Before we dive in, I want to apologize for not keeping you updated over the past few months through my blogs. I have a fear that the lack of a college education means I can not communicate well through my writing.
PSA- I am still not yet fully funded I have just over 4,000 left to raise, I would love for you to contribute financially, you can either donate through my blog leecole.theworldrace.org or
Venmo- mccolee
I hate asking for money and I thank any and all who donate or have donated, but it’s been so cool to see God work through y’all financially helping me meet my goals. With all that said, here is an overview of what I learned and how I’ve grown over the past few months.
Colombia Month 1- Your past is your past and just that. Quit letting your past define you and dictate your future. Our choices in life show who we truly are far more than anything else. Say for example someone chooses McDonalds over Chic-Fil-A or someone chooses to root for Clemson over Carolina, we can spot these people from a mile away and they are obviously making the wrong choices. In all seriousness it’s okay to be different, it’s okay to have a rocky past, it’s okay to mess up. What’s not okay is living in that past, allowing your screw ups of the past to keep you from accomplishing your goals and dreams of tomorrow. A huge phrase on the World Race is “power of words” no matter how cliche it is or how much it makes me cringe, it’s true. So month 1, I learned to speak positive things over myself and others, I’m trying to eliminate the word “can’t” from my vocabulary, because “can’t” never could and could never would. I learned to move on from the past; you’re not that drug addict people said you were, you can be successful no matter what your past says about you, you’re not gay, you do have a heart, you’re good with people. Whatever it is that someone has said about you that has a hold on you today, give to Jesus. If he can make the blind man see, give the lame mobility, and tell the dead to rise, pop your ego because the things of your past are no match for him.
Ecuador Month 2- BE BOLD
I was given a key at training camp from my parents. We were given a link to purchase a key that a former racer makes and the keys have phrases or words on them. This key is prayed over before it is engraved and mine happened to say “Bold.” I always told myself, “I’ll let someone else do that. I can’t influence people. I’m not doing that it makes me uncomfortable.” This goes back to the “power of words:” you speak negative things about yourself and you typically won’t accomplish much. This is a month where we went into strangers homes to tell them about Jesus and how he’s influenced our lives. We did an exercise at training camp where we went and knocked on random doors in a neighborhood in Gainesville, GA to tell people about Jesus, and I hated every minute of it. I was so anxious and uncomfortable, I said I was never doing it again. Little did I know, that’s all the World Race has been for me; every month my team has been the team that goes out to evangelize, and I could only hide behind my teammates for so long. I’ve learned to swallow my pride and allow God to do works in me that I never knew could happen or that I’d even like. I remembered that key this month and stepped out in faith and became bold because of Jesus. I’m not bold because I’m confident in my own abilities. Left to my own devises, I am nothing. I am bold because I am confident in Jesus and what he can do through me. Moral of the story and this month is you’re not growing if you’re always comfortable. Push yourself to do more, approach that person, help a stranger, encourage someone, get comfortable being uncomfortable because you can make a difference and you will surprise yourself while doing it.
Peru Month 3- Appreciate what you have and be content with “nothing”. Coming from the Eastside of Spartanburg, SC from a worldly view, we are very privileged. I always had everything I ever needed plus some and for the most part. My parents were always able to give me what I wanted within reason. I thought for the longest time if you had the newest and nicest things you would be happy, and that is so far from the truth. I was never content. I always wanted more. A lot of that stems from pride, greed, and selfishness, but it comes back to the fact that I thought materialistic would make me happy. Truth is that they don’t give us joy. 1 Peter 1:8 says, “though you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.” Joy comes from the Lord, and I saw that this month. The people that we went to encourage didn’t have much. They actually had very little. Most of the people I have come in contact with had next to nothing in the eyes of someone that comes from America. Even though they didn’t have cars, flat screens, or iPhones, they had their family and they had joy in the Lord. Two of the most important things in life. A question I often ask myself is that would I be okay without my iPhone, without money in my pocket, would I be okay if friends and family shunned me for what I believe? Would I still rejoice in the Lord if what happened to Job happened to me? A question that I think is almost impossible to answer unless you were put in those scenarios, but I have learned that I take what I have for granted and I am trying to be more grateful for the things I have, the people I have in my life, and where I’ve come from.
India Month 4- This was a rough month for me. This month we had more down time than any other month. It was consistently over 105 degrees, but a month of revolution and change. As some of you may know I don’t do well with down time. This month, due to our safety we couldn’t go outside during the day, so we were inside one room for 18 hours a day. That’s enough to drive anyone crazy. This month, I had a lot of time to think, reflect, and plan how I would change. I learned that I don’t always treat people equally. I tend to judge people by appearance. I sometimes will treat a stranger better than I do myself or someone fairly close to me. I learned I don’t always love myself, my family, strangers, and the Lord like I should. Over the past 5 months, I have lived in a homeless shelter, in the Amazon, in churches, in villages, and a house. There is one things that surrounds all of the places in common and that’s love. The neighbors, the people of the villages, the hosts and their families– they always loved us and treated us as their own. They treated us like they would their children, brothers, or sisters, and they didn’t even know us. Something I can say I have repeatedly failed at over the years but something I am working on doing better is treating everyone I come in contact with equally. Will I do it perfectly? No. Will I do it everyday all day? Probably not, but I can do all things through Christ and as we draw near to him, we start seeing people as he sees them and treating them as he treats them.
So I encourage you, if you’re reading this, do something nice for a stranger today, whether it be buying the car behind you food in the Chic Fil A drive-thru, buying a homeless person lunch, praying for a stranger, compliment someone, do something, be bold. Whatever it may be, whoever you may see, know that they are a child of God and he loves them just as much as he loves you.
Thank you for reading and please remember I am still short of my financial goal of $18,200 and if you would prayerfully consider donating I would be very grateful! Details on donating at the top.
