2 days from now I'll be in Copperhill, Tennessee, beginning to understand a bit more of what the next year will look and feel like. So, how am I preparing for the coming days of training?
Well, let's see. Today I woke up and read a couple chapters of Isaiah, a book of the Bible which I'm finding to be highly relatable these days & lovin' it. After that, I decided I should really take action in regards to my good intentions of getting back in shape.
So my good intentions & I decided to go for a run…which ended up being rather brief & required quite a bit of recovery time due to the fact that not a single bone/muscle/atom in my body supported the whole idea. But hey, it was progress nonetheless.
A bit later I went to Walmart to pick up a few remaining items in preparation to begin the packing process. It was a pretty non-eventful trip as far as Walmart visits are concerned, until I left the store & realized my keys were nowhere to be found. However, as I looked through the window of my locked car, there they were, sitting on the passenger seat. After a few moments of pondering my predicament, I realized I left my sunroof wide open (because it's finally warm enough to do that sort of thing here in MN…yay!). I tried to come up with a more proper/elegant way to get to my keys given the scenario, but alas, the only way was to climb on my car & enter through the roof. I waited for a lull in the flow of people to discreetly do what had to be done, but the thing about Walmart is that lulls don't really happen. So after standing around for a few minutes, I swallowed my pride/dignity, climbed onto the roof of my car, and dropped in through the roof. Mission accomplished. Many people glanced at me quizzically in the process, but no one seemed to be concerned they might be witnessing a car theft or anything. But anyways, I recovered my dignity & went home.
Later in the day I picked up my niece from school, & we went home to make supper. She decorated the place as a French restaurant, & we made ratatouille for everyone…cuz we're awesome like that. The rest of the evening was spent with my nieces – we practiced setting up my tent in the back yard (which went well I think?), searched for worms in the garden, & enjoyed the wondrous pasttime of rolling down hills. It was a good time.
A little while ago I began packing my pack, but got too overwhelmed when I got to the part about packing clothes. So here I am, blogging for the second time this week (wow!) instead. But you know, as I sit here thinking, it really is the simple things in life that are the best. Days like today, I didn't necessarily accomplish 500 things on my to-do list (which really isn't that long btw), but it was a pretty spectacular day. Which is kinda on the same train of thought as "don't sweat the small stuff." Also, don't worry about clothes, food, and all that jazz…God's in control, that's what matters, and He's got it all covered. So really, getting overwhelmed by what clothes to pack is just silly.
But anyways, that title up there isn't a typo…I really am meaning to right about my expectations (expectativas = expectations in Spanish, in case you were wondering), not just details about my day. I figured I should write these out now because when I get back from training camp I'll most likely have a whole new set or have thrown them out entirely. So here we go, this is what I expect during the 11 months of the WR.
I expect to:
*Find that my bubble of personal space shrinks/pops.
*Become closer to the people on my squad than I think is possible.
*Go through all sorts of emotions in the days leading up to the actual departure date.
*Eat new foods, many with a forced smile on my face.
*Basically live outside of my comfort zone.
*Miss my family, friends, and parts of my life I normally take for granted & don't even consider.
*Try to speak to people I meet in Spanish, then get frustrated when it dawns on me that I don't actually know how to speak their language (probably multiple times).
*See miracles occur – you know, like those in the New Testament.
*Come back changed, as a result of an amazing but hard journey.
*Find compassion in my heart for people & places I have never bothered to care about previously.
*Encounter insects & other critters I have never seen before – or want to see again.
*Easily adapt to life in some places, and really struggle to be content in others.
*Be stretched beyond who I think I am to discover who God has called me to be.
*Tolerate dirt/unpleasantness in general at an increasing rate throughout the race.
*Have many opportunities to further develop the virtue of patience.
*Make incredible memories to last a lifetime.
*See God's Kingdom come, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
*Look back & find that all of my expectations were blown away by what God had in store.
Alright, that's probably more than enough for now. Tomorrow, the packing occurs. Bright & early on Saturday morning, I'll board a plane headed for Chattanooga, TN, then spend the next 8 days in training & getting to know those who will quickly become family. Then it's back home for about a month, and all of a sudden it will be time for launch. Simply amazing. For the record: My support account is currently at $
7,064.45, which means thankfully my goal for June is met! The next goal is set at $11,000 to be in by September. If you would like to contribute, please click the Support Me! tab on the left. Thank you so much to all those who have given so far, you've all been a huge blessing!!
