Why am I going on The World Race? That is a great question, not one that can be answered simply. Let’s start at the beginning. Before I heard about The Race a couple months ago, I was pretty comfortable in my life. I was working 2 jobs pulling over 50 hours a week, and I enjoyed my work for the most part. My original plan before the Lord called me to the race was this: Continue working my job at Starbucks for the next few years, and begin college through the plan Starbucks has. They reimburse you for the majority, if not all of your tuition. So it is a great opportunity. However, I felt like I was settling for less. I felt like I didn’t really want to go to college, nor know what I would study when I went. I was never good at school, so college wasn’t my first choice. I had already looked at the military about a year ago, and know the Lord wasn’t calling me into that life. But I know that God has perfect timing. He spends time working with us, forging us into what He wants us to be. I believe that is what the Lord did this past year for me, He put me in a position where I would have to disconnect the virtual world I lived in for the majority of my teenage years, and brought me into the real world. He put me in positions where my comfort zone would be tested, I would have to talk to hundreds of people a day, learn so many new things, and push myself to work harder than I ever had in my life.
About a year ago, I was depressed, searching for something meaningful, and I believe God felt it was time for me to know Him better. I had to hit rock bottom to realize that the Lord is all I need in my life. I was extremely introverted and living fully in my sin. I had grown up Christian my whole life, but never really took it seriously, or evaluated what I believed and why I believed it. After getting serious about the Lord about a year ago, sitting in church crying by myself because I didn’t truly know Jesus, and realizing He is what I need to live my life for, I have finally found The World Race.
At the current point in my life I believe this is what the Lord wants for me. I believe that he has been preparing me this last year to take my faith more seriously. I feel that this part of my life is a transitioning period. I am a boy, wanting things quick and easy, getting easily frustrated, and failing a lot. I know I’m going to go through trials that are going to refine me into a man. A man that can rely fully on the providence and love of the Lord to sustain him. A man that can take care of a family, hold a steady job, and live for Christ. This isn’t going to be easy by any means, but I know that the Lord wants this from me. And I believe that accepting The World Race is a big step into transitioning to a man.
I have grown up in the city of Tucson, Arizona my whole life. I’ve been outside of Arizona 1 time; last summer on my first ever vacation. We wen’t to San Diego. I believe the Lord wants to show me just how big His creation is, take away the veil from my eyes and show me that there’s a whole world outside of my little bubble.
So all in all, I am going on The World Race to serve the Lord, to trust in Him to provide for me, to strengthen my faith, to grow up as a man, and to see the world our heavenly Father has created. Thank you all for your support, if you are able to donate, it would help more than you could ever know. Thank you, -Justin Seibert 🙂
