How does anyone prepare for a year long trip around the world? How do you prepare to leave your family for a year? How do you pack a years worth of stuff in one pack that is under 50 pounds? None of these were questions I ever thought I would face! But God had very different plans for my life.
Sitting here in Albania its weird to think that all of those questions were a reality for me just one week ago. The days leading up to July 4th were very difficult but also very exciting. Feeling like you want to do everything and see everyone before you leave, feeling like there isn't enough time, meanwhile feeling like time needs to go faster. It was a very emotional week for me. But so exciting. I got to rely solely on God to calm my nerves. Saying goodbye was awful! It was so hard to have to say goodbye to my siblings. It was horrible to see my little sister cry, as excited as she was to see me go do something I was so excited for, she was so sad to know I wouldn't be around for the next year. Walking away from my parents at the airport hurt so much, but I could feel their peace about me leaving. I knew right when I got through security that I was finally on the path God had been preparing me for.
Launch was a very crazy experience! All 53 of us feeling all these crazy emotions! We spent a few days in Atlanta going through classes on safety, relationships, and how to live together in a community. We were all stir crazy and ready to go…. it didn't help that the conference room was a walk in freezer! Sunday morning finally came around we loaded up all our 50 pounds packs and hopped on the shuttle to the airport! It was so exciting to finally be moving! Little did we know that we would be doing a lot of moving for the next 50 hours! From Atlanta we went 8 and a half hours to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam we went to Istanbul Turkey! Then the fun started! In Turkey we loaded onto a bus and started our 30 hour bus ride through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, and finally made it to Albania!
It is so surreal to think after all that planning and all the talking about the World Race I am finally here! Finally sharing a room with 16 other girls! Finally here walking an hour just to get wifi for 20 minutes. Finally here where I have been dreaming to be since October. I am so ready and so excited to see where God is going to take us over the next year! World Race its nice to finally see you!
