I’m currently hanging out at a gate in the O’Hare airport. People are making last-minute calls to family and friends, a few are sleeping, and others, like me, are trying to write one last blog post before getting on the plane.
In a few hours we’ll board our plane, land in Dubai, spend a few hours there, and then get on our final flight to Johannesburg. From there, all of the teams will split up and head to our individual locations for Month One. My team is headed to Durban, which is about a six-hour bus ride from Johannesburg.
We’re not too sure what we’ll be doing yet. We’re partnered with a pastor there and we’ve heard a few different things we might be doing. Either way, it’s sure to be interesting, and I kind of like the ambiguity – it means that we’ll go in with fewer expectations.
This is the real deal, and it hasn’t yet sunk in. Even flying from Atlanta to Chicago didn’t faze me at all, which means that I’m probably due for some kind of “holy cow, we’re really on the Race” moment. It could be in Dubai, Jo-berg, Durban, or maybe somewhere in between. Maybe later.
Is there really a point to this post besides getting into the head of a Racer about to launch? I don’t know. But this moment, sitting in the terminal, is huge for me. After a year and a half, I’m finally going after thinking I never would. It’s not at the time or to the countries I originally thought it would be, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I love the U Squad and I genuinely can’t imagine going on the Race with anyone else.
So this is it, USA – See you in 11 months!
On a more serious note, I want to take a moment to sincerely thank all of my supporters, whether your support came through finances, prayer, words of encouragement, or listening to me talk about the Race. There are far to many of you to list individually, but please know that I appreciate every single one of you more than you know.
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