I take off for Cambodia to begin The World Race in SEVEN short hours. time has flown since Training Camp, and it’s hard to believe this trip I’ve been preparing for, for about a year now, is actually here! I wanted to give everyone some updates on my last few weeks.
I spent my last three weeks at home in Centerville, TN. It was close to the longest time I’ve spent at home since I started college, if not the longest. My time there was interesting in a lot of ways, but overall it ended up being better than I ever expected. I spent time with family and friends, relaxed some time at the creek, and passed most of my days working at a funeral home. The highlight of my time there was getting to go to lunch with my dad everyday. I couldn’t have asked for a better time at home!
Early Saturday morning, my parents and I left for Atlanta to come to Launch. This was a time for parents to learn more about what they’re about to send their kids off to do and for the Racers to continue training and growing closer together. During our time here, I was able to get a couple of meals with my parents, the parents of my teammates, and my team. It was awesome to get to meet the parents of my teammates and for them to meet mine.
On Saturday night, we had a time of worship with our parents. I may have been more nervous about this than I was actually going on the Race. We come from a church that chooses to worship a Capella, and even though I attend a church in Nashville that uses instruments, my parents still go to a pretty conservative church that doesn’t use instruments. Even though I’m accustomed to instruments in worship now, The World Race’s interdenominational nature means that people are welcome to worship however they want to, and that’s something I wouldn’t say I’m completely comfortable with yet (I’m getting there, though). So, it isn’t unusual for people to shout, dance, or throw up their hands in worship. I tried to prepare my parents as well as I could, but that didn’t really help my nerves.
After worship my parents and I spent some time discussing the worship experience. It was an incredible opportunity to discuss what we believe and why we believe it, the difference between what you’re comfortable with in worship and what’s “right,” and much more. I was amazed by their willingness to enter into a situation like that and by their openness with me. I’m so thankful for the opportunity to experience this weekend together. It wasn’t comfortable all the time, but I know we all learned a ton from it.
On Sunday, I told my parents goodbye. It was hard, but knowing we could skype made it much easier. Not long after they left, we got some bug news from our Squad Mentor, and it came in the form of a….
ROUTE CHANGE!
Our African countries are no longer Botswana, Swaziland, and South Africa. They are now:
December: Uganda
January: Rwanda
February: Ethiopia
I’m stoked about the changes! Even though it’s sure to be hot and mosquito-infested, I’m sure the time we spend in these countries will be incredible!
Please send a prayer, positive thoughts, or good vibes our way. Whichever you do, we’d really appreciate it!
Also, I sill have about $8,000 dollars to raise, so sharing this post would be a huge help!
God Bless,
Andrew
