Well the week that I have been waiting for has finally arrived. The start of my world race has begun! On Sunday morning, My mom and dad and a friend who is also going on the world race drove down to Atlanta, Georgia with my bag packed for a year and heavy hearts preparing to say goodbye. The world race sends world racers off with a four day Launch, and parents have the opportunity to stay for two days of it. It was a precious time with my parents introducing them to people that I have been talking about since October training camp, and my entire team and their families. We were able to eat meals, worship, and talk about the world race together and I am so thankful that my parents took the time to come and be a part of it.
Tuesday arrived way too soon for my liking and we had the final lunch together with my parents and said goodbye in a busy hotel lobby. I hugged my parents feeling more loved and appreciated than I ever had and said ‘see you later’. Up until that point, the world race had seemed like a faint event that would happen in the far future, but as they walked away, I felt the reality hit me that I was leaving for a year and would miss the hugs, the laughs and the companionship of both my best friends.
As Launch has continued, we have been in sessions that brief us more about the types of ministry, transportation, safety plans, and spiritual warfare that we might encounter overseas. With 250 world racers staying in this hotel, we have been having fun just being together, getting crazy on hotel coffee and giving bathroom haircuts.
The way that the World Race works is on a very “need to know basis” and we have been getting a lot of information about the ministry that we will be doing, which has been very exciting. They have told us that for the first month, we will be in CAPETOWN SOUTH AFRICA working with a sports ministry. Another surprise that they gave us, was that our entire squad except one team (45 people) will be kept together for the first month, which will be very special and fun! We are all very excited about that!
So tomorrow, we fly out to Johannesburg South Africa, and then we take a 15+ hour bus ride to Capetown! I am so excited to see the beautiful country from a bus window seat! 🙂
Stay tuned for more exciting news!
