So I got to Georgia on Tuesday and spent three days taking a crash course in filming because we found out we will be doing a lot of the filming for the documentary project we are a part of. Now, if you know anything about me you will know that technology is not exactly a strength of mine so this week was quite amusing (or frustrating) for the people who were trying to train me. Nonetheless I did learn a lot and am very excited to be able to play around with the equipment and possibly learn a new and valuable skill over the year. Also, I have to say Gray Media (the company producing the film) is absolutely amazing. All of there production team are super relate able and want to make this year the best experience possible for us.
On Friday I came to Atlanta (We were in Gainsville beforehand) to learn about what being a treasurer for my team meant and to go through some training for that. People who know me will also know that I am not much of a budget-er or a money person so this will also be a very humerus experience for my team (or very frustrating if I run out of money :P) but this I am sure will also turn out to be a valuable life skill to have. And I have to say after a couple days of training I am feeling a lot more confident of my ability and actually kind of excited about this role. My nerdy side is really coming out and I am enjoying the spreadsheets and number aspect a little to much.
Being away from home but feeling like I am not gone yet has left me in a weird place. In some ways I have started my world race journey but we don’t actually launch until Tuesday and that is when the journey will truly and completely begin. This leaves me in this weird transition period and something you should know about me is that I don’t like transitions. Down time has left me thinking about home and the friends and family I have left and has really made me miss them. It is so easy to want to spend every spare minute on the internet talking to people back home but I am really trying to fight that urge. Yes, life is going to go on for the people I have left and that will mean that there are things I am going to miss out on. I have spent the last few days dwelling on these things I am going to miss, the people I am going to miss and the memories I won’t be a part of. However, this inhibits my ability to invest in the community I am presently in and the things God is doing right around me. I realized something today. God has blessed me with an opportunity to leave my world behind for a year. I am leaving all the commitments and responsibilities that are currently a part of my life to spend a year solely focused on my heavenly father and what he wants to do in me and through me. I am blessed with an opportunity to have a year serving the people God wants me to serve, living in an intense community of believers who have all come together for one common goal- sharing the gospel and in the process being transformed by Jesus. That is absolutely amazing! I don’t want to take advantage of this incredible opportunity I have and I want to allow God to transform me in this year. The only way I can do that is being willing to leave my present life behind. That doesn’t mean I won’t talk to people back home (because I will I promise and I am still a part of your life and you are a very important part of mine) but I need to stop dwelling on all I will be missing out on while gone and instead living in the present and being fully engaged where I am at. I don’t want to leave this year wishing I had spent more time investing in the lives of the people I meet overseas and my team mates and less time on the internet. I am so excited to just be able to spend a year with my savior.
On Tuesday I travel to Quiche Guatemala where we will be working with an organization called Agape in Action doing medical missions. This month our whole squad will be together! I am super excited for this missions and don’t really know what to expect but ready to just jump in 100%.
Love you guys, thanks for reading and I will try and keep you posted at least once a week with what is happening! Only 3 more days till I officially leave to my first of 11 countries!
