It is my 6th full day on the race. My squad and I are located in Gainesville, Georgia for a sort of training period where we can get to know my team and get ready for service on the field. And thank God that we are, because there is a lot to adjust to.
Most notably, dividing my caloric intake by more than half has been a struggle. But there is an upside to everything, right? Everything tastes good now, I am very efficient about not wasting food, and I am hopefully looking forward to a killer set of abs. Other adjustments include showering with a hose and a bucket. As unorthodox and odd as that may seem, it quickly turns into a highlight after long and active days in the Georgia sun. Overall, I could not possibly complain.
I am thrilled to be with my squad and my team. There are 40 of us, with 6 other guys on my “team” and the rest are all girls in the larger “squad”. I have spent the most of my time with my 7 person team, as the first week has more or less been dedicated to getting to know the members of the squad we will be doing the most work with. My team of guys has been fantastic. We already got to know each other well at boot camp in the summer, and after launch we picked up right where we left off. The team chemistry is great, and the fellas are a ton of fun to hang and converse with. I think that we are all going to work great together, and I imagine great success in our future in the race.
Maybe the most notable adjustment however, is the focus on relationship with the kingdom of god. It takes up the majority of our working hours during the day, and even some of the leisure time. This looks like worship, bible reading and study, prayer, lessons and lectures, and debates about various aspects of scripture. It is an intense and nearly full time gig.
This intense relationship building is a new aspect for me, as I have not consistently belonged to a church or youth group throughout my young years. Sometimes the entire experience can be admittedly intimidating. I am constantly meeting and conversing with a whole new group of people that are vastly more knowledgeable and familiar with scripture and the word of God, which is all we talk about in the working hours. Imagine vivid and lively debates between knowledgeable people referencing specific verses across the entire bible from memory, and then picture me somewhere slightly out of frame frantically flipping through thousands of bible pages and scanning the table of contents just trying to keep up. It is a humbling and wonderful new time for me to birth my own faith in God.
However, nothing is 100 percent sunshine and sweet smelling roses. There are some aspects of the race that are proving to be more than just simple adjustments. The main struggle I have faced is missing friends and family from back home. For myself being someone who has had the same exact group of extremely close friends for nearly 13 years, switching to only talking to people you have known for 3 days is tough. Don’t get me wrong, I am loving my new team. But there are often times where I can’t help but longing to be back with old friends, and times where I feel completely alone in this whole trip. It is challenging to get to know new types of people and make connections with them when your gut reaction is to call up family and high school buddies.
Alas, such are the growing pains of a new season. They will get better, if I can get over using only a porta potty for a month in a week, then I can get used to a bit of homesickness easily. I am now FULLY FUNDED for my trip, which is absolutely amazing. I can’t say thank you enough for the support I have received from an overwhelming amount of people in my corner. For now, I will be staying in Georgia doing the same old things. Our first stop is Louisiana for our 2 weeks of domestic outreach in a little less than a month, and I am thoroughly excited. I am hopeful that we may get to have a weekend day in New Orleans for some Cajun Seafood and Po Boys at the French Quarter (as I write this I scour yelp for the best restaurants… it’s 15 minutes until dinner). Things are looking up at the World Race, and they are only going to get better from here!
