To say that May 2010 Belmont marketing graduate Joshua Maisner will hit the ground running in his post-college life is a bit of an understatement. In July, Maisner is scheduled to embark on the World Race 2010, a Christian mission trip that travels to 12 countries in 11 months.
Participants live out of a backpack, survive on a limited budget, and find themselves in situations where faith is the only reality to choose from. In partnering with existing missionaries and ministries, World Racers develop relationships with the “least of these” and through acts of service see communities and nations transformed all over the world. Currently, at a training camp in Georgia, Maisner was just named a team leader for the World Race which puts him in charge of six people and their finances. Only 11 out of the 76 participants are chosen as leaders.
Maisner is no stranger to relief work. After starting the United:For Change nonprofit organization on campus last year, he spent the final Spring Break of his Belmont career serving people in Haiti following the devastating earthquake there in January. “I fell in love with the culture and the people.”
Maisner is anxious to return to Haiti, which will be one of his first stops on the World Race before travelling to the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Philippines, Mozambique, Malawi, Pioneer Africa, Turkey and Romania.
“This trip will provide me a better understanding of the very problems and causes I want to dedicate my life to,” Maisner said. “I’m excited to see the diversity in cultures and the different ways countries and communities overcome problems.”
Maisner is still raising funds for his World Race, which typically costs about $15,000 and covers all of his food, lodging and air, land and sea travel. It also covers administrative costs, setup costs, coaching costs, debrief costs, and training prior to and at the start of the Race. To donate, learn more about his trip or follow his blog, visit joshuamaisner.theworldrace.org. The World Race was started by Adventures In Missions (AIM), an interdenominational missions organization that was established in 1989, and has taken more than 80,000 people into the mission field.
