Hey Team,

Would love any feedback or constructive criticism on if this is a book you would read. Don’t BS me. Tell me the truth.

Here’s my initial synopsis….

Probably not the usual synopsis (tell story from start to finish). I need to work on it some. I just haven’t figured out my entire book arch yet to form a cohesive outline. Maybe I should since I’m already 21K words into my goal of 65K.

So. Here is goes…

– – – – – – – – –

Nine months into the Peace Corp process.Application. Essays. Interview. Nomination. Acceptance. All that’s left to pass is legal, dental, and medical. I pass the legal. I pass the dental. But don’t pass the medical. I wonder why having high cholesterol and blood pressure disqualifies me to work abroad.Then I remember a call from my sister months previous. “Nathan, I was online looking for what you should do with your life, and found this World Race thing. I watched the video. Started crying. You should do it.” Ok, yeah. Thanks Megan.

I didn’t put much stock into it for a couple reasons. One, I was already locked in to the Peace Corps process. And two, my sister could be emotional at times. Sometimes emotion is needed when the Lord is speaking though. Little did I know that phone would start the journey of a lifetime.

The World Race is a bait n’ switch.

A real good one at that. It’s a mission trip to 11 countries in 11 months… and not your typical missions experience. They get 21-35 year old something’s who want to change the world, but the Lord ends up breaking them in the process. And we all go through stages on The Race.

First stop – abandonment. Yay. Followed by brokenness. Super. Next step, dependency. Finally with the end goals of empowerment and into calling. Being who you were created to be.

What happens when you’re no longer comfortable with comfort, when you’ve become discontent with being content? What does it really mean to follow Jesus?

Surely there has got to be more to this following Christ thing than church on a Sunday. I don’t want to live a sterile Gospel – one devoid of the power and presence of Jesus. Insert Isaiah moment here… “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here I am. Send me!’”

Ah crap. Fine, I’ll go.

What if the kingdom of heaven is actually near? What if the words Jesus to heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons was actually possible? And what if Jesus actually wants to encounter and speak to his kiddos through adventure?

“Living good stories doesn’t come naturally. Maybe, somewhere deep inside of us, we know that our story is important, and that we don’t want to throw it away, but at the same time, left to our own fear and uncertainty many of us would settle for a safe, mediocre story. What does it take to live a good story?” – Prodigal Magazine

Like any good story we’ll need a protagonist. Being narcissistic, and not really knowing anything else to write about, I’ll go ahead and assume this role. Next, we’ll need an antagonist. Hmm…how about cancer to start, some world travel, and a longing for experiencing more of Jesus? Yeah, I think that’ll do.

Now…I don’t know that there’s an exact formula or recipe to this thing – but definitely some key ingredients to move us along in the process. Here’s what I do know. The best stories are ones of transformation. I once was – I now am. I once thought – I now believe.

The Lord took me on an adventure to woo me. He didn’t have to. He took what I already longed for to call me into my identity. And I believe his intent is to do that very same thing with you.

That’s my goal at least. I’m hoping you come along for the journey.