I feel as I am embarking on this incredible journey, with lets be honest at this point complete strangers – I should probably blog a teeny, tiny ‘get to know me section’ – only problem, not a fan of talking about myself. BUT, I’ll do my best…
(and, for those of you who already know me, or think they know me.. enjoy, maybe i’ll give you a good laugh or maybe, just maybe you may learn something new)
Name: Courtney Elaine Rylee
also known as Court to my close friends and Aunt Kiki to my 3 nephews, and niece.
and another babe (niece or nephew) on the way, most likely due right at launch [insert sad face here]
Kayden (3) – Gabriel (4) – Logan (7mo.) – Tyler (14)
Current Location: Lancaster County Pennsylvania
Yes, I live in amish country. No, I am NOT amish.
Yes, I associate with the amish. No, they are not all like the ‘amish mafia’ or ‘breaking amish’
(actually they are nothing like either of those shows – go figure right?
you can’t believe everything you see on tv)
Current Occupation: NURSE!!
I have been for the last 9 years an LPN at a small town hospital.
I absolutely love being a nurse!! Helping, serving, loving and ‘fixing’ people is so rewarding.
[I secretly love the exciting and unexpected moments that come with being a nurse]
The days are long, and stressful and sometimes I wonder why I do it…
At the ‘ville’ (short for Jennersville) we are like a big family, some of my closest friends are there… and well we have stories after story that just cannot be made up and usually ends in someone snorting in laughter or just an open jaw in disbelief…. we laugh and love hard.
When the day is over the truth of the matter is.. I love what I do.
I have been over the last year working on getting my RN, and not getting very far…. you see, its a lot more fun to spend my days with people then actually studying.
[we at the ville have ‘Sunday Funday’ – we wear red & black]
How did it all start?? Girl, what’s your testimony???
Oh, please let me give you the long and short of it!!!
Born into my crazy, loving, family on May 16th. [1983] Yup, that makes me 30 and ‘old’.. so some say…
I grew up in a loving home, with both my Mom and Dad – oh, and my twin brothers who are 5 years older then me and look nothing alike (that’s usually the first thing people ask)
Always going to church.
Started in Presbyterian Church, then switch to Baptist and now find myself in an Assembly’s of God Church.
Saved at the age of 5, but lets be real 5 is so young!! So I did what any 5 year old little girl would do, I followed in my Moms footsteps. I went to church, as I got older got involved. Starting serving with sunday school when I was a younger teenager. I did exactly what I was ‘suppose’ to do. I knew all the stories of the bible, I knew what was expected of me and I followed the ‘rules’… that was until my senior year of high school. I like to refer to it as my ‘bad year’ – if it was bad I did it, if I wasn’t suppose to do it, I did it. I hung with the wrong crowd and found myself into more sticky situations then I cared to be in.
Funny thing that year was wild, but God even had a plan in that, I was still able to go to church on Sundays and some wednesday.. (I wasn’t ‘into’ it) but I went. All through that year of my life people would ask ..
‘what are you going to do after high school?’
My answer was always, always the same. ‘I’m gonna go to Word of Life Bible College, I want to learn the word, and know it well. I want to then go to nursing school so that I can use my skills on the missions field’
I look back at that year, all those questions and it makes absolutely NO sense why this wild party girl would pick to still go to a bible college. Only answer that makes sense is God’s incredible protection and plan for me. I am in awe of this (of course, back then I didn’t really see it or understand it)
Bible College, changed me. I was no longer that little girl following in her Mom’s footsteps. After much time and healing, I found my true peace. I found my own personal relationship with God, and my story forever changed. I at that point re-commited myself to the Lord. At the end of my year I took my first missions trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea. It was there in PNG that I knew that God placed missions on my heart… I loved everything about being in PNG, the people, the culture, the entire experience. I am NOT a fan of public speaking, I embraced it (barely).. I am NOT a ‘bible pusher’ and yet I found myself wanting to do nothing more but SHARE God’s love with these people. It was incredible, and so amazing how God can work in your heart without you even being aware.
My life took a ton of turns and twist over the next 12 years.
See being a ‘Christian’ and having that relationship with God didn’t make things any easier, I didn’t get a ‘get out of jail free card’ for all the hurts and pains that came my way, but with all the good and bad, God taught me SO much. Most importantly He taught me my value and my worth… something I struggled with. Actually it was a huge struggle for me. (and a sometimes I still forget). BUT – He IS my constant.
SO, why the World Race???
Well, back in 2010 I went to Haiti (a BIG gap from my last missions trip) I was older, and knew a little bit more about who I was, and what I wanted in life. I was years into nursing, stronger, wiser (or so I hoped) and my faith bigger then ever. Haiti was yet again more affirmation that my heart was heavy for missions…. I knew from that moment on, I wanted… needed to ‘get back to the field’…
Let me bring you up to current day, well close to current day – last year around this time my roommates decided that ‘home’ was back with their parents (for various reasons) leaving me ‘homeless’ [for the record never have I ever been really homeless] I moved my stuff into a storage unit, my clothes into my ‘second families’ home and I had a bed at my parents. I liked to refer to myself as a ‘glorified HOBO’ =)
Best part: God has SUCH a sense of humor (don’t even try to tell me different) I had been joking that I wanted to be a HOBO for the last 2 years (after a trip to the islands) I joked and joked about being a HOBO in St. Thomas. And well see every little desire of your heart is taken care of, just sometimes not how you think… =)
Only problem with my situation was I couldn’t stand it. I thought I would embrace it and love it. Nope. I wanted, I NEEDED my space, my own place again. I didn’t realize it but I was miserable.
