Leaving is hard and saying goodbye is even harder. I hate crying in front of people which makes goodbyes 100 times worse. Today I said goodbye to my church family. There were tears, prayers, but surprisingly there was joy! Joy in the love and support that I received from the family I have shared the last 2 years with. Over the next few days I know there will be even more tears and laughter as I say “see you in 11 months” to the ones I love. The Lord has blessed me with such a wonderful support base and the prayers that they are sending up for my team and I are evident. I know that in those moments when I am on the race and I start thinking “I can’t do this” or “I just want to go home” it will be those prayers through Christ that sustain me.
One of the take-aways I received from training camp was to live in the present. Every day there are new challenges and new struggles, but with God with me, beside me, or even carrying me I will survive and come out a new person. In the weeks since training camp leading up to launch I have tried to live that way-preparing for the future but staying in the present. What an enjoyable time it has been! Yes, I still worry and sometimes even obsess about what will happen next but I take comfort in the fact that God has it all figured out for me and it is an even greater plan than anything I could imagine.
The first country I will be serving in is El Salvador. My team is partnering with a ministry called La Red. We will be living, eating, and sleeping at an orphanage in the beach community of La Libertad. Some different ministries we may be involved in are helping out with children’s Sunday school, leading a short discipleship program with the teenage girls at the orphanage, participating in a community beach cleanup, and whatever else the Lord calls us to while we are there!
A big thanks to everyone who has financially supported thus far into my race! While I still need about $4000 more to be fully funded, what a relief it was when I saw that I was in the double digits! I don’t launch until Tuesday, but my world race started back in September when I said YES to God’s call. I can’t believe the time has come for me to begin the 11 month journey!
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer; from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. (Psalm 61:1-3 ESV)
