Decisions Decisions

I have been going through a whirlwind of emotions lately. It’s not a secret that for the world as a whole the coronavirus is in full effect. So, naturally, a lot of people who I have been reaching out to have asked how that would impact my world race 11n11 journey. Up until recently I didn’t have any real concrete answers. My only response was “I’m trying to stay confident in the preparation and they will let us know the beginning of August.” So, August 3rd came and my squad and I were very eager to find out some much needed answers. When the email finally came in it wasn’t the clear cut answer I was hoping for. After reading the entire email which was not short by any means, I was left with a choice to make. The update left more questions than answers. I had so many options and only a week to decide what my best course of action was going to be for essentially the next year of my life. 

The first option was to stay on the October route. Which, now due to everything going on in the world, means changes will have to be made and it will no longer be the original international route that I signed up for. It will start the first 3 months in the United States partnering with some of our well established mission partners. Some of the potential places we would be serving in would be Chicago, Pittsburgh, Wisconsin, North Carolina or Atlanta. Then in January, if things open back up, we would travel internationally to Central America (starting in Guatemala), South America (starting in Ecuador) and South Asia (starting in Thailand). 

The second option was to postpone until one of the January routes, that would be strictly international, Covid- 19 permitting. In choosing this option I would still need to make a second sub decision on whether to go the Classic route ( which is primarily with our local ministry partners who are well-established in their communities), Expedition-Style (which would involve sharing the gospel with unreached people groups and developing new ministry partners), or Unscripted Route (consists of seeking God’s guidance daily to show His direction, with no pre-planned ministry schedule). If that’s not diverse enough, every different variation has 11 different countries. 

The third and final option was to defer to August 2021. Which, at this time, still has yet to be officially released. The sub options for this launch are Pacific Rim Route, Global South Route, or Expedition Route. Once again each different route is going through 11 different countries. 

I had a huge decision to make. My original expectation for this email was they were going to tell us how to proceed, not give us a pretty weighty dilemma. There were so many pros and cons to every choice. I’m generally uncomfortable making decisions, even small ones like where to eat for dinner when I’m with people. I have a tendency to try not to rock the boat. In this situation though, no matter what I chose, everyone on my original squad will be affected. Needless to say there was a lot of time spent in prayer and seeking the direction of God.  

In the end I realized most of my pros and cons were rooted in selfish intentions, wanting to stay with the people that I have built a community with, wanting to spend more time with my family, and wanting more time to feel financially ready to name a few.  I needed to ask what God wanted for me. When I finally listened to His answer it was clear. He called me to originally go and serve starting in October. Nothing that has happened has come as a surprise to Him. He told me when we started this journey that He was in control and it took this time to remember that. To realign my trust back on Him and not of the uncertainty of this world. 

The choice for everyone on my squad has been made for different reasons, but all following God’s will. It has been a joy growing alongside these brothers and sisters in Christ and even though it is unsettling that we are dividing to different routes, God is still getting the glory in every decision.

-Elizabeth