Spain Park grad to take around-the-world mission trip

Nick Richardson first heard about the World Race while on a mission trip in the Philippines in 2015. After hearing stories from “race” participants, Richardson thought, “That fits my personality so well.”

Last September, the Spain Park graduate and Jefferson State freshman decided to sign up for the World Race Gap Year, a mission trip spanning nine months and six countries, “without telling anybody.” He was accepted into the program a month later and has been preparing and fundraising for his trip ever since.

Richardson already is involved in his local community, leading small groups of third-grade boys and high school freshman boys at Mountaintop Community Church and working at Swamp Monster BBQ in Riverchase. After taking four years of law academy classes at Spain Park, Richardson plans to transfer to UAB to study criminal justice.

This gap year mission trip will be a chance for him to push his own comfort zone.

“It’s easy to be just comfortable where you’re at and to be kind of shy,” Richardson said. “You’ve gotta learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”

The World Race Gap Year group Richardson will travel with will include about 55 people ages 18 to 21, divided into smaller teams of about eight people. They will spend one month each in Swaziland and Lesotho in southern Africa, two months each in India and Nepal, Nicaragua for a month and close the trip with two months in Guatemala.

There were multiple routes he could have chosen, but Richardson said he chose a route that included Nepal, as it was a country he has wanted to minister to for a while.

“That’s where my heart’s been at for the past two years,” Richardson said.

In each of these countries, Richardson and his World Race team will help local churches and do a variety of mission and community work depending on the needs in each country. Richardson said he is looking forward to the chance to meet new people and share his faith with them. Though he knows he will benefit from his experiences, “I really hope I put more of an impact on them than it impacts me,” he said.

The World Race will begin with a training camp in July before Richardson flies to Swaziland in September. He is raising a total of $15,000 for the trip, with more than $13,000 raised so far by family, friends, church members and anonymous donations.

“The generosity that people have been giving to me … it’s crazy to think that people would [do that],” he said.

Richardson said he would like for mission work to continue to be a part of his life after the World Race Gap Year, including creating a ministry based around running or baseball.

For more information on Richardson’s fundraising efforts and World Race trip, go tonickrichardson.theworldrace.org.