BY ANGEL KANE
We’ve all had that feeling where deep in the pit of your stomach, something doesn’t feel quite right. You feel there is more you should be doing. You feel where you are now is not the place for you. Some heed the call, others don’t. Most everyone, at some point in their life, wishes they had.
For Lebanon resident, Christina Eichler, that feeling came early as she had recently checked off all the right boxes; college degree, her own place, secure job, on track for a promotion. Yet by mid-June she was scouring the internet looking for a way to bring together her two passions: her love of traveling and her love for God.
“I’ve always had a desire to do something diff erent in my life. ‘Life is too short to live the same day twice’ is one of my favorite quotes. It wasn’t long before I found exactly what I was looking for when I was introduced to The World Race,” expounds Christina.
The World Race is an 11 month, 11 country mission program, organized by Adventures in Missions. Beginning in January, Christina and her squad will travel to countries in Europe, Africa and Asia including Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, South Africa, Mozambique, Swaziland, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia and the Phillipppines.
Once they arrive in each country, they will set up camp, disperse into teams of 6 to 8 and then partner with a church or mission located in that country full-time. Their job will be to do whatever may be needed including plant churches, work in orphanages, minister to men, women and children, provide labor on construction projects and, more importantly, share God’s love everyday with everyone they encounter.
“This is an exciting and, yet, terrifying decision. I will be trading my car for a pair of hiking sandals, my apartment for a tent, my bed for the sleeping bag, the known for the unknown. Yet, I truly feel like this is where I am called to go in the next season of my life.”
Christina will be updating our Wilson Living Magazine readers on our Facebook page as she begins her journey in January of 2014. She will also be blogging about her mission at http://christinaeichler.theworldrace.org.
“Prayers are the number one way for people to get involved and support. But I am also raising money for the mission whose total cost is $16,250. To donate, people can go directly to my blog and under my picture is a link to “Support Me!” Donations can be made online or by mail, one-time or monthly. The deadline for to be fully-funded is at the end of June 2014.”
For those of you, who’ve heard the calling and followed it, you know Christina is about to embark on a journey that will not only serve others, but will also serve her well for the rest of her life. For those of you, who’ve heard the calling but have not yet followed it, it’s never too late. You sometimes just have to close your eyes and take that fi rst step.
As we share Christina’s adventure this coming year with our readers, we hope her first step will lead many, including us, to take our very own.