Oh hey! I didn’t see you there. Welcome to another one of my blogs!
For this one (as you could probably guess from the title) I’m going to be answering your questions! I reached out on social media and asked you to send me anything on your mind. All I’m going to do is bold the question, and then under each question, I’ll put my answer. And toward the end of the blog, there will be some updates about my trip!
Here we go!
What are you most excited to learn and experience?
I mean, besides EVERYTHING? (haha) That might sound a bit hyperbolical, but I really am so excited to experience all that the Race has to offer. From the ministry to the community to the leadership. Although more specifically, I am genuinely looking forward to experiencing pain and difficulty. I know for a fact that the Race exposes racers to both of those things in their rawest form. There are so many excuses to remain comfortable and safe, especially when the world bombards us with the newest things… new people, new places, you name it. But if I’m forced to confront my OWN pain and brokenness in circumstances I’m very foreign to, then hopefully growth will take place. And plus, getting launched into countries where I’M the foreigner is only going to push me toward hard emotions even more forcefully.
So, I’m really excited to be hit in the face with life, the good and the bad. Because I know that I’m going to grow from it.
Besides having an awesome sister who did the Race, what is your inspiration for doing it?
Dang. Good question. And YOU’RE RIGHT. My sister (Alyssa) is so gosh darn awesome. For those of you who don’t know my sister, she is probably one of the kindest women I have the chance to call my sib. She teaches SO gently and always can bring lightness into any situation known to man. Alyssa did the Race back in 2017-2018, and has been so good at helping me through this preparation period as I get ready to go on the Race myself!
I would say one of my biggest inspirations to do the Race is this thing called restlessness. A lot of people might say it’s a burden, especially when it manifests in the fact that I can’t sit still for any period of time. I would say it’s a gift, though. I’ve always had the gift of restlessness, ever since I was little. Still needing to explore, to get dirty, to meet new people, even to get to the highest part of the tree I was climbing. And as I got older, this gift manifested itself in me realizing that the faith I’m living out here in America isn’t matching up with the faith I read about in the Bible. And the solution to this mismatch (that I’m pretty sure is present in everyone’s lives at one point in time) is going to look a lot different for different people. But for me, I know that to develop a faith that is present and real, I must become uncomfortable. I need to choose to have nothing so that the Creator can become everything.
How are you preparing to leave all the things that make you comfortable, like home?
How convenient that you ask.
I’ve found it really easy to get up every day and do absolutely nothing impactful. It’s so entirely simple to just get up and go to school, maybe a job, or whatever it might be, and then come home only to repeat it the next day. I mean, after all, it’s comfortable. And, if we succumb to a numbing cycle of events, then we never have to feel anything at all.
And don’t get me wrong. I find myself doing that a lot. So as I’m preparing for this journey, I’m trying to interrupt my comfortable cycle. By spending my time doing something I might not want to do at that very moment, especially if it’s with someone I love. By committing to a project, even when it starts to get under my skin and crawl around. By NOT spending the entire day in my room, cause sheesh, it’s easy to do (especially with a good TV show). By giving to others even when it’s makes me a little less secure. Because what better thing to interrupt a normal cycle than to put other people before me?
So I guess my answer to this question is I’m seeking discomfort as a way to prepare for something incomprehensibly uncomfortable in learning to love others with what I do rather than what I say.
Any fears about going on the Race?
Nope. Not at all.
I’m just kidding. Of course I have fears. I’m really terrified of something happening back at home while I’m gone. Or maybe if something happened to me while I’m gone… less for my sake then my mom’s! I’m not very good at confrontation, and from what I’ve heard, the Race forces people to do that a LOT (in a loving way, of course). So that’s kinda scary. But honestly, I think I’m most scared of the possibility that I won’t grow at all. Not literally, cause I’m already pretty tall. But I mean, what if I come out of the other end of this thing and I’m the same exact person as I was before?
What country are you most excited to be serving in?
I have absolutely no idea. I would say Nepal, because I mean it’s only home to the tallest mountain ever made. But I’ve never been to any of them, so I can’t really say!
How’s quarantine so far?
It’s safe! I’ve been sadly attempting to learn how to fill my time. But I’ve had the chance to relearn some old tricks, so that’s nice!
How can I support you?
First off, thank you so much if this question is inside your brain, too! I wouldn’t even have the chance to go on the Race if it weren’t for you. Here is all the information you need to know to support me:
There are a couple of ways to help me go on the Race: First, you can give toward my overall $15,800 by going to elijahmcgrail.theworldrace.org (or if you’re reading this, back to my home page) and clicking the blue “Donate” button next to my photo. Or, you can make out a check to my name, and mail it to my address:
Elijah McGrail
229 Mohican Lake Rd.
Glen Spey NY, 12737
I also need help creating a personal fund, which I will use for things such as gear, clothes, and adventure days on the field. By writing a check made out to me, giving cash, or sending me money through the Venmo app (@Elijah-McGrail is my username), you would be donating toward this personal fund. For both cash and checks, you can mail them to the same address as shown above, with a little note telling me what you’d like it to help with!
That’s all of the questions! If you’re sitting here reading this and another question comes up, just reach out to me. Under the contact tab of my home page, you can find some of my information if you want to talk!
But now for some UPDATES!!!
THE WORLD RACE IS NOT CANCELLED! I just want to clear that up if you thought it might be. So far, the only change has been the pushing back of my training camp! Instead of it being in July, it will now be in September.
Here are the official dates, after changes:
September 2, 2020: Registration
1. Launch & Parent Event: September 3-4
2. Training Camp: September 5-16
3. Racers depart for Field: Immediately Following Training Camp
And, some LEGENDARY news we got a few weeks ago was the adding of another country to our route!!! Now, instead of going to just Guatemala, Ecuador, and Nepal, my squad will be heading to COSTA RICA! I’m so excited. I have a goal to capture wild coconut, and hopefully, I’ll have the chance to do it here!
Lots of love coming from my heart. Thank you so much for reading!
-Elijah
