These are hard times for me. No, rather they are interesting times. I feel like I am so close and yet so far from the trip. I have been looking forward to this trip since I was in middle school. I would always dream about it and look forward to it, but in a way I always doubted it would happen. The feelings of wanting to go but at the same time doubting that it would ever come have only intensified as the time to leave has gotten closer. In a way it is feeling real, and it is making me excited. I finalized my plans to fly and meet up with my squad in Atlanta yesterday. I put in my 2 weeks at Chickfila this morning. I am getting my shots soon and doing my final fundraising. (All donations are due by August 18th, 6 days from now.) I am planning out my final few days at home before I finally leave. But at the same time, I still have 24 days to go until I leave. I am trying not to let myself get too excited because I am trying to be present here at home. I am trying to put off the excitement because I don’t want to allow it to be all that I think about. One of the biggest points that I took away from training camp was that I had to make the best of the time with my friends and family. I will be homesick at some point on my journey, and I will only make it worse if I am not spending the time that I should be with the people that are closest to me. It’s a daily battle to balance being at home and preparing for the trip properly. But with God’s grace it will be here before I know it. I will be on the trip that I have been looking forward to for so long.
A little logistics so you all know whats going on-
August 18th is the last day to donate. I am still $1048 short. Please consider donating in these last 8 days to get me fully funded. You can donate by clicking on the support me tab. Your support is incredibly appreciated!
On September 5th I will fly out to Atlanta for Launch. My parents will take a different flight and join me at Launch later that day for parent/racer meetings. They will be able to meet other parents and pray with us and worship with us for a day and a night. They will say goodbye to me there and we racers will have a day or 2 just to ourselves. Then we will fly to the Philippians!
Here is a video of past racers worshiping together at Launch, right before they head out to their first country-
