Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

The anticipation built during an hour car ride and another hour of waiting for our turn. Finally I met the instructor with whom I would soon trust my life, listened to the briefing and put on the gear.

 

Two of my teammates and I made our way to the 7-passenger plane. The ascension to 2,000 feet took another 20 minutes as we watched Cape Town’s landmarks quickly shrinking–Robin’s Island became a stepping stone, the bay curved around my extended thumb and Table Mountain fit into my palm.

 

Kristen was the first to go. The air pressure seemed to pull her out of the plane, her scream barely audible over the wind.

 

The next was Kehres as she simultaneously laughed and screamed on the ledge of the plane entrance before free-falling for over 30 seconds.

 

My tandem instructor quickly reviewed the instructions for jumping–keep head back and legs bent. We situated ourselves by the exit, and then I fell.

 

Skydiving in Cape Town, South Africa was an amazing thrill. The nervous-excitedness I felt sitting with my feet dangling outside the plane right before the jump was probably my favorite part. I am now faced with a similar feeling as I am days away from jumping back into American life.

 

Going home shouldn’t be a scary thought, but ironically, the World Race has become comfortable to me. I know everyone on the squad pretty well, I’ve gotten used to packing up and changing countries each month, I actually still don’t mind rice for most meals, and the squatty is no problem. I’m ready to go home, but I’m bracing myself for a lot of change.

 

Fortunately, I am not taking the jump alone. When I jumped out of the plane, I didn’t have to worry about the details of the fall, I simply enjoyed the view and the rushing wind on my face. Someone who knew what they were doing was attached to me, and I trusted that nothing would go wrong.

 

If I can put so much trust in a person, certainly I can trust God. He is with me, guiding my steps. I used to worry that I had somehow messed up his plan for me, but now I understand what sovereign means: he is completely in control, his victory is already written, and I am part of his inheritance.

 

Just like I was attached to the instructor, I am bound to God by his love from which nothing can separate me. I have tried to run from him in my past, but each time I couldn’t keep running. He will always draw me back. So now I am ready to leave the comfort of the plane, I am dangling my feet on the edge of the unknown and I’m ready for ‘MERICA.