Before I left La Paz, my mother sent me a message saying the word of the month, for both of us, was positivity. But it was a voice message that I didn’t actually listen to until I had been at my ministry site for a couple of days.
My first few days at Campanento El Puente were discouraging. My foot was still in pretty bad shape, so I was out of the groundskeeping the rest of my squad was up to. I spent my days pouring over my bible, but found little hope or consolation. #OldTestamentProblems
Anyways, I listened to this message my mom sent me and absolutely nothing changed. Except how I chose to go about my month. On the top of my tent, I wrote out positivity. And every morning, I woke up, saw that message from my mom, made up my mind that I was going to have a good day.
And I did.
Thinking back to launch, I remember very little that anyone said. But one night when Bill Swann was rattling on about something or another that I don’t remember, he mentioned the importance of having a positive attitude. I think it was number four on a list of five that my mom wrote down, but I couldn’t tell you what a single other thing on that list was. But that stuck out to me because for my race, it was the thing that would matter the most. I choose how my days go. I can make everything a silver lining, or I can make it all stink.
So I let my mom’s words be a guide, and I chose how my month went.
I created my own ministry for the month by taking over the squad kitchen, planning meals and making sure that everyone on J Squad had food 3 times a day. It was a huge challenge for me, not just in planning food, figuring out how much we needed and rationing it to last, but also in keeping my ego in check. Surprise, surprise, I can be a little bossy. And I tend to think things are better when done my way. So having control over what we were eating and how we prepared it could have easily gone to my head. It was a constant battle that I dealt with every day in Bolivia. But it was an opportunity for me to work through my pride, and allow myself to learn a lesson in humility.
To be completely honest, I don’t know that I could have done it without my mom’s voice in my head, on my roof and written on my arm for the month.
I have always believed that my greatest gift from God is my family. Not to brag, but they’re pretty freaking awesome. And my mother’s words quite literally carried me through October. Her vision became mine, and changed not only the course of my month, but potentially the rest of my race.
I can get through the race, but I knew that because I can get through anything. But if I am going to truly grow during this journey, I have to step out and take chances. Whether that’s having conversations, sharing my story or taking on a task I’ve never done before, like feeding 40 plus people everyday.
By opening myself to the opportunities that God is putting in front of me, even the ones I never expected, I’m giving myself the chance to learn more about me, about Him and about all His creations in the world around me.
And I must say, I’m pretty darn excited about that.
