Hey everyone! I don’t know if I officially announced this but I am leaving the race just a little bit early than the rest of my squad mates. I have 20 days left on the race and they all have 24. I am heading home the 27th of May to make it to my cousin’s wedding which I am super excited for, but the rest of my squad will be heading home the 31st of May.
A lot of prayer went into making this decision. There were many factors supporting both pros and cons but ultimately after diving into God’s word, praying and talking about it to my team, I decided to come home early for my family and for the wedding.
As much as I am excited to be with my family and see my sweet cousin married, I am still going to be very sad saying goodbye to the people I’ve lived with for the past 9 months of my life. I would be sad either way, whether I left early or not, but it’s a strange feeling knowing I won’t be flying on the same plane home with them. I won’t have buddies to laugh or cry with. I won’t be able to hug them all farewell at the airport. I won’t be able to celebrate eating Chick-Fil-A for the first time in months with my friends. I won’t be able to talk to them about past great times and past hard times. I won’t be able to take our last travel day selfies. I will be alone. They will be enjoying one last week of debrief together and I will be home. It’s going to be weird but it’s also going to be so good.
I gotta be honest, I’m excited to be with my fam, eat American food, take a nice hot shower and sleep in a comfy bed full of blankets and pillows in an AC filled room. Lol. 😀
Prayer requests – For fast and easy covid testing with negative results. For safe travels, easy check in and getting through security, not missing my flights, all the things. Comfort and joy. Being ok with this season of my life ending, learning from it, moving on and being excited for the next season. 😀
So yea I will be home soon everybody! It’s crazy to think that the race is almost over. That this past 9 months of my life has flown by so quickly. This once huge mission trip has turned into less than a 3 week fling. A mission’s trip a normal youth group may go on for the summer. Like whoa! (Those mission trips are just as wonderful though – God is always at work) But still it’s gone by so quickly. I’ve learned and grown so much and I’ve made relationships/friendships that will last a lifetime. We are already starting to plan our reunions. Lol
My next blog post I want to put into your hands. It will be a Q&A blog. Either in the comments here or when I post about it on Insta/Facebook, I’m giving you the opportunity to ask any questions about the race you’d like and I will put them in my next blog and answer them. They can be about the countries we’ve been to, the ministries we’ve done, specific stories you’ve heard or read about, my walk with the Lord, hardships of the race, praises of the race, living conditions, community, values, etc. Anything! It’s all up to you guys!
As my World Race comes to a close I am thinking about all the reflecting and processing I will be doing over the next few weeks and maybe even months following. I am also thinking about you all. My wonderful supporters. I will be sure to send out mail or an email to you all just to summarize the race and thank you all for all your love, prayers and support. I am truly grateful for every single one of you. When I get home and life returns to a steady rhythm, feel free to reach out and call or text me if you want to hear more about the past 9 months of my life. I’d love to share more of it with you … although … you all have seen glimpses already through my blogs and social media posts.
Thanks for reading everyone!
Lots of Love,
Alex Paige
P.S. Be sure to put your questions about the world race in the comments below either here or on insta/Facebook.
