I’m less than a week away from World Race training camp in Gainesville, GA, just outside of Atlanta, so I wanted to update my supporters on what I’ve been up to lately and what I will be doing for the next few weeks.
I’ve been spending a lot of my free time recently researching different products that I’ll need to take with me on the trip and watching YouTube videos of past racers showing how they packed their gear into a hiking backpack. I’ve also taken 2 classes at REI on picking the right gear for backpacking and how to properly pack your bag to save room. No shame, I go in to the store at least twice a week now to either exchange something for a better model or to buy something new. This is where I have to give their employee Mary, a world traveling retired geologist who now knows me by name, a huge shout out for always being willing to help and understanding that I cannot sleep on what looks like a pool raft for 11 months no matter how good of a price tag it has.
Anxious is an understatement to how I feel about fitting everything in to my pack and also for the unknown that is training camp. Will people know that I’m faking it until I make it with all of this outdoorsy stuff? Let me preface by saying that I’m the type of girl that is smack dab between staying at the Four Seasons and sleeping on the ground. Despite my lack of ruggedness (sorry Dad), I’m pretty excited for training camp as I’ll get to meet everyone on my squad, learn more about the ministries we’ll be involved in, and get to practice different scenarios that we’ll encounter overseas.
I could definitely use prayers over the next few weeks for safety, an experience that challenges me, and for positive relationships to be formed with my fellow teammates. I can’t wait to update you all in a few weeks about training camp and maybe even report that I actually enjoy sleeping in a tent now. Guess we’ll see about that last part…
