So I am currently in my first country Thailand, after 80 hours of travel and the 3 day event known as launch. Launch is an event three days before you hit the field. It was designed to make some final preparations for the racers and also their parents. Me and my dad and mom left for the hotel where it would be hosted in downtown Atlanta on the 6th of september. The 3 days consisted of worship, fellowship, and classes that ranged from self defense to insurance. After it was all finished we said goodbye to our parents and packed our bags for the travel day. First we left our hotel at 3am for the Atlanta airport to catch a bus to Nashville. We bussed 5 hours to The Nashville airport where we would then have about a 10 hour layover. We would then fly 5 hours to San Francisco, 14 hours to Hong Kong, 3 hours to Singapore, 3 hours to Bangkok, The finale 1 hour to our final destination Chaing Mai. It was about 80 hours worth of travel which was tough, but the purpose we were going for made it worth it. Throughout launch and the travel days I was having a really hard time with my relationship and intimacy with the Lord. I felt extremely distant from God and as if whatever I did I wasn’t worthy of God’s favor and love. During worship one day at launch I wrote down all my frustrations towards God. Things like; why do I feel unworthy of his love, why do I lose the feeling of you so quickly and the biggest one, why do I feel so alone. All of these things gave me anger and resentment towards God which is exactly what Satan wants. I did a lot of praying and talking about it and come to the conclusion that God is simply trying to teach me something. He is trying to teach me to trust in him and believe that his word is truth. Because the Bible says “I will never leave you and never forsake you” I can trust that I am not alone no matter how I feel inside. All of the trials and problems I will face on my race will only push my closer to the Lord. God has given me this peace in knowing whatever bad things happen to me, it is all in Gods plan for my good and the advancement of the kingdom.
