1. 10 days really feels like 94 at training camp.
2. The World Race is a really, really good idea for me.
3. Crickets are very salty.
4. They also come apart into a million little pieces on the first bite and take several minutes to swallow.
5. I love chai tea. After 8 days without my tea, I was literally jumping for joy.
6. Spicy food is my comfort food.
7. Eggs can be cooked approximately 1,000 different ways.
8. I learned the proper way to eat with my hands!
9. Napkins, dishes, and utensils are unnecessary.
10. Running water is WAY underappreciated. (8 bucket showers. 200 girls. 20 porta potties. 250 people.)
11. My squad and my amazing leadership team are a church.
12. Being a follower of Jesus Christ will cost me everything.
13. God loves me just the way I am, but he loves me too much to leave me the way that I am.
14. Obedience is the key that will release the power of God into my life.
15. If I am all in for jesus, (fill in the blank here) doesn’t matter anymore.
16. God is a person to get to know, not a being to understand.
17. Evangelism is (or should be) sharing my story, and inviting other people to the life Jesus has given me.
18. Our mission as Christians is universal reconciliation for universal worship.
19. We worship God because we can’t imagine not thanking someone who radically changed our lives.
20. Worshiping God with hands up and dancing feet is so much more fun than just standing and singing.
21. “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matthew 28;18) Us World Racers like to think the action in this command from Jesus is to go, but it is rather to make. We are called to make and be made into renewed followers of Jesus.
22. Go to learn, not to do.
23. Jesus came to earth for you and me, not for high-and-mighty Christians and those other people over there.
24. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam are super intricate and cool to learn about.
25. I really respect the dedication other believers give to their faiths, and am striving to have the same integration of beliefs and actions as a Christian.
26. One awesome thing about Christianity is that it is not a religion. Jesus doesn’t focus on rules (as a religion does) but on people.
27. I need to bungee jump into Jesus. My amazing team leader Kyla, told us a story of when she went bungee jumping on her Race. She was ready to go, toes off the edge of the cliff, when she looked down. She got scared, but the instructor told her to focus on the horizon and just jump. She did, and said it was an incredible experience. She encouraged my team to not look down and think about what we had to lose, but to look at Jesus and what we have to gain this year.
28. God can completely change us and make us whole again, it’s his plan.
29. God will use anything to teach anyone.
30. Don’t ask people to do something that you don’t also ask yourself to do.
31. If you think you can define God, you’ve got a problem.
32. God is so much more than my wildest dreams.
33. The law will always focus on my actions, but grace will always focus on my heart.
34. God gives us abundant, raw life, not abundance in life.
35. God will get undignified running after us.
36. Sheep happens. Literally. God calls us his sheep.
37. Grace remembers no mistakes.
38. We are not in the Kingdom of God (the community of people who are pursuing him) for what we can get, but what we can give.
39. The law will define sin, but grace will define God.
40. When women come together, we are a force to be reckoned with.
41. Healing is not possible without forgiveness.
42. Shame keeps us silent, and makes us think that we are alone.
43. That’s such a lie.
44. It’s not my job to do the work of the Holy Spirit (the spirit of God in all people).
45. I am worth God running the risk of losing.
46. I can be confident in who I am, because of who God is. He has promised to make me like him.
47. I have a heart for others, but I also need a heart for myself.
48. We are on the edge of something amazing.
49. “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” -Martin Luther King Jr.
50. If God has promised it, he will do it.
51. God promises that he will make everything good in time, so if it’s not good, he’s still working.
52. Every person in front of me is an invitation for both of us to encounter the Holy Spirit.
53. I can talk to God without just sitting quietly an reading my Bible.
54. I need a yes in my spirit. Anything can happen.
55. I am placing my identity on what I’ve done wrong and the hard things I’ve been through.
56. My Father is asking me to surrender my identity,because he places my identity in who I am because of hm.
57. The Father’s arms are open wide.
58. Forgiveness is a decision I make, and I don’t have to feel “ready.”
59. Forgiveness doesn’t mean I’m okay with what happened, it’s not justifying anyone’s actions.
60. Forgiveness is setting myself free.
61. God has nothing against either of us, because Jesus died for us.
62. Faith is an action, not a feeling.
63. God will get weird to pursue a relationship with you. (the story of Jonah)
64. The goal of communication is to understand, not to be understood.
65. Defensiveness doesn’t create safe spaces.
66. We both are truth-speakers and life-bringers.
67. I need to allow myself to feel the pain of leaving. Right now, that is being away from my squad for the next 49 days. Soon, I will feel the pain of leaving my family and friends for 275 days.
68. The responsibility of fundraising is not on me. God has promised me the money, and he will give it. (Maybe through you? I don’t know. Shameless self-promo on my own blog.)
69. I need a heart to learn.
70. I need to learn to live at a lower level.
71. Expectations need to stop, because they will always be broken, for better or for worse.
72. Living in community is (so far) awesome!!!!!!
73. Fitting 12 people and their packs into a 10-person tent is full of laughs and pack-cuddling.
74. Man buns are a thing. I had one for the majority of camp.
74. I need to pack more than three shirts. Within a few hours, the shirt I was wearing would smell sooo bad and i would say that I would never touch the shirt again. But, where was I two days later? Yep.
75. Always wear shorts under skirts. Sarongs are generally left in the dust when you run up the hill for dinner. In front of 280 people. (It’s fine.)
76. Hammocks. Yes.
77. Tent walls are not sound-proof. Or waterproof.
78. I’m, surprisingly, such an extrovert. After 94 days of zero alone time, I really didn’t want to take a 10-minute walk by myself.
79. I’ve grown to love my team.
80. Shekinah has a phobia of oranges, but is fearless in all other ways.
81. Abbey has superpowers, including fighting infection while sleeping in a tent.
82. Milena is such a leader and an encourager.
83. Brittany has a Mary Poppins daypack and such a sharing heart.
84. Ellie will always be the light to anyone and everyone.
85. Savannah has the most beautiful spirit, and can relate like nobody’s business.
86. Cat has so much wisdom and the biggest heart ever.
87. I love my whole squad, and am so thankful for those I am super close to already.
88. Erin will make me laugh until i pee my basketball shorts. (cultural dress code ftw)
89. Caela brings abundant joy, deep feelings, and essential oils everywhere.
90. Caleb: dancing banana.
91. My heart is exploding.
92. My life is changing.
93. I am a DANGEROUS WOMAN FOR THE LORD
94. I can’t wait for September 9!!!!!
