The World Race Launch. To have no preconceived ideas I had refused to read any past or present racers blogs that had been about launch. I like to go into things not knowing to ensure that I won’t be expecting certain things and then be disappointed when they don’t happen. When I left to fly to Atlanta on January 7th, the only thing I knew about launch was the location and that we would be staying in a hotel. Launch was a great 3 days…it was such a blessing to see my squad and bond with them again. The amount of cultural, safety, and tips on making the most of our race was hard to take in. Because parents were invited to launch if they were able to come, the parents of my teammates “adopted” the parentless. They took us out to supper with them and treated us as their own. They were a true blessing from God and showed us so much love and support. It was amazing to hear that these parents who we had just met were praying for us! Finally, on Friday night, we were ready to head to the airport and get on the airplane! Due to the early hour of our flight, we had to spend the night in the airport; the first of many to come I am sure! Some of us spent time praying, reading, chatting or catching a few hours of sleep.
We arrived in Ecuador in the afternoon. After a pretty sleepless night and 2 flights we were tired but excited. We were met by our ministry hosts Gustavo, and Patrick, who works for IncaLink. At last, we were seeing and experiencing the beauty of the mountains of Ecuador. Could this really be my life? The exquisiteness of Quito put the beauty of nature into a new perspective for me. I have never seen mountains like these before. This feels like the stuff of storybooks and fairytales. I believe that Ecuador is going to be an amazing month. God is here and God is guiding our steps.
