Racing to serve
By Heidi Heater, a senior from Jackson, Ky.
WILMORE, KY—Caitlin Woodward ’06 and five other team members are “running the race” to share the gospel around the world in one year.
Woodward signed with Adventures in Missions to participate in World Race. After undergoing training, she and her teammates left in September 2007 to serve in a different country every month for the next 11 months.
“This opportunity will allow me to dip my feet in His work around the globe while learning more about His people and their needs,” Woodward said before her trip. “I look forward to being His voice and heart to the nations while using the skills He’s given me throughout the years.”
Woodward and her team spent time in a nine-month rehabilitation center for women who suffer from drug addiction in Alajuelita, Costa Rica. For the first two weeks at the center, Woodward didn’t know the stories of the women’s past.
“The first day they became family and nothing could change that,” she said in her blog. “In fact, I never thought of them as drug addicts. God’s love in them and their tender spirits were too bright; I couldn’t see or judge their past. God gave me new eyes and a new heart to see how He sees and feels.”
Through her time ministering and serving, Woodward believes she has learned more about the loving others, the benefits of community and discipleship in her own life.
“I’ve learned that I don’t have all the answers, but I am a constant student of God’s grace and presence in my life,” Woodward said. “I’ve learned more about the gifts He’s given me and being empowered by the Spirit to bring Kingdom to earth.”
Woodward and her team visited Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Hong Kong/China, South Africa, Swaziland, Costa Rica and Panama. The team plans to visit Nicaragua and possibly Guatemala before returning in July.
Although originally designed as a race, the goal changed over the course of the trip because of time and money limitations. However, the main purpose to tell others about the life changing power of Jesus hasn’t changed.
“The heart of the ‘race’ was to send young believers into the nations and trust in God’s voice and draw closer to Him in radical ways,” Woodward said. “Faith and dependence on God for housing, food, transportation or ministry contacts then becomes a lifestyle of trusting and living fully on His direction and in His heart.”
Released: June 17, 2008
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Tagged: features, missions and cross-cultural-opportunities
