Funding update: I am currently at 40% ($6,240) of my funds – I have been so encouraged over these months, and I am incredibly grateful to all of you for your support. My next deadline is December 18th, by which time I’ll need 50% ($7,500). Will you consider contributing?
In my last post, I mentioned that I felt a new peace about leaving my home in Charlottesville, VA. Before, I’d had the notion that I was walking into a vague, lonely year away from so many things I love… Now, I know more concretely what this Race will actually be like. I know what I can look forward to.
Allow me to fill you in 🙂
- Firstly (and most importantly), I’d like to introduce you to my team.
Back row: Cody Stutzman & Team Leader Doug Linstedt
Middle: Kayla Christophel, Stephanie Stutzman, me, & Dave Smith
Front: Abby Stewart
(In the future, I’m sure we’ll have a much more sophisticated and inspiring picture – probably on top of a mountain somewhere – but for now, all I can give you is this one of us all decked out in our B-Squad color during the end-of-training-camp-competition.)
Though our squad is 48 people, we are all broken into teams of about 7 each. These 7 are the people we’ll be with 24/7, the ones with whom we’ll travel, serve, learn, pray, dance, sing, fight, reconcile, fight some more, and hopefully reconcile some more…
I’m excited to be with this team for many reasons – however, I honestly wouldn’t normally gravitate towards any of them as friends here at home. And that is to my detriment. I am so looking forward to learning loads from each and every one of them! We could already sense it at training camp – this is going to be a great team. 🙂
- Secondly, Route Change!!
This is the World Race, annnnnnnnd that means only the go-with-the-flow people survive. We’ve already had our first big adjustment – 3 countries have been dropped from our route (Mozambique, Malaysia, Ukraine), and 3 have been added (Thailand, Turkey, Albania). Our new route looks like this:
South Africa > Swaziland > India > Nepal > Thailand > Vietnam > Cambodia > Ireland > Romania > Turkey > Albania
- Thirdly, I’ve been selected to be a B-Squad Logistics Coordinator!!
During training camp, many people were offered particular responsibilities (Treasurer for each team, etc.) and I was given my DREAM JOB (which happens to have a rather un-snazzy title, but I’m sure we’ll take care of that). To set the stage: every so often during our trip, the whole Squad will come together for a few days to reunite, debrief, and take a well-needed break. The 3 B-Squad logistics coordinators are responsible for food, transportation, and lodging for EVERYONE during those debriefs, AS WELL AS during all 10 of our border crossings. Yea. Legit. (I envision lots of special trips to scout out meeting spaces, arguing with foreign bus drivers, haggling for rice and beans, and leading mad dashes through crowded streets to make it to the border crossing before it closes.) This is very much up my alley. I’m stoked.
- Lastly, I now officially know when I Launch.
The dates are set in stone – I have to be in Atlanta, GA by January 5th, and on January 9th, we all board our flight headed to South Africa…
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Truthfully, in these few weeks since Training Camp, it wasn’t difficult to ease back into Charlottesville life. And I think that’s ok. I haven’t found myself dwelling on what it’ll be like to be in particular countries/cultures, or what aspects of roughing it I’ll be dreading… it almost catches me off guard when friends ask me more in-depth about my emotional preparation for the trip. Right now, I’m fully invested and loving being in Cville, my little home. There’s lots left to deal with and enjoy here before I leave. All the wonderful and difficult things of the Race – which I cannot predict – will happen when they happen. Right now, this is happening, and it’s wonderful.
On the drive from northern Virginia to Charlottesville
