Hola everyone!
It has been a while since I post a blog about everything that God has been doing in my life so this is going to be a long post! You have been warned.
To start things off and fit the last 2 months into one post I have made a list of 5 things I have been wanting to share with you. I will also include a small list of fundraisers and the dates to come at the very end so please hold on to your seats!
In order to understand my list a bit better I need to share with you the expectation I had in regards to my own family members when it came down to announcing I was committing so deeply on this journey. First of all, I knew I was accepted to the race back in September and I didn’t announce my acceptance to my parents until December and then later in January on my Facebook page. I announced it with my heart on my sleeve and convinced that everyone would shower me with support and kind words. Not the case. Quite contrary to what I was certain of in my mind, I was showered with doubt and questioned whether accepting such journey was really something I “needed” to do. In addition, I was told by many if all I wanted to do was travel that i should just go on a vacation and get it out of my system. In all honesty, my responses were honest and although I went home and cried to my best friends every other night I simply responded with, “this is something that I want to do and it may not be for everyone but then again this is who I am.” My parents both asked me with tears in their eyes, “have you not seen the movie Taken?!” This brings me to #1 Doubt out of fear.
I began to doubt if God was really pushing me to go or if I was simply imagining things. I began to doubt the He will provide and most of all, I began to doubt in everything I was certain of. As it says in 1 John 3:20 “God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.” It took both my best friends and a lot of praying for me to defeat the enemy that had slowly made his way to my thoughts through my family who was only worried for my well being. I prayed through the day and the best squad ever prayed for me as well! This brings me to #2 Avoiding fundraising.
At this point the enemy had a good grip on me. I will not lie to you, the struggle was real! I avoided discussing my trip with anyone at work for a couple weeks. I avoided posting my Buy A Box board on Facebook so that I wouldn’t be questioned by family. These waves were huge and I was so focused on them that I completely stopped fundraising and continued to doubt my journey God himself handpicked for me!! At this time I was working on moving to a smaller apartment so that the lease will end the week of Launch. I was doubting Him a lot, my faith hit rock bottom. I needed to pay a full months rent plus a $500 deposit in order to make this move happen. I was driving home with the full months rent money order but only one money order of $250 in hand. I was short the other $250 and I was to sign the paperwork the next morning. I called the leasing office and through my tears told my leasing office what I had in hand. I told Mary at the desk that I might have to postpone to a later date or maybe just even end up paying for two months while out of the country. Her response was God speaking to me. Mary says, “when is your next pay period? How about you move in tomorrow and you give me the other $250 in two weeks instead?” God is a funny guy sometimes and that day he made me laugh with tears in my eyes. I took this experience as His way of saying “You are leaving launch week, stop doubting me!” I literally cried in my car all the way to the leasing office. I cried and asked him “why do I even doubt you anymore?!”
#3 Taking control through prayer. After receiving the keys my new apartment I continued to face more high waves. I was asked to move out of the old and into the new apt in two days. Keep in mind I tried, but between working full time, my sister (who lives with me) in school taking 15 hours a semester and carrying boxes and furniture 3 flights up and down the stairs two days was not enough time! The first two days I cried of how bad my back was aching,praying at night for a miracle move and the second day I was at the leasing office again asking for some more time. Mary gave me 3 additional days at no charge!! I prayed to myself up and down those stairs every single morning I had to wake up to move in and out. I was aching and I prayed, I was doubting and I prayed, I prayed for my sisters aching feet and I prayed for my back not to snap in half! I’m sure that doesn’t happen but man did I feel it come close! Finally, the move was complete!
Did I mention I was working out every other night that same week with my mixed martial arts class? Let me tell you about #4 Reassurance through Chandler (PKIIMMA) and #5 to close short and sweet! PKIIMMA is the gym where I have signed up to go to in order to get in a better shape before the race. Chandler is the girl who God used to speak to me and reassure me that this is my journey He was picked for me and most of all that “I AM going [on the race].” I was talking with my co-worker/friend Tamara before class began about the move and how everything was pretty easy it was simply time consuming. i was telling Tamara that my sister and I didn’t have many things to move as we tend to keep only the most essential and necessary items at our apartments. She reminded me that this was good as I was going to have to get used to living on the bare minimum. At this moment I felt a girl next to me where before there was nobody so naturally I turned, it was Chandler. “Oh sorry! I didn’t mean to sneak up on ya!” she said. I smiled and said she was completely okay. I then turned to tell Tamara, “Oh some days I say ‘yes let’s go on now!’ and other days I think, ‘what am saying I’m not going what am I thinking!?” As soon as I said those words Chandler joins in and says, “oh girl living on bare minimum is easy, I did it. I did it for 11 months living out of my backpack overseas!” In shock I nodded and agreed. She then proceeded to say, “I did something called The World Race.” I looked at Tamara in shock! Tamara herself was in shock! She couldn’t believe what just had happened. I never even said the words World Race the entire time I was in that building!! God is a funny man. Not only because he put Chandler there that day but because he taught me to accept his Grace his blessings and to accept the fact that this is my journey that He is sending ME on by choice! So get this, while stretching Chandler clued me in to many of the tips our lovely Lindsey has clued us in on her FB LIVE videos! Not only was God speaking through Chandler he was shutting me up and removing all doubt in mind!! Chandler said, ” You can borrow all the gear I have in my garage from when I went on the race, it’s practically new and only used it a couple times. i wont let you borrow the backpack because those are fitted to you but you can totally take the rest.” My jaw dropped. I held back my tears because Sen-sei Jackson was about to begin class otherwise I would have been all over Chandler crying my eyes out in just shock!! Tamara told me two things that night, 1. Girl go get her number and 2. Divine intervention at it’s finest! (Photo cred to Tamara up front and my girl Chandler in the Purple).
Phew!! That was a lot of catching up guys. I promise the next one will NOT be this long! The reason is that I will posting up pics of my bake sale this 03/19 at the Transplant Center I work for! So please stay tuned. I will also be Vlogging for the first time 04/07! As promised here is a list of my planned fundraisers to come!
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1. BUY-A-BOX … I think this one will be all year long!… Boxes are still available!!
2. Bake Sale… 03/19/2018…Tamara’s famous Rum Cakes! 1 for $3 or 2 for $5
3. Spring Clean Yard Sale… 04/07/2018… Don’t forget to Donate items!!
4. Bath Bombs… 04/01/2018-05/01/2018… More details on 04/01/2018
5. T shirts and Totes!…05/01/2018… Already a work in progress!!More details to come!!
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