Kate Campbell: On a Mission

Most graduates are job hunting or adventuring in their first year out of college—their last moments before “real life” sets in.

Kate Campbell, a Boston University alumna who graduated from the College of Communication in January 2016, managed to do both simultaneously. She took an 11-month trip around the world, and it resulted in a job.

Following her faith in God, she participated in The World Race, an 11-month Christian mission trip. According to Campbell, it’s an interdenominational Christian organization, so the organization works with a diverse group of people—those who are Catholic, Protestant, Methodist, Lutheran and Evangelical.

The trip draws you out of your comfort zone and gives you “exposure to what God is doing in the world before you commit to the American dream,” according to the official website.

“I think that there is a perception that you have to be a superstar Christian to do a mission trip like the World Race, but something I learned this year was that God isn’t looking for rock stars,” said Campbell. “He loves all of us ordinary people so much and He can’t wait to have us do His work in His kingdom.”

Campbell found out about the program when she was 18, right after she had completed her freshman year of college at BU. Her friend had participated in it before and recommended that Campbell look into the program. According to Campbell, it’s not something that’s plastered all over the Internet; interest in the program is garnered through word of mouth.

She had to be 21 in order to participate, so she decided to apply after she graduated from college.

Campbell graduated a semester ahead of her classmates and joined the January 2016 trip. After researching her options, she decided to choose the route that went through several South American countries in addition to Mozambique, Cambodia and South Africa, among others. She studied Spanish in college as well as photojournalism, so she used this as an opportunity to harness her language and media skills.

It was an in-depth process. The application asked questions about Campbell’s spiritual history and personal background to help understand her connections. Upon completion of the exhaustive application process, Campbell embarked on her race in January 2016.

In October, she met all of her 37 other “D Squad” members and five other team members, a sub-unit of the larger squad, at the orientation and training program. Over time, they would “figure out how to love each other and work together, live life together,” said Campbell.

Once on the trip, she visited a different country each month, working with the local ministries.

Although she has a handful of meaningful experiences and memories from each country, Cambodia was her favorite. She wasn’t sure if it was the time of the year she visited or the people she was with; each morning, she picked up children, bathed them, fed them, brought them to school and played with them after their school day ended. She learned about the culture and the country’s history, including the genocide that occurred in the ’70s.

If you really want to expand your worldview, The World Race is for you. If you want to be challenged, The World Race is for you.”

In some places, the hosts would want to have the squad stay inside to keep them safe, but Campbell had much more freedom in Cambodia to roam around and interact with locals. She loved walking around the market and “talking to the noodle man down the street.” These cultural interactions were small, she said, but they make up the life and experience there.

Although she spent college away from home, it wasn’t quite the same as leaving home for a full 11 months. Prior to this trip, Campbell had only been on one-week-long mission trips. However, Campbell’s family supported her decision which made it all the easier.

Her mom called it an extension of her college education, since Campbell had graduated a semester early. Her boyfriend knew how much she loved things like The World Race, and was invested in the process throughout her journey. He wanted to know the names of the people she was meeting, and the things she was doing each day. Campbell wrote regular blog posts for The World Race website—there’s even a guest post written by her boyfriend about what it’s like to date a world racer. Spoiler alert: it’s no easy feat.

The trip meant a lot to her spiritually. She wanted to share the love of Jesus with people, in a “tangible way to do exactly what Jesus commanded us—love God and love people. I want that to motivate everything I do.”

“Jesus’ last words to us before he left Earth was to go and make disciples of all nations—a lot of missionaries like to reference that, but it’s pretty simple and straightforward—people like to read too much into it,” she said. “He didn’t tell us where—we can pick whatever direction we want to go—that can be in America, that can be in Asia—that can be down the street. It doesn’t need to be complicated to do those two things, love God and love people.”

Campbell was the logistics leader on her particular trip. Her responsibilities included organizing transportation from one country to the next each month, among other duties. Not surprisingly, she says she “got a lot of experience figuring it out in a foreign country.”

“I experienced things I never planned for or expected, from bucket showers and sleeping in tents to being asked to pray or heal somebody,” she said. “If you really want to expand your worldview, The World Race is for you. If you want to be challenged, The World Race is for you.”

When Campbell graduated in January 2016, she never imagined that she’d be moving to Georgia. After returning from the race, she applied to be a regional logistics coordinator for Central America, a region she has learned to love. She has already worked with hosts there during her trips. She wants to work with people who are already there—build up their people instead of bringing in “their own thing.”

Fortunately, she landed the job and started in March. She’ll be on the move again from her native Virginia to Georgia. She will be responsible for connecting and coordinating groups that are going to be traveling to the area, calculating costs and making sure the groups understand what is expected of them. During the first few trips, it was all about finding people to work with. Many of these “hosts” have created a relationship with The World Race and have been hosting squads for five or six years. She’s excited to be part of the legacy.

“We as a culture highly value comfort and security, and the rest of the world doesn’t have that luxury, but when you put yourself in their place, you can learn a ton about yourself and God and about the world,” Campbell said.

BY SARAH WU | PHOTOGRAPHY BY LAUREN FOGELSTRÖM AND COURTESY OF KATE CAMPBELL | DESIGN BY STEPHANIE SNOW