KHARI’S CALLING Khari Johnson ‘10 needed to find something more out of life. God showed her the way.
She aspired to take more mission trips while at UCLA, but since she graduated early, she didn’t find the time, as her parents told her to focus on finishing school. Then, considering she assimilated into the working world immediately after graduation, Johnson never got the chance to tackle her next adventure. “I’m excited to see the world and travel and really understand different cultures and how we live compared to others. I want to see how I can contribute to the lives of others.” Johnson said that her current job has been nothing but supportive, even helping her to raise the over $16,000 she needed for the 11-month backpacking trip. Her job also informed her that her position would be waiting when she gets back.
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hari Johnson has a gift for looking ahead.
After graduating from Orange Lutheran in 2010, she earned her degree in communications from UCLA a year early, graduating in 2013. Her next step would be a fast track into the world of marketing, as she landed a job working for world renowned chef Wolfgang Puck at age 22. But after a year working in the “industry,” which includes celebrity clients and high profile, Hollywood events, Johnson took a step back for a change. Subsequently, she began moving forward in a different direction.
On June 30, Johnson kicked off her participation in the World Race, an 11-month Christian mission trip that spans 11 countries worldwide. Her 11 stops will be, in order: Albania, Romania, Malawi, Zambia, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. “When I was graduating college, I just prayed, whether I got the dream job, whether I was going to travel, or do mission trips, I just asked God to make it clear for me.” Khari Johnson ‘10
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Serving also helped me step outside of just focusing on myself, and I realized how much time I spent worrying about my own ‘needs’ when there are others who I could be focusing on and helping.” Kendall Schmidt, ‘17
Johnson has already begun to update her blog, kharijohnson. theworldrace.org, with content revolving around experiences from the mission trip, which she will return from in May. “I feel like this is what I’m supposed to do. My strength might not be telling people about God, but it is listening and being there and caring for people.”
“When I was graduating college, I just prayed,” Johnson said. “Whether I got the dream job, whether I was going to travel, or do mission trips, I just asked God to make it clear for me.”
“I have no idea what my mindset will be when I get back. A year of serving people, I might want to be a full-time missionary.
Out of college, Johnson landed a job in marketing with Umami Burger before moving on to work with Wolfgang Puck.
“But what I do know is I have the next year to listen and see what God wants me to do.
Johnson got her first taste of international missionary work during her high school career. She traveled to New Orleans, Mexico, and Belize with the Orange Lutheran Missions Program.
gave me a new perspective and gratitude for my life.
Before taking off on the World Race, Johnson participated in a 10day training camp in Atlanta, Georgia. Nearly 60 people are included on the trip, and small teams will break out of that larger group. Teams then go to separate areas and are charged with different tasks, whether it’s working in orphanages or preaching the gospel at local churches or another task.
In order to go on the nearly yearlong backpacking excursion, Johnson left her job and moved back home to Orange County to live with her parents.
“When am I going to go if I keep waiting?”
the trip made me realize how blessed I am, and it
“I’m nervous,” Johnson said of the trip. “I’m anxious. I’m a little stressed out. I’ll be living in a tent putting a year of my life on my back. And I’m nervous about that lifestyle. But I’m excited to tell people about God and see how I change over this year. I’m going to keep up on a blog. I want to see if my stories abroad can inspire people back home.”
As far as what she will do when she gets back, Johnson isn’t exactly sure. She might go back to her job or, she might decide to pursue further missionary work. Regardless, she hopes to come back to her high school and share her experiences, in Daily Gathering or in missions classes, with students on the same course as her.
“I felt like it was absolutely what I was meant to do,” Johnson said of her marketing career. “It was amazing. But I started to feel like it was time to do something else. So when I left, I told my job that it wasn’t because I was unhappy, it was just that I wanted to do more and give back to the community and go see the world. And I feel like now is the right time to do that.
“I feel so much closer to God. But really, going on
“God really stretched me to reach out to people I don’t normally talk to and hang out with. I really enjoyed getting to know lots of different people and making new friends. I also enjoyed spending time at the assisted living. I had never really done that before and I loved it!” Victoria Smith ‘15
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