Okay, not really. Really Kaylee asked me to write a blog. I’ve been waiting for months to have my say so here goes! I am a bit wordy so, bear with me. The real title of my blog is “How Did We Get Here?”
I had no clue that the World Race even existed. I also had no clue that Kaylee wouldn’t be sitting in class somewhere during her freshman year in college right now. As it turns out, being clueless was an opportunity God gave me to help my daughter. Kaylee is a smart kid. She has battled many things during her short life but has handled every one of them with grace and a smile. God gave her the ability to accept her circumstances and just keep on going. Literally through just about anything.
What I didn’t know was that she is also very strategic. At least as it relates to this whole concept of a gap year. She worked it out to talk to Mom first. Now Julie didn’t say no, but I don’t think she immediately jumped on board with the idea. Until she learned what Kaylee wanted to do. A year serving others – how do you argue against that? Then she had to talk to me. And, totally out of character for me, I was all in. We didn’t really know where to start but our local church pointed us towards Adventures in Missions and The World Race. I was so proud of Kaylee for following through and wanting to serve God for a year. She applied, got accepted, got all the medical clearances she would need and then told me she needed $14,951. Just to confirm what you probably already know, there are no scholarships for this. She (we) had to commit to raising money and doing so by certain deadlines. Once the shock of that number subsided, we started trying to figure out what fundraising would work. I reached out to a friend I had not seen in sometime for help. He has a very unique ability of convincing people to do things they didn’t even know they wanted to do and I knew he would be more than happy to help figure out how to get to the end of that number. During one of our early discussions, as I went on and on about how big a number that was, he looked at me and said, “Why are you so focused on the money? If she is supposed to go, raising the money will be the easy part. Dealing with her being gone will be your test.” It was a fair question. And my answer was “Because it is FIFTEEN THOUSAND dollars.” He looked me in the eye and said “Dog, if God wants her to go, the money is the last thing to worry about.” Turns out he was right. Kaylee really only had to fund raise through letters and emails. To me, she is my daughter. She can irritate the mess out of me with her care-free, fly by the seat of her pants approach to life. But to the family, friends, co-workers and even some customers that know her or have heard me talk about her for 18 years, she is a special young lady who they wanted to support. And they did. Quickly and completely. Kaylee has been through a lost medically. Life altering and threatening things. But she never used anything that she has gone through as a crutch. In fact, she will probably be miffed that I bring it up. In fact, I know she will, but hey, this is my blog. 🙂 So many people have watched her, seen her grow, experienced her love for their kids and genuinely just loved her that it is almost like they were waiting to give back to her; to make something go easy for a change.
So, fast forwarding, we checked fundraising off, we checked off immunizations, we checked off a long supply list (I should own stock in REI) and we checked off a 10-day training camp. The last day of which was on her 18th birthday. Which happened to be just under two months before she left on this amazing journey.
As the day drew closer to her departure you could tell all of us got more and more antsy. And then off we went to Parent Launch. That experience is hard to describe; our last two days together. How do you say goodbye to your 18-year-old daughter for 9 months? Turns out you do it through tears and faith that God had this plan all along. Watching her walk away from our hotel with her new friend Katie for the last time was literally one of the hardest things I have ever done.
But this I know. Kaylee is exactly where God wants her. We don’t talk much since she has made her way to Africa (regardless of what my Verizon bill says) but when I read her blogs I can see what God is doing. I can see the Godly woman in her blossoming and developing. I can see lifelong friendships being formed. I can see the ability to deal with various people, some of whom most of us would try to avoid based solely on appearance, forming. I see all these things taking shape in her and I am so proud of what she is doing. I sure didn’t know this was God’s plan for her; it surely wasn’t mine. But I can see how perfectly He has placed her where she is, surrounded by likeminded people, doing what she truly loves to do.
So, how did we get here? It turns out God had us on this path all along. I just didn’t know it.
Quickly as I close, to the girls of Kaylee’s Team Hephzibah, thank you. Thank you for sharing your stories. You have poured your hearts into your blogs and I feel like we have known you for years. You are changing the world, one life at a time. My verse for you is Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
Love you Squirt,
Dad
