It's Oct. 6, one day before we launch to Gautemala. I'm here with Jake Schmitt looking over my shoulder and staring at me in a hilarious sort of way. We're listening to Dashboard Confessionals and have recently harmonized to Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley.
It's been a great couple of days in the City of Angels, meeting up with racers who are going to be with me for the next 11 months, and traveling to some of the most intense parts of the world spiritually and financially.
Our team leaders, finance leaders and logistics leaders leave this evening to pave the way for the other forty-odd racers.
We walked down Sunset Boulevard and saw street performers and enjoyed each other's company. It's the quiet, yet intense inhale before the plunge into the beginning of our new life. We made a memory at Let's Make a Deal, where we watched Wayne Bradey and got an inside look at how staged game shows truly are. It seems that the majority of American culture places an importance on the product of being fake.
We are real.
We have fears and worries going into this journey of self-discovery, self-sacrifice and service. Some of us are fully funded, and we have many people to thank for that. Some of us are not, and are reliant on the generosity of our monthly supporters and their endorsements to other potential supporters. Some of us have strong support systems at home, pictures and cards with words of encouragement and the love of a family that believes that what we are doing is good for us, and good for the world.
Some of us do not.
Some are haunted by the doubt engendered by a support system that is not supportive at all, that believes that what we're doing is pointless and maybe even selfish. We pray for their eyes to be opened, and their hearts softened.
"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" – Jeremiah 29:11
We can't waver. What we're doing is good, and right. These next 11 months are going to change us in all the best ways. We have to cast off our fears and walk in the belief that our support system is of a higher authority, and can alleviate our fears if we let Him.
"In order to hear My voice, you must release all your worries into My care. Entrust to me everything that concerns you. Sit quietly in My presence, allowing My light to soak into you and drive out any darkness lodged within you." – I Peter 5:6
We're beginning the best year of our life, B Squad. I cannot wait to share this experience with you, and make friends that will last a lifetime.