I always try, (usually after a little ranting) to look at the ‘bright’ side of things. I couldn’t find any ‘bright’ side. So, I did what I thought was best, (note the I) I started frantically looking for houses to buy or rent, nothing worked for me…. So I did what I SHOULD have done first. I went to God, I told him how frustrated I was, I told him I could not, I repeat COULD NOT do ‘this’….. that’s when 2 different opportunities were sent my way, and BIG opportunities… so, I started praying over them… nothing felt right.
As I sat at my friends kitchen table, drinking coffee (as it IS our favorite thing to do together) and talking (our other favorite thing to do) I just began to pour out my heart and my frustration with ‘my’ life… with the situation I was in, and the uncertainty of the direction my life was going… I had NO clue, what was God’s plan for me.. I often wished he would just send me a letter, funny. He kinda did. My friend squealed (kinda) with excitement over ‘this email’ that she received she said ‘it would BE perfect for YOU’ – I quickly skimmed through the email, quickly switched to the computer to read ALL about the ‘World Race’ my heart began to stir with the email, and it didn’t stop. I became obsessed with the blog post from all the current and upcoming racers…. Could I do this???
I wasn’t sure I could, but… I knew that stirring was real. What I did next was crazy. (to me) I applied.
I started to tell all of ‘my people’ about this – mostly getting a TON of awesome encouragement… and the funny thing… about 6 different people that I told all said the same thing…
‘Courtney, you have been talking about doing something like this for so long – what an opportunity’
I didn’t realize that I had talked so much about getting ‘back to the mission field’
and i surely never thought i could commit to an 11 month missions trip.
[you see, i was always a ‘short term missions girl’]
BUT – Here I am 3 months after applying. Still wondering the same thing Can I do this, can I really, really DO this?? To say I am doubt free would be a lie. See I am by no means a ‘camper’… and the idea of living out of a back pack for a year freaks me out. (I mean let me remind you I am a girl, and how much can you really fit into that thing…you should see my overnight bag… )
Great thing, as much as I wonder if I CAN do this…. God has brought me this far, he has given me heart, and through all of my doubts and fears – I still want to do this.
The day I was accepted to do the world race, my perspective and attitude about my ‘HOBO living situation’ changed, I had reason and purpose…. and all of the sudden it was ok….
Well, that just took me forever literally…. [sorry it was a bit lengthy]
let me throw 20 RaNdOm FaCtS your way just for fun and because really, you just read ALL of that ^
1. i LOVE coffe.
2. my favorite color is GREEN. (any shade)
[I’m hoping my backpack and tent are green!!]
3. i have THEE sweetest pup. Lyla.
I adopted her right off the streets of North Carolina.
[when she does something bad, I usually say ‘she don’t know no betta she spent time on the streets’ ]
4. i have a few random side jobs, funeral home, auction company and amateur photographer..
5. i have really curly hair, i would like to take this time to apologize to my fellow squad mates for what my hair may or may not look like on the race…. i plan on embracing it. headband, hats and braids. =)
I did a ‘practice’ run – no product and no hair dryer or curling iron. it was interesting…..
6. i LOVE animals. ALL ANIMALS, and usually cry at their death as a kid our garage was more like a really creepy pet shop, of all the random finds in the country… rabbits, squirrels, snakes (my brothers handled that one) turtles and even tad poles….
[you may not want me to be the one to ‘kill’ our meals while on the race,
chances are they will not die but be named and a pet… sorry]
7. i love making ugly faces for pictures. it’s almost like i can’t help myself.
8. the beach, is by far my favorite. i could live on a beach. people say i would get tired of it.
i don’t believe it. i think i would be just fine. =)
9. i have seen 2 of my nephews be born. [best experience ever] – thanks sister in laws for allowing that.
10. i have a scar on my tongue from when i was 1… you’d think it would have went away. nope.
11. pumpkin [anything] is my favorite.
12. i love laughing. and can find humor in most things.
[sometimes i get to the snorting point – i’ll admit it]
13. i may, or may not be borderline ocd. no joke. i can control it, but… i do like things in order.
14. i have eaten chalk before. actually twice. [ever heard of pica, it’s real]
15. i would rather be barefoot.
16. i love st. patty’s day.
17. my mom is the best baker around. she makes insanely good cupcakes, cakes and desserts.
[that would be my nieces 4th birthday cake]
18. i LOVE taking pictures. [incase you didn’t pick up on that] and i love looking at pictures. [mine and other peoples pictures… it’s like a glimpse into someones life] i love that.
19. i am a sucker of reality tv shows. no explanation. it just is what it is.
20. i once climbed into a water fountain at a mall when i was a youth leader to earn points for a huge game that we play over the summer, called ‘Tribe Wars’
