Hey guys welcome to blog time with hallie!!!  Bear with me as I am not very poetic and this is probably going to sound like word vomit...because it is.

So, why am I doing what I am doing? Why am I not going to college right away? Am I stupid? Did I not get accepted anywhere? Am I running away from my problems?? No, I am not stupid, Yes, I did get accepted to college. No, I am not running away from my problems. I am running towards them actually. The simple answer to the question “ why in the world are you doing this”,  is because God called me here. I told God that my future was in his hands, and this is what he did with it.

However you came to my blog so you probably want to know how and why I feel so called to the World Race, so here yah go: I have gone to a  college prep school since third grade. This isn't a fancy private school.  It's not a school that you have to apply to get into. It's simply a school that puts a lot of emphasis on college. Getting into college, preparing for college, picking a college, placing all your worth and happiness into your gpa and ACT scores, you know, the normal things that you should be introducing kids to in elementary school. There is nothing wrong with college, that is the perfect route for a lot of people. College has a lot of value, and I plan to attend a university some day. Up until this year however, that was not my view of college. I hated the idea of it. I would pout at college visits. I would play Webkinz (kaseykoala7, add me) instead of compiling a list of colleges I was interested in. I would do everything I could to run away from this quickly approaching topic of college. I hated it. Didn't want to go, but didn't want to not go. I was stuck. None of the options given to me sat right with me, and I didn't know why.

One day I was sitting in study hall scrolling through my instagram explore page, as one does when avoiding math homework, and I came across the page of a World Racer. I clicked on the picture of what looked like a girl having the time of her life, and started to look at her feed. As I stalked her World Race pictures, I started to cry. Listen. I never cry. I'm not saying that to brag, or act tough. I'm saying this because it takes very strong emotions to make me cry (and the visual of me crying in class is kinda funny). Anyways. I felt a feeling that I had never felt before. An overwhelming peace and excitement, a call. God was telling me that this was my future. I started to envision my future with the World Race in it, and the pieces fit together. I was suddenly excited about the future, for once. I was excited to go to college after the World Race. I began to pray about it, and ask God if this actually where he wanted me to be. He didn't take away that call, and confirmed that this is where I was meant to be. God had revealed his plan for my future in my fourth hour study hall, and I haven't doubted it since.

I could have easily committed to the college acceptances I have. I could have taken the scholarships I have received, and took the comfortable way out. A path where I didn't have $16,000 of fundraising hanging over my head. Honestly, sometimes I wish I could. Both of these doors were open to me. I opened the door to college, but God opened the door to the World Race. College might sound nice now, but I know that if I did go, I wouldn't be happy. God promises us joy if we follow his plan. He doesn't promise it will be easy. Leaving my friends and family will be hard. Living in a completely new culture will be hard, but I can do everything with Christ who gives me strength and I am ready for God to mold me into the woman that he destined for me to be. I am ready to bring God to people who have never seen him. I want to let people know that the creator of the universe loves them, and has secured a spot for them in Heaven. I want my faith to be beneficial to not only me, but to others as well.

So, what exactly am I doing?? Well. I am going to pack my life into a backpack and travel with a group of strangers to Costa Rica, South Africa, Thailand and Myanmar. Once there, we are going to teach English, pray for communities, build relationships with orphans and victims of sex trafficking, anything that we can do to fulfill the spiritual and current needs of the community. We will be shedding the light of the Lord in the darkness of the world.

As I prepare to leave in September of 2018, I will be seeking support, both financially and spiritually. While the financial side of this fundraising journey seems daunting, it is equally as important as the prayer that I will need. God is a miracle worker. I know he will provide, and I thank each and every one of you for supporting me by even reading this blog post. Praise the Lord for allowing #joketimewithhallie to truly go international. Peace and blesssings from your world racer gal hal hehe.