Suffolk man to go on worldwide mission trip

Suffolk native Joshua Cubol knows that going on a yearlong mission trip is a big risk.

The Nansemond River graduate, who currently attends Johnson University in Tennessee, has two semesters left to finish his degree. But he feels strongly that now is the time to go on the World Race, a whirlwind mission trip that visits 11 countries in 11 months.

“It’s a huge risk for me to take,” he said. “I’ve never done any of this before, and it’s all new to me. But either you go for it all the way, or just don’t do it.”

The World Race will take Cubol, whose parents and siblings still live in Suffolk, to 11 countries — Dominican Republic, Haiti, Romania, Moldova, South Africa, Mozambique, Nepal, Swaziland, India, China, and the Philippines.

“I’m really big on my relationship with God and really living it out,” he said.

He said he is very concerned about injustices going on in the world such as human sex trafficking and child prostitution.

“This is my turn, instead of praying, to actually do something about it,” he said. “Instead of just sitting here praying for people to make a change, I can be that person. I know this is something that I need to do.”

The young people will travel between countries in groups of about 45 but split into smaller teams while they are in each country. Their projects will vary depending on the country and community where they are — they could be building churches or houses, helping with other manual labor, working at orphanages, doing prison ministry or just praying for the community.

Cubol said he is most excited about visiting the Philippines because he used to live there.

“I think that I’m really excited to go back,” he said. “Everybody there is really poor, and some of my family still lives there. Me and my family were able to come out of that into the States, but knowing that I’m able to go back to that place and give hope to them and tell them not to let your circumstances define where you’re going, I want to be able to give that message.”

Cubol leaves for a few days of preparation in Miami on Jan. 10. The team will leave for the Dominican Republic on Jan. 13.

But in order to leave, he still has a few thousand dollars left to raise by Dec. 18. He’s hoping to collect some of it in his hometown.

“Suffolk is my home, and it’s where I’m from,” he said. “Our community is huge to me. I’m so thankful for the community that I had and being able to go around the world and represent us.”

To support Cubol, visit his blog at www.jccubol.theworldrace.org and click on “Support Me” or send checks to Adventures in Missions, P.O. Box 534470, Atlanta, GA 30353.