There are two groups of people who are reading this right now.
1.) My Friends and Family who don't need an 'About Me' section because they already know me!
AND
2.) My fellow January 2014 Route 1 racers who are trying to get a glimpse of who they are going to be spending a whole year of their lives with!
I have been trying to figure out the best way to write this section. Something honest and brief so I don't bore people to sleep, yet also something that reflects my vibrant personality without excess adjectives and exclamation points! I have come to the conclusion that I need to write a personal note to each of these important groups in my life.
To My Friends and Family,
Thank you for visiting my World Race Blog! You have either received my support letter or have accessed this link from my Facebook page. Because you have access to one or both of these things, I am confident that you know me quite well. This trip is something I have dreamt about for years. Those of you who have spent any significant amount of time around me will be able to back me up when I say I am always looking for something exciting do to and experience. I would not be able to hide the fact that I desperately want to experience the thrill of other countries if I tried. In addition to that I can confidently say that weather you are a family member, family friend, high school friend, or a college friend from Florida, you know my heart is for my Savior. I am not ashamed that I chose to live my life for Jesus Christ. There is not a second that goes by that I am not thankful for choosing to seek to obey and love my Lord and Savior no matter how hard it is at times. The fact that I can combine my passion to travel and my passion for Christ is more exciting than I can express. I am so very excited for this new adventure in my life and I am looking forward to sharing it with you through this blog. On the left hand side you can click on a link titled 'Want Email Updates?' by clicking on this and entering your email address you will receive an email alert every time I update my blog with stories, pictures, and payer requests while I'm away! Although I have never blogged before, I am going to try my best to keep you informed of how God is working through my travels. There is also a link entitled 'Join My Support Team!', here you can give financially to my trip and it will go directly into my account. Once I begin receiving donations, there will be a percentage bar showing how much I have raised and how much I have to go. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or would simply like to talk about my trip! I am so excited to go into these countries and spread the wonderful news of Gods love and unending grace as your supported Missionary!
To My World Race Team,
I know that there is no way I will be able to genuinely get to know any of you through your blogs and vise versa. As intimidating as it is, to not know the people I am going to be spending 24/7 with for eleven months of my life until I am embarking on the actual trip, I am anxious for that time to come. I am looking forward to meeting each and every one of you in person. I have always enjoyed meeting new people and hearing the stories of their lives. The thought of adding around 40 new people to my life and taking the time to get to know your individual personalities is something that excites me. We will be stretched in so many different ways through this trip, that there is no way we will be the same people when we come back. The people on this trip will be the only ones who will truly be able to relate to how that feels. I know we wont all like each other the whole time, and it will be a process for us to open up to each other, but we will become a family that loves each other despite any trial that comes up. As scared as all of us may be to meet each other and engage in such intimate life for a year with strangers, we wont be strangers for long. A bond will form between all of us that we will look back on at the end of our trip and laugh at how apprehensive we all were to meet for the first time. We all are on this trip because we love our Best Friend Jesus Christ and we want to introduce Him to others. We are willing to give up the comfort of the United States for a year to back-pack through Central America in order to do that. That right there, in my opinion, is a solid foundation for a new friendship! I know that life together on this trip will not be easy, but at the same time it will be filled with many of our most precious memories we will hold on to for the rest of our lives. There are things God has in store for our trip that we cannot even imagine and I am so excited to experience them with you! I will be praying for all of you as I anxiously await Training Camp and the launch of our route that will soon follow! It will be here before we know it!
Love to all,
Jaide
