My dear friends, my hope is that this post serves as an update for you all, both for where I’m at now and where I’m headed in these next five months (yes, only a bit over FIVE MONTHS until I hop on my first plane to India!). This past month has contained so many wonderful adventures, from climbing my first two 14ers to paddleboarding to visiting friends and having friends visit, and God’s provision has been so evident. I still feel completely overwhelmed at the amount of grace that God extends towards me on a daily basis, and I’m coming to peace with the fact that it will always be that way, try as my prideful heart might to “have it all together.” Thank you a billion times to those of you who have listened to and obeyed God’s call to support me in prayer, finances, and fellowship. You have no idea what an incredible blessing you are to me!
[financial update]
God is so good and has been slowly and steadily providing the finances for me to be able to leave for the Race in January! Between pledges for t-shirts that have yet to be paid for and some very generous donors, I have raised about $6,000 towards my goal. However, I still need your help! I have to raise $10,000 by the first of January. Right now, I am looking for people who would support me by doing one or more of the following:
- Did you know that Americans spend roughly $14/month in coffee shops? Kick your coffee addiction and sign up to donate $14/month. I’ll treat you to coffee as a thank you!
- Love receiving mail that’s not bills and adds from Comcast? Follow me around the world and sign up to donate $25/month. I’ll send you a postcard or letter from each country I visit as a thank you!
Also, please know that I still have some World Race t-shirts for sale in sizes S, M, and L. I can ship shirts anywhere in the United States, and would love get one to you. These shirts have been one of my biggest fundraisers so far, and it would be awesome to get the rest of them sold!
[departure update]
I recently learned that we leave January 7th/8th of 2017 (depending on the roles that we’re assigned within our team) to head to Atlanta for launch. Emotions are a tricky thing, especially when excitement collides with fear, happiness, and shock. I know that these next 5 months are going to feel like some of the longest, and also the shortest, months of my life, and I would ask that you begin to pray now for my heart, as well as the hearts of all those on my team, as God continues to lead us in His grand adventure.
[heart update]
Speaking of leaving in January, that’s been one of the heaviest things on my heart as of late. It was honestly really hard news to receive. I don’t know why, but the departure date that I had in my head up until this week was January 12th as opposed to the 7th/8th. I know that’s only 4 or 5 days earlier, but those 4 or 5 days feel like a month. I guess there’s just something about leaving the first week of the new year as opposed to the second week that threw me for a loop. I remember reading the e-mail with our departure date and having a sense that I should be excited for the news, I should be super stoked to leave, I should start a countdown on my phone, and wondering what was wrong with me because of the fact that I felt way more shocked and fearful than excited. I wondered what was wrong with me, because I knew everyone else was super stoked and was starting countdowns on their phones, and all I could do was sit on my floor staring at the e-mail for 10 minutes. And I was filled with such an intense understanding of exactly what it means to be leaving so soon.
It’s been so good to talk to fellow racers and dear friends about this, because some days are really exciting, and you can’t wait to hop on that plane an follow Jesus into this unknown adventure. You’re so excited to see that ways that Jesus will move in and around you, and you’re amazed that Jesus would call you to something so incredible. And some days, everything that you’re going to be missing for that year hits you square in the face. Disclaimer: this is not me trying to focus on the negative or not be thankful. This is simply me being incredibly real and raw with you. Because the real me, the raw me, is heartbroken that I’ll be missing my sweet friend’s wedding, the sight of my classmates walk across the stage at graduation, holidays with my family and friends, and the small things: the late drives, the walks at the park, the random dinners, the coffee dates. And God will provide in the midst of that, there is no doubt. But if you know me at all, you know that my heart dwells with people; my heart is relational to the core, and knowing that I’ll be away for a year of relationships is hard for me. The contradiction of feeling both excitement and sadness is very strange to me, and something I’m working on simply setting at the foot of the cross and asking God to tell me what to do. If you think to pray, I would ask you to pray, like I mentioned, for my heart as well as the hearts of all those on my team as we grapple with God, his timing, and his grand plan, and learn more and more each day to trust him in the midst of the details that we cannot comprehend. I would ask you to pray for God’s voice to be heard loud and clear in the midst of the distractions around us. And I would ask that you pray for excitement. I know this will come, especially as we get closer and closer to launch, because if there’s one thing I know about God, it’s that he’s not a God of fear, but a God of joy and glory.
Thank you for your prayers and your support. Thank you for letting me spill my heart on the internet. And thank you for your love and encouragement. God has placed so many incredible people in my life, and even with the simple act of reading this post, you have blessed my heart. Please consider subscribing to my blog (you can just scroll up and click “Follow Me” on the left-hand side of the page) so that you can continue to receive update e-mails. It’ll just shoot you a quick e-mail whenever I post, both now and next year when we are on the ground. All my love!
-J
