I know you’re probably all expecting a blogpost from Belize telling about all the amazing ministry happening there, but you’ll have to settle for an update from small town Virginia because the Lord had other plans for me this month. But don’t worry! I’m still going on the World Race, but things are slightly different now. The rest of my squad launched a few weeks ago, and they are currently thriving in Belize, but because of medical reasons, I made a last minute decision to switch to a route that doesn’t leave until January. This was an extremely hard call to make, but I know that the Lord has a purpose in it, and I’ve been seeing that more and more every day since.
Some of you might know that I got a traumatic brain injury during my sophomore year of college and have dealt with the effects of it off and on for the past four years. The headaches, confusion, spaciness, and stuttering became less common as time passed after the injury and for a while have been so sparse that they are unnoticeable to others. I might have a rough day here and there, but the effects have not kept me from my daily life. That was until a couple months ago when these symptoms returned much more intensely than I have experienced in the past two years of recovery. The weeks leading up to the original launch date looked much like the weeks after my original head injury – extreme headaches, memory problems, trouble sleeping and stuttering. You can imagine how alarming this was for not only me but my parents. This may be a relapse from the original concussion or a result of a minor collision I had while playing a running game in September. It was also likely made worse by the stress of preparing to leave the country for 11 months. It could also simply be God showing me He has big plans for me on the January route.
All I know is, although I had a hard time sending P squad to Belize and staying behind, I feel peace that the new squad and route I will be joining is where I’m meant to be. I will now be serving overseas from January to November. I will still be going to eleven countries, but most of those countries have changed. I’m excited to announce my new route is the “Unscripted” route and my team and I will be going to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Botswana, Bulgaria, Serbia, Spain, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia!
I can’t wait to see what God has in store in 2019, and in the meantime, I’m resting, recovering, and soaking up some unexpected extra time with family and friends. I have been seeing a doctor and going to physical therapy, and I’ve improved a lot in the past few weeks. I would love for you to join me in prayer for continued healing, as well as for me and my new squad as we prepare to leave in about 2 months!
Thank you to so many of you who have been supporting me on this journey for almost a year now, and to all of you who have prayed for me and reached out to me since the decision to postpone the race. Through this, I have seen God’s sovereignty and grace, as well as Him as our source of hope, and I cannot wait to share that gift of hope overseas next year.
P.S. If you’re interested in seeing what my original team is up to and how you can be joining me in prayer for them, check out their blogs on the left of my page or follow p_squad_oct.2018
