This is it…my last blog as a WORLD RACER!!
I want to start of by saying that I am ever so thankful to all who have spent the time to follow me this year! I have felt the warmth from home and I know the Lord has answered your prayers. I honestly can’t deny it! If you have prayed for the world to change, it has been changed. Not because of me of course, but through me and my squad this year. If you have prayed for me to be wrecked, your prayers have been answered. I am such a different person than Matt you saw 11 months ago. If you prayed for the Lord’s Kingdom to come…your prayer has been answered as well. I understand the Kingdom a little bit more than ever before. The Lord’s grace is so abundant in my life right now I am overjoyed by the possibilities of the future!
Secondly, I want to thank those who let me go this year. That is Mom, Dad, Melissa, Derek, Steve, Ryan, Steve and Spencer. You all have different roles and significance in my life. My family of course for trusting the Lord in taking care of me this past year. For Melissa my beautiful baby sister (who recently got engaged by the way!), and my best freinds Steve, Derek, Steve, Ryan, and Spencer. You guys have no idea how much I miss each and every one of you! I’m excited to catch up and hear of your adventure in Manitoba to the east coast to Australia!
And lastly I want to say that the journey that was, was worth every second of it…all the bug bites, the sleepless nights due to dogs, goats, and mosquitos, the food poisoning, acid reflux, ear inflamation, moldy backpack, motion sickness, freezing cold, extreme heat, no appetite, wierd food such as croc head, slugs, chicken feet and head, cow intestinal lining, pork snout, fish skin, 12 flights, 5 continents, 22 countires, flat car tires in rural africa, sunburn, whitesand beaches, sleeping in a 4 star hotel on my thermarest, 18 hour bus rides with Kimbee, sharing a tent with Kelton, seeing some of the world’s wonders, being spiritually oppressed, standing in VICTORY every day, diarihha, mountain climbs, whitewater rafting, “fun” race days, the one real race day, the rest days in every country, the busyness in almost none of the countries, Rusty’s craziness and amazing encouragement, guys night out talking about sex, cars, and sports, meeting the Father, the Spirit, and my saviour Jesus face to face, hearing the stories of desperation, toil, and loss, sharing in the grace of the Lord with others, the rain storms in the jungle, the vicious dogs in Canchamana, the laughter of squad debriefs, the longing for change in Africa, the drive to keep going, the temptation to quit, the missing of home, the wanting to grow away from home, the guns pointed in my face, preaching in the churches of rural africa, deep jungles of the Amazon, highlands of Peru, remote villages of Thailand, slums of Cambodia, refugees of Burma, underground church of Vietnam, and having this as my testimony of what the Lord has done in my life…
God has taken me out in order to bring me in. He took me out of everything I have ever known in order for me to have none but him to rely on. I’m sorry, but mommy can’t come and kiss me goodnight. She can’t come and comfort me anymore. That is God’s role and his alone. Only he can guide me the way I need to be guided. And that’s what this year was all about. God’s grace, my ability to laugh at everything this year, and my passion for what’s to come!
So this is it….I will continue to blog, but as of 3:30 last night the World Race officially ended for the January 2008 Squad! The tearful goodbyes are over (at least for me…I think) and the amazing future begins. The reason I’m not home yet is because I’m heading to the Middle East for 2 extra weeks. So please continue to pray for me and those I’m travelling with. The journey continues…
