"Why the hay bales would Harlie choose to go on a mission trip?" is probably what some of my family and friends are wondering, perhaps not that exact verbiage, but, you know. Well, ladies and gentlemen... that's a great question. Because if I'm being completely honest, I don't even know how I started thinking about this adventure. I simply can't remember. But, I can tell you why I chose to join the Development Route. It's kind of a simple story, really.

One night, after I decided that I was really going to do this thing, I went online and seriously looked at the different routes. I went through, route by route, country by country, and read what the World Race website had to say as far as general descriptions and the ministry focuses for each. Every route is exceptional and would offer me growth in my faith, perspective on life, and as a person overall. But I noticed that every country in Route 3 had children's ministry as a focus. As some of you may know, I want to major in youth ministry in college and hope to become a youth pastor. Thus, this route seemed like a logically sound choice. In the end, though, God should be the one to choose, so I prayed. And something seemed to just tug me towards this route, I felt something inside of me that I can't really explain when I considered Route 3.

So, here I am. A few short weeks away from training camp and I cannot wait. I'm beyond excited to meet my fellow racers and start forming face-to-face relationships with them. Thus I'd like to thank the good Lord that I am blessed with this opportunity and for the amazing people supporting and rooting for me!

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! - Harlie :)