Elijah
Since the start of the race, I have grown more in patience and faith. Patience with people as well with God. The Lord has moved so much on this journey. I’ve experienced healings not only in the physical but as well in the spiritual, all because of a little bit of faith.
The hardest thing that God has brought me through on the race was when I fasted for the first time in my life, when I was in Guatemala. 2am in the morning of the day I was fasting, I was throwing up everywhere. I was weakened and in pain, but the Lord in his graciousness made it a short experience. By the end of the day I was feeling great after taking ecoli medicine. The greatest thing that the Lord brought me through on the race was when I gave me first ever “sermon” in Cambodia. When Stephen requested that I and 4 other squad mates give a word and set up leadership development weekend, without hesitation I said yes, despite my feeling of being ill equiped. It is so true that the Lord doesn’t always call the equipped, but he equips the called. All it takes is the yes. I delivered a short 10 minute word on choosing joy through every season of life and the Holy Spirit brought me comfort and confidence the whole time. Being mostly introverted, I have never really done public speaking before, but because of me saying yes to the call, he allowed me to deliver a great word.
The most fun/adventurous thing I’ve done on the race was going zip lining through the Ecuadorian jungle. The first line was Superman style over this river at a very great height. Then after that there were bridges that spanned chasms more than hundreds of feet down which we had to cross to get to the other lines. Most fun I’ve had in Ecuador.
After the race I plan on pursuing a career in boxing as well as getting my bachelors degree in zoology, so that I can work to better our ecosystems.
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Over the last 3 months in Cambodia, Elijah and I were teaching for a lot of the days together. I have loved laughing with him and seeing him pursue his love for boxing. I have seen determination and work poured into the thing that he loves. He also has a love for God and others and it is very cool to see him step into that. I got to see him express his voice so much whether that be teaching in school, or showing God to others. I am so excited for where the Lord is leading Elijah, and I am so thankful to call him my brother!
Stephen:
I think one of the hardest things I have overcome is pride and I am still continually breaking it down. Because it is a hard thing to be in leadership and feel like if the team is down it is my fault and if the team is up it was my hard work. I wish it was as simple as that sentence, but it is more complex and people and our humanity. Our brokenness is in the mix of this and we don’t like being the cause of hurt, shame or pain. It is easy to feel good when everything is going smoothly. It is really dangerous to let the guard down when things appear to be healthy.
In this God has brought so much humility and self awareness to know what is mine to carry throughout the race.
Hiking a volcano was one of the most beautiful crazy cold and incredible things I have done. We we’re miserable that night in the cold and I didn’t sleep more than 30 minutes at a time for the 6 hours of sleep I got. But seeing that volcano erupt in the dark, and the stars that morning was one of the most amazing sites I’ve ever seen.
I am wanting to go home for a bit to receive and rest, haha. I have been away for a long time and I want to spend some time with my family to do healthy things and share what I have gained all over the world back home. Then I am going to go out and find or build a new and healthy community to be a part of.
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From about the beginning of the Race, I noticed Stephen as being silent, yet I still felt his presence in the room. He is a leader that I have enjoyed learning from. He has so much wisdom that I have seen when it came to different things. Not only wisdom, but his patience and love for others is so real. He steps into serving and is willing to be with those who are facing pain and go through that with them. Stephen has been with me on the days I had to go to the doctor’s, that also included removing a stingray prong from my foot.(It’s a long story…) Thank you Stephen for all that you have sacrificed to lead me through these past 9 months, and I’m excited for what the future holds for you!
