I was just five years old when I knew what my calling was. I remember that night vividly. It was a fall evening and my window was cracked open, I could feel the cool breeze in my bedroom. My parents tucked me in, all snuggled in tightly in my cozy bed with my nose frozen from the wind. I shut my eyes and began to pray as I did every night, but when I did this time something was different... I heard a warm voice say to me "Keerstin, I want you to be a missionary." I ran downstairs in my polka dot pj's to my parents, confused yet excited to tell them what had just happened. I asked them "What is a missionary?" I had no idea what the definition of that word was. My parents both looked at each other and said, "How do you even know that word?" I looked at them and smiled and said, "Well God just spoke to me and told me that's what he wants me to be." 

Ever since that night, my life changed. I have had this intense passion for being a missionary for when I grow up. I made it my life mission to serve others. No matter where I'm at in the world because everyone needs love and to be shown kindness, especially in our world today. People halfway across the world and even in my community right now need to be shown God's love. I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus. I love the feeling of serving others, there's none like it. The empathy and emotion I feel is something I want to be doing for the rest of my life.

It was January of 2020 and I started to have a little tiny midlife crisis because all my friends knew what they wanted to do after school and I had none. College, trades, or the military is usually the typical of what people do after high school. I looked into all three and was like "oh shoot dawg, I have no idea!" My uncle mentioned to me about just doing a gap year and traveling before I settle down with college. I looked up on google "gap year programs" and there were the three words that jumped out at me on the computer screen, The World Race. I clicked on the website and I immediately felt a connection with this organization. I honestly have never experienced that emotion run through my body of excitement so heavily. I ran to my parents like I did 13 years ago and told them about it. We talked and I went to bed that night so alive and ready for the next day, but between us though... I stayed up till 3 in the morning reading blogs and watching vlogs of people going on the race. I feel in love with everything about it, the community, the purpose. I couldn't stop learning about it that night.

The next day I was scrolling through instagram and I followed this page called the living free project, and this girl shared her testimony on why she went on The World Race. I started getting emotional because everything she said was exactly what was going on with me during that time. I knew it wasn't a coincidence that I saw that, it was a sign. So, I spent the next couple months really praying about it and doing my research. I thought if I applied and got accepted then this is truly what the Lord wants me to do. And so I did and I am so blessed to be able to get to have this experience. 

I have a feeling this trip is going to change my life and I'm so ready for it. I think it's going to be challenging and hard, but going to be the most rewarding because I get to teach others about the Lord and not even teach but show God's love by our actions to people who need it so badly. And, I get to do that with a team I hope to build relationships with and be on this beautiful pilgrimage we've ever experienced so far in our lives.

Thank you so much for reading this and I will be posting more blogs about fundraising opportunities. My social medias are:

Instagram: keerstin.pelow

Facebook: Keerstin Pelow

Venmo: @Keerstin-Pelow

Also, if the Lord has something heavy on my heart I'd love to write on here to you all. So, until next time - Kp