Hi, hello! I want to start off with saying thank you to everyone who has prayed and supported me while on the race! Thank you for believing in my dream, and for trusting the Lord with your prayers and finances.
This past weekend was one for the books. I went to Thailand! I can’t say it was completely planned, well, actually it wasn’t planned at all. When we first entered Cambodia at the beginning of the month, my team accidentally got the wrong visas. So this past weekend my team, our squad leaders, and two alumni team leaders bused our way to Thailand so we could re-enter Cambodia to get the correct visas (no worries, there were leaders that stayed back with the rest of our squad.) Turns out when you spend three hours waiting at the bus station, at some point you’re bound to encounter two of the cutest things on the planet:: babies and puppies. Well, we got to play with both so it was a great time! The border crossing went smoothly and we arrived in Bangkok late Saturday night (actually it was more like 2 am.) When we arrived at our hostel, the ac didn’t work so they ended up refunding some of our money, PTL! Our fearless leaders Luis and Taylor went out the next morning only to find that we had missed the morning bus by only an hour; so we had to stay an extra night. Now I’m not gonna pretend like it was a HUGE setback because I mean come on, who would complain about an extra night in Bangkok? Obviously you’d make the most out of it!
Going into the trip, I wasn’t super thrilled because I’d been sick for three days; plus I get travel sickness too easily. My team was super gracious and kind, checking on me, sharing snacks, and making jokes to make it a good time. Along the way my teammate Sav started feeling sick too, so our extra free day in Bangkok turned into Sav and I staying in bed till 4ish that evening. It’s safe to say that wasn’t our favorite part of the trip, but at least we had a bed!
That evening we went out and somehow ended up at a hip hop dance class on the water?? How does that even happen on asks, I haven’t got the slightest idea, but it was the best thing ever watching my friends dance like nobody was watching! We ate dinner, watched the sunset, and then all we needed was an adrenalin rush. So we turned to the most obvious outlet:: bribed tuk tuk races to a random place in the middle of the city! Here’s how it went; we divided into teams, came up with names, flagged down four tuk tuks, and bribed the drivers with “whoever gets there first gets paid a little extra!” Not to brag on my own team, but we were in last for most of the time and still ended up winning 😉 It was a great time that lifted my spirits and also my temperature haha
The trip back was pretty dang boujee. We were on a double decker bus with free bottled water, free wifi, a bathroom, reclining seats AND ac. On top of all that, we were welcomed home with mashed potatoes, steamed veggies and chicken for dinner! It felt good to come home.. also:: we got the correct visas this time 🙂
Like I said earlier, in the beginning I wasn’t enjoying it. I was feeling like junk and was overwhelmed from just walking through the city. I thought to myself, there’s no way I could ever thrive in a place like this. It’s too loud, too busy, and smells too weird. Then I heard the Lord tell me “You can and will thrive wherever I put you.” Hearing that gave me so much comfort. Knowing that God is orchestrating everything and is going to help me thrive through it all, is crazy! He actually WILLS for me to prosper! And so it will be.
God has been speaking to me so much about how to love Him 100x more than I love anyone else. And hearing Him say that I will thrive wherever He puts me, gives me peace of letting go my control of trying to make things work together on my own and just focus on loving Him more and more each day. More than anything, I want to be pursuing the Lord above every other person.
I fail daily and there are times when I lift other things above the Lord. Yet every time He kneels down to my level to love me where I’m at and greets me with grace and mercy. I’m so thankful that y’all have done the same. Your prayers are impacting me daily, so please keep them coming as I will do the same for you!
-Shelbs
