tire of telling of the Lord’s love and how it has and continues to deeply impact my life. What a privilege it is to boast about the Lord’s goodness. 

“but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 9:24

So much love and many, many blessings,

Annie