So… you have been accepted on the Race and it is time to prepare for the next 11 months.
CONGRATULATIONS!
I know exactly how you are feeling right now as I am on month 8 of my Race. These are the different emotions you can expect to go through as you prepare to launch!
- The World Race!!! That sounds awesome! This is totally something God is calling me to! I am ready to love on orphans and travel the world serving the least of these! This is the moment for which I have been created! I’m in! Sign me up!
- After getting accepted– Oh yeah! This is real! So real! I am going! Time to tell the world, take a trendy blog picture, and let all of my friends know!
- Oh $%&^&#%^# I am about to travel the world for 11 months! What do I pack? Should I sell my car? What do I tell my boss? Do I buy a 65L pack or a 70L pack? Time to watch every video ever made on the World Race, and read every single blog posted about packing and what to expect at training camp.
- After training camp- Holy Spirit! Hallelujah! Yes! Let’s go storm the gates of hell/ what just happened in those last 10 days/ I survived this thing…I can do this!!!
- Right before launch-Mom, I’m going to miss you! Oh my gosh… I didn’t even realize I won’t have Chickfila for the next 11 months… guess I better eat it for every meal now until launch date! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING? WAHHH. (as you hold your pillow tight realizing you will never see a comfy one again) (well for the next 11 months)
Trust me friend! I know exactly what you are going through and I am here to tell you to take a deep breath. You are about to embark on the greatest journey of your life. There are three things I want you to do right now in this moment:
- Take a breath
- Stop reading packing blogs
- Don’t idolize the World Race
- I want you to first take a breath and soak in where you are right now. How does God want to use you right there in your hometown as you prepare to leave? It would be a shame for you to not live an abundant life right where you are and feel the need to only receive one the day of your launch. You race begins now. There is a reason you are launching when you are for SO many reasons. God’s timing is perfect and it’s not only already so beautifully orchestrated for you to impact lives overseas, but maybe He has this time for you because there is something so special He wants to do through you in your hometown. SOAK SOAK SOAK in this time with your family, and realize that you signed them up for this adventure as well. They wont see their baby for 11 months. It is in this season that you are going to minister to your friends and family more than you ever thought possible. They are getting to see you live out true obedience to the Father and complete intimacy with Him. Don’t miss out on this because you are too busy watching training camp videos and researching packing blogs.
- Yes, I am going to go there. STOP READING SO MANY PACKING BLOGS. You are just going to end up like me spending $40 on a camelback water bag that you don’t even use once. Something you need to know is that EVERYONE’S race is different. Sally Sue might tell you to pack an inflatable pillow because it saves more space, but you have to sleep on that ish for 11 months!!! Sally Sue has a different back than you…. Don’t listen to Sally Sue. A little less space is worth your small fluffy pillow. (I stole mine from the plane)
Jeffrey Joe might tell you to pack a converter so you go out and buy a $50 one when you could have bought one in that country for $5. Packing blogs are great for your necessities like sleeping bag and sleeping pad… but all the extra fluff doesn’t really help that much.
In this journey you will constantly grow and constantly learn. Don’t freak out when it comes to what clothes you should pack. In each country, even if I was in a village in Africa, we would travel into the city one day before we flew out and there were PLENTY of places to get things I needed. (Deodorant and tampons are a little more difficult, but other than that I never was in need)
Don’t freak out about what brand is better than the next… because my Thermarest sleeping pad popped AND my Marmot tent got holes in it after only using it once. But it is here that you learn. You don’t have the luxury of going out and buying a new one. So, you suck it up, sew your tent, and patch your pad.
Is one of your countries going to be cold? I bought all new warm clothes in Nepal for super cheap and then left them there.
I learned how to adapt and make do with what I had. That is the fun in this experience. Stressing out before hand is understandable but not necessary. I had a friend that used her pop-up-bowl all the time, I haven’t used it once and I’m dropping that thing like it is hot.
You race is going to be different. Your style is different. What you like will be different. Bring what you know will be necessitates and trust the Lord with the rest. He has promised to clothe the flowers of the field and surely He will provide for your every need. Don’t focus so much on the lists that you miss Him providing for you when you need it. He is faithful.
*** Little side tip to help you. I would encourage you to fundraise a little extra money for your race. It comes in handy when your pants rip, you give away your Chacos, or you want to radically bless someone in need.
Also I would highly encourage you to download children’s songs and have them on your ipod just in case. I can GUARANTEE you at some point on your race you will work with children and this comes in handy (with a speaker) more than you could ever imagine!
- The World Race is just a small part of the big plan God has for your life. Your life doesn’t end when the World Race is over and it didn’t begin when you launched. The World Race is amazing, but it doesn’t last forever. Don’t idolize it as you prepare to leave, because you will discover quickly it’s more difficult than you thought. You will be disappointed because you put the World Race on a pedestal and you found your worth in it. God is constant and He will remain when Month 11 comes to an end. Don’t lose sight of Him, because everything you are about to do is allllllll about and alllll wrapped up in Him.
So… go forth my fellow World Racers! And go without fear because the God who called you is good, and He is good to see this thing until the end. He won’t let you go on in need, and He wont flinch when something catches you off guard (like your tent getting stolen.) It’s in those moments that the Lord is trying to show you the “things” of the Race don’t really matter. That tent getting stolen was His way in letting a team-mate provide for you and for you to build a closer relationship with them.
This is about to be the best 11 months of your life, but it will also be the hardest. Take the good. Take the bad. Embrace the suck. Embrace the beautiful.
Don’t go into your race with any expectations, God is about to blow them out of the water anyways. You’re going to be okay. You’re going to have everything you need, and if you don’t there will be a way to get it.
Now, exit out of this blog and go spend time with someone you love. You’ve got this… and when you feel like you don’t… He’s had it the whole time.
