Hello everyone!! This post is about to get real, and real long. I just arrived home from training camp for the World Race Gap Year in Gainesville, GA. I am physically, emotionally, and spiritually exhausted. Last night I did things for the first time in ten days such as take a shower with running water, use a real toilet, sleep in a bed, and eat a meal by myself. Training camp was amazing but was very hard… my original team of 6 girls became one of 3 halfway through camp when some realized God’s calling for them was something other than the World Race. It was a very difficult goodbye, especially because we all bonded so quickly. The remaining girls, including me, were put into different teams simply because it’s not logical for 3 girls to take on the world on their own (although we were totally up for it).
My new team is made up of 3 other girls and 3 guys. It was difficult at first, but I’m very thankful for how welcoming this new team was and I already love them very much. Together we tackled the fitness hike with our 30-40 pound packs on. It was a 2.2 mile hike in rough terrain that our entire team had to complete in 38 minutes, otherwise we would have had to redo it the next day. My anxiety was at an all time high when other racers told us we would have to run whenever we could to finish on time. With the Georgia sun beating down on us in 100 degree heat, I have never relied on the Lord so much in my entire life. I am 100% confident I would not have been able to complete the hike without Him and the rest of my encouraging teammates. We pushed each other and our other squad mates to the finish line, and rejoiced in tears and sweat when it was over. I felt an overflowing and overwhelming joy at having completed the hike on time and at the presence of the Holy Spirit, which was so evident.
The rest of training camp was composed of multiple sessions every day on things from Women’s Ministry to “How to Write and Preach a Sermon”. We were presented with every scenario you could think of to prepare us for the race. One night, half of our bags were “lost” and we had to compromise and have two people per tent. Another night was “airport night”, and we all had to sleep inside in the “airport” with the lights on and in close quarters. The night before the last was an unplanned scenario; a thunderstorm rolled in and decided to stay, soaking us and all of our belongings. We had to sleep inside that night, and although many of us were barely dry, we were thankful for the air conditioning and a night without constant humidity and sweating. Each day was themed for different countries/continents, which affected our dress code, meals, and mannerisms. On Africa day, we had to cover our ankles and shoulders, eat food such as rice and beans, and eat that food with our hands. On India day, the dress code was similar, and we could only eat with our right hand, as the left hand is normally used for wiping after going to the bathroom. They even had a travel day, during which the meals were mostly peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and other impromptu snacks. All of these things were to prepare us for the nine months abroad. Although my squad is not going to Africa, there are other squads with different routes who are, so essentially everyone is ready to travel and experience the whole world.
On the last day, we were informed that for the first time, World Race Gap Year was offering baptisms during training camp. Although I was baptized when I was 9 years old at Tokyo Baptist Church, I decided to do it again. During the ten days at training camp, I rededicated my life to the Lord. My heart has always known who I could run to when times got tough, but my actions were not always reflective of who my God is. I want to overflow with His love into the hearts of others, and I want to spread His Name to the nations. I know that pain is almost essential for change, and that He is running EVERY race with me… not just this one.
Thank you to all my supporters, I apologize if I have not yet reached out to you to express my appreciation for your prayers and donations!! I promise I will be doing so as soon as possible. My next goal is $10,000 by late August, so keep an eye out for possibly some t-shirts or bracelets to help the fundraising process! Please stay updated throughout this next year by subscribing to my blog 🙂 I will be posting at least once a week during the Race, and those posts will be varying in style… expect many vlogs (video blogs) and captioned photos. PLEASE continue to pray… for nerves to calm, for hearts to grow (including mine), and for travels to go smoothly. I launch in September, and I CANNOT WAIT!! Gap L/Blue Squad/Route 2, I am so excited for these 9 months. See you all in 7 weeks!!
p.s. if you are confused about what squads and teams are, heres how we break it down: there are 6 squads in all of World Race Gap Year 2017. Each squad goes together on their different routes to different countries, so although everyone was at the same training camp together, it is highly unlikely that different squads will come across each other during the race. Within each squad, there are teams of 6-8 people. These teams are who you will be spending most if not all your time with. Teams are sent to different places within the same region of the countries. So although our whole squad is very close, we will most likely not be together unless there is a squad month, during which the whole squad is in the same region doing the same work. Luckily for us, the first month (in Romania) is squad month!!!
