Around 8am we got up and rode into the nearest town to grab a bite to eat before our big jump! I couldn’t help but think, “what if I puke all of this up and my way down?!” Haha….
After we ate we rode back to the jump to meet up with John Michaels team who was also coming to jump with us. Five of them came and the excitement continued to build! Soon we were registered, paid, and harnessed up for our big jump!
They walked us down this trail to a lean-too where they gave us a brief “how to bungy” talk before heading to the bridge. When they finished, we made our way to the see-thru cat walk you journey across to the bungy platform. Walking across that was terrifying! Haha! It messes with your head for sure. Then, we eventually reached the platform. When you get there, they call your name and then put you in an order of how they want you to jump according to weight and height. My nerves went crazy as they called the first four jumpers…
“1. Francis, 2. Dusty, 3. Jessica, 4. John Michael.” Oh crap! Here we go! I have to go second! Haha, part of me hated that, but the other part of me was excited to get the jump over with and not have to watch all my other friends go before me. At least with Francis going, I just had to watch 1 person jump and not a hand full! They put on some blaring music and start getting you pumped up for your jump. Before long, Francis and I were both sitting on the “NEXT JUMPERS” boxes getting all strapped up! I then watched as my British friend, Francis, hopped off the edge of this 708ft high bridge and he disappeared… That my friend… Is a weird feeling! It took me back to the day I went sky diving in Atlanta with Blair Runken and Dane Copple. I remember watching Blair as she rolled out the plane just 2 people ahead of me… I may or may not have said a few choice words that day… Haha… I am just trying to be honest.
They finished my leg straps, helped me hop to the legs and I remember briefly looking at the camera above me and then I heard it… “5, 4, 3, 2, 1… BUNGY!” The next thing I remember was jumping as far out as I could, head first, away from the bridge. It didn’t really register what was going on at that moment. The only way to describe it is freedom and a very peaceful and erie silence comes over you. You cannot hear anything. The wind is rushing past you so fast, its like everything around you stops. Nothing hurts. Its just you, God, and the ground some 700ft below you. You don’t even feel like your falling but more like your flying!
IT WAS AWESOME!
I bounced a couple of times and came to a stop eventually, but only after spinning a lot! Haha… I made it! As I hung there upside down… Everything made sense to me and God spoke so clearly to me. This was a turning point for me. Month 3, a huge change in my World Race. The words “LEAP OF FAITH” ran thru my head over and over and I begged God to help me make a change from here on out! I had just successfully done what most people, including myself, would probably consider the most intense and extreme thing you can do on the planet. God kept speaking to me. I heard Him say… “I am the only thing that will satisfy.” If I am being honest, hanging upside down beneath that bridge with a very emotional experience. Say what you want, but God spoke to me.
I say all that to say this… God can use the most interesting situations and events to minister to us. When you think that God will not speak to you… Think again.
I am learning right now that God is simple, yet so complex. He really is.
Love y’all.
