Hey! My name is Austin Himsel, I am an 18 year old born and raised in New Hampshire who is fresh out of high school. I am committed to taking a semester with WorldRace to Europe this fall!
Why don’t we just start way back in freshman year of high school. I went to a private christian school near the heart of Manchester New Hampshire. I was never truly fond of school, but I am proud to say that it was the place that very much shaped the man of God I am today. Freshman me was always scared of the future, always wondering what he was going to do after all of this was done. But, even though that fear was very real, little fifteen year old Austin was still a freshman with a solid three more years left before that point came. Yet, that fear held on tight throughout sophomore, junior, and most of my senior year. It always seemed to be in the back of my head.
As the years went on I had little glimpses of passion, seemingly a light at the end of the tunnel where I had thought, “This is it, this is what I want to focus my trajectory on.” But without fail, God would always put a block in my path. I had all of these dreams jumbled up into my heart, yet none of them seemed to be connecting the way I thought they would. All I knew, was I wanted to help people. Caring for people, lifting them up, and proclaiming the love of Jesus through my own actions has always been something my soul has admired. So, towards the end of senior year, after much prayer and guidance from the Lord I knew that this is what my life after high school should look like.
In my waiting on what opportunities I would pursue, I did think about missions from time to time. But, as selfish as it sounds, I was always worried about giving up a massive portion of my life to the Kingdom and setting me back in the growth of my own life and development. I just wished there were a way that I could use my gifts in the missions field while also pursing my future. Then boom!My longtime friend, who happened to be a part of WorldRace, introduced me to Gapless Gap-year. In the midst of her telling me all she knew about it, I just had this feeling and one I hadn’t truly felt in a long time. This is where God wants me. I knew deep down that this was where I was meant to be used for the Kingdom and this is where I can effectively use my gifts to show the love of God to the world. The same love that has driven and pushed me to where I write this today. So, I decided to throughly look into the program and all that it offers.
After applying and going through my first call, it seemed as if I just kept getting more and more confirmation from the Lord that this was the place he wanted to use me.
I simply cannot describe how excited I am to pursue God, his people and creation while also being able to launch myself into the life God has for me. This opportunity is nothing short of a blessing in my life and I will treat it as such. I plan to give my all and all in order to be the hands and feet of the Kingdom here on earth. My heart is overwhelmed with gratefulness and a fire that I cannot contain!
Whether you know me or you are just meeting me now through this blog I would encourage you to follow along with me and this journey Christ has me on! By subscribing, following my blog, and supporting me with prayer, I just know that God is going to use me and my group for beautiful things across our seas.
There is also a financial need for this trip! If you do so feel led to, there will be a link at the bottom of this blog that will take you towards my fundraising site. Thank you to you all for reading this, it truly means the world to me to have this amazing opportunity and I am so excited I am able to share it with you :).
In Christ, all for His glory
Austin Himsel
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