Will You Go?

“Are you willing to go and build My kingdom or will you continue building yours?” – God

    Wow, talk about a stop-me-in-my-tracks moment! I heard God ask this as I was listening to the song, “Build Your Kingdom Here” by Rend Collective and praying about applying for the World Race mission trip. To be honest, it stunned me. Am I not striving to build His kingdom here? I absolutely love where I am in life! I am already working in the first phase of my dream job (equine ministry for at-risk youth) at The Right Path, plugging into an amazing church where I also serve with youth, and spending quality time with my family and community. Life is right on track with my plan!

    BUT. Plot twist. (In case you haven’t already figured it out, God likes to do those!)

    I first heard about the World Race several years ago. Traveling to 11 countries in 11 months, serving and sharing the gospel sounded AMAZING! However, I was in college and felt like the timing just wasn’t right. I forgot about it until last July when my older brother recommended that I look into going on one of the trips. To be honest, my first response was still no because I felt my life was heading where I wanted to go. However, thoughts of the World Race just wouldn’t go away… I prayed about it for months, sought wise guidance, and researched it, yet still didn’t have a clear direction.

    In January, God used the question about building His kingdom to confirm that 2020 is the year for me to step out of my comfortable, carefully planned, organized, and color-coded spreadsheet life. So, I applied for the World Race’s Expedition trip. I was 100% fine with going or staying, and I had the full support of my friends and family either way. When I got the acceptance call just days later, I had my answer. I will spend 2020 traveling from Australia to Morocco with the World Race missions organization!   

    “The World Race is a stretching journey to serve “the least of these” while among real and raw community. This unique mission trip is a challenging adventure for young adults to abandon worldly possessions and a traditional lifestyle in exchange for an understanding that it’s not about you; it’s about the Kingdom.”  www.worldrace.org

    I’ll travel on the Expedition Route with a squad of 40-50 other young adults and spend one month in each of these 11 countries: Australia, Indonesia, India, Nepal, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Spain, and Morocco. This particular route focuses on countries that fall within the 10/40 Window. In and around this area live the world’s least evangelized, most unreached people groups in terms of Christian missions.

    While our primary goal is to share the gospel and love of Christ in this window, my squad and I will also be doing a wide variety of service activities. We will be teaching English, evangelizing, leading Bible studies, building relationships, investing in students, job training, and conducting outreaches.

    Here’s the thing though…there is absolutely no way I can do this Race alone! I must raise a minimum of $20,500. This covers all practical costs for the Race, but I will have some additional costs along the way, so raising even more would be a tremendous blessing. I need a team for this adventure, and I want you to be on it! I may be the one in field, but it is your support that gets me there and keeps me going.

    Would you like to fill one of these roles on my team?

• Prayer Warrior – commit to praying specifically for the 5 requests listed below

• Financial Supporter – give financially one time, monthly, $5, $5,000 – it all helps! Visit my blog victoriagroves.theworldrace.org to donate online. Your contribution goes towards my trip costs through Adventures in Missions (World Race is one of its programs) and is fully tax-deductible. You can also send it directly to me at the contact info below.

• Personal Connector – help me raise support by sharing my blog and posts, speaking to your community on my behalf, or referring people to me whom I can personally contact

• Event Host – is party/event planning your thing? Fundraiser dinner, garage/bake sale, 5k/bike ride, contest, ice cream social, movie night, dance party, rubber duck race…you name it, let’s do it!

• Salesman – how good are you at selling t-shirts, bracelets, notebooks, etc.?

    I cannot wait to see how God chooses to work during the months leading up to my departure in January and the following 11 months of the Race! It feels a little like diving in the deep end, but I believe God has been preparing me for it and I am absolutely thrilled to run with Him! Although I have a feeling God has way more in store than I can even imagine, I do have 5 main goals/prayers for the Race:

1. My squad will be united and filled with grace for each other and those we serve

2. Our eyes will be opened to see the world as He sees it

3. Our faith will be challenged, strengthened, and grown

4. Our lives will be a reflection of God’s love and mercy to everyone we meet

5. Most of all, the gospel will be conveyed clearly and accepted wholeheartedly

    Thank you for partnering with me in this incredible journey through your faithful prayers and generous support! I really can’t fully express how grateful I am for the friends, family, and community God has given me, and how much your support means to me. Please feel free to contact me anytime for more information. I’d love to visit with you in person too, so don’t hesitate to call or text and let’s get together soon!

Many blessings,

Victoria L. Groves

2020 Expedition Route World Racer