Starting the Race- About Me

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not in your own understanding”.

Proverbs 3:5

Greetings!

              My name is Brett Haas, and wow… what an opportunity to come to fruition! The Lord has led through years of growth, challenge, and many twists and turns as life unfolded- one act after another. Currently, I am a 22 year-old senior at Lenoir-Rhyne University studying Engineering physics and math; graduating in May of 2020. Over the past couple of months, the Lord continued to open the door for the World Race as the call towards missions became stronger throughout my years at college. After a significant amount of prayer and discernment, I have decided to participate in the 2020 Aug. World Race Expedition. We will be visiting 11 countries in the 10/40 Window Asia region while reaching frontier people groups with the Gospel.

              In creating this blog, one word that comes to mind is “thankful”. My family and I live next to Grandfather Mountain in Western North Carolina- where I grew up. As I drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway in the evening towards my family home in the mountains, the peaks towered above and the lights of the valley lit up the landscape. As the car plodded along the bridges that connected the mountain together, I needed to pause and look back. Sometimes, life gets busy and hectic. It is truly precious to be able to look back. It is even more precious to look back to see the Lord’s guiding hand in all of it- the journey called “life”. Sometimes, it is very tempting to overlook this- especially when confronted with challenges. It has been a true blessing to grow in a Christian family that grew closer to God over the years as we found a loving church community in the mountains. My mother works as a school nurse, and my father is an engineer. I have one younger sister, and she is planning to take her first mission trip out of the country (to Guatemala) during my Training Camp dates, which is very exciting! After doing missions and trips abroad since 2012, it is awesome to see my sister and family grow in faith as they are being sent out into the field as well.

              The outdoors has played a huge role in my life, and I love to spend time in God’s creation every chance that I get. The mountains have many terrific hiking opportunities, which I love to take friends on and see the beauty of creation. Meanwhile, I am also an active caver and enjoy exploring God’s underground world as well. Other passions include travelling (with friends and family) and researching international events & cultural phenomena. Some of my blog posts will be about relevant cultural topics as my faith in the Lord continues in this journey ahead. Reading books (particularly Christian authors & non-fiction) and studying maps are also very enjoyable things that the Lord has built some of my talents through.

              I grew up in a loving church community that discipled me and helped forge a spirit of service within me. As I look back, it is something to have immense gratitude for. There have been exciting times of growth with God over the years, but there have also been challenges as well. When I was a toddler, I was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. This made it difficult for me to communicate as a child, and for many years, I did not talk. Through speech therapy and a significant amount of prayer from my parents, I was able to gain the ability to speak. The journey of acceptance and growth with this condition has had its ups and downs over the years; including learning how to keep emotions in check, handle unexpected social situations, and building important relationships. God has allowed me to come a long way with autism, and I credit a large amount of spiritual protection from worldly influences (i.e. relationships, social norms) with this condition. But, there are times that I still struggle with it as well. Some situations (particularly unexpected events) require me to be extra careful with regards to how I respond- both in words and actions. As I grew in my relationship with Jesus and prepare for the Race, I was led to share this side of my story.

              My relationship with Jesus really began to take root in 2012 after a trip with my church to a national youth gathering in New Orleans, LA. He has pushed me out of my comfort zone since then and sent me to nations in Asia, Europe, and Latin America to study abroad and do mission work. Seven years later, God has continued to reiterate that I must “trust in Him” and “lean not in your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5). Sometimes, things simply do not make sense, and it is in these moments that I have had to learn to trust in Him. He has made me dependent on Him many times and in some of the deepest areas of life (including being able to let go of my own plans for ambition, relationships, and time). God has also molded me into a strong extrovert and continues to reiterate the calling of evangelism in my life. This is something that I would never have expected several years ago and requires a lot of courage and boldness; sometimes in the face of opposition.

              As the Race begins in a few months and support raising preparations begin, please lift up the Great Commission and that all nations can hear the Gospel and come to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior and Lord. I have continued to be humbled by the need for dynamic laborers who are willing to take the Great Commission head-on (wherever they are at and abroad) and not be afraid to make challenging decisions that can impact others for eternity. There are many unreached people groups and nations that do not know the Lord and who do not have access to the Gospel. This trip is a terrific opportunity to see what the “mission frontier” is like in reaching these people across the world. It is my hope that the experience can inspire and mobilize others to take active roles in fulfilling the Great Commission and serving on the mission field.

              So- here is a word of encouragement but also a word of challenge. Thank you very much for your support and prayers, and this means a lot. I will be asking for financial support over the next few months to help cover the expenses of the trip, and any donation is greatly appreciated. I will continue to keep you in touch through this blog as the journey unfolds. However, I also hope to empower you to become / stay active in helping fulfill the Great Commission. You can impact your local community through disciple making, evangelism, service, and standing strong in the truth of the Word. Everyone has an important role to play in God’s kingdom. If you are moved to multiply disciples and reach the lost in the US or abroad, please feel free to partner with evangelistic networks such as No Place Left (which I currently do evangelism with, https://noplaceleft.net/), or any of the other Gospel movements and churches seeking to evangelize the United States and the world (City Gospel Movements, Every Home for Christ, etc.).  I look forward to connecting with church family and friends as the support raising process begins- and praying with them as they also called by God into various missions. We are all part of one grand big story- what Jesus did for this Earth and how this message can redeem the nations…

Matthew 28: 18-20: “Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”