I was feeling a little homesick for the US this week because March is my favorite month for sports. Although I can still see scores and results online, I still feel like I will be missing out on all of the big sporting events. These include: Minnesota State HS wrestling tournament, NCAA wrestling tournament, NBA action starting to heat up (Wolves continue to roll!), NCAA conference basketball tournaments, NCAA Indoor Track, Baseball spring training, and of course, NCAA March Madness! Not to mention, there are no shamrock shakes out here...WHAT?!
Anyway, I have a few quick updates since my last blog:
- I got re-baptized in the Indian Ocean last week! I was reading in Acts 2, and when I came to verse 38 I just felt a tug at my heart, so I decided I would get re-baptized. I was baptized when I was about 14, and though I was sincere about my decision, I don't think I understood 100% what it meant at the time. Overall, it was a great experience and I was glad to have some awesome people there to share the experience with me.
- I have finally been able to get around to some Cape Town tourism these past 2 weeks during our days off. I hiked Chapman's Peak (pictured above) and Skeleton Gorge, and then I went and visited Boulder Beach with Matt and Jay yesterday. All three of them were pretty awesome. Skeleton Gorge had a blood-red lake on top of it which we swam in. Boulder Beach had a ton of penguins which was cool to see, although I didn't like them too much. Sadly, I don't have much of a soft spot for animals in my heart.
- I ran a half marathon this past weekend. A few of the guys from our CPX group were doing it, and since it had prize money, I figured I'd give it a shot. This was probably the first time in 6 years that I've raced while not in race shape, so I had no clue what to expect. With no workouts since Club Cross Nationals in December, I decided just to race for the win and not for time. I felt pretty awkward the first 10k, even though the pace was pretty slow at a little over 34 minutes. At this point I decided to pick it up. I ran some 5:10's and got the lead pack down to four guys- me and three Africans. With about 2 miles to go, the lead biker took a wrong turn that ended up taking me out of the lead. I ended up pressing pretty hard to catch the leaders, but just jogged it in the last mile when I realized I wouldn't catch them. So I ended up 4th in 1:10:38. I was definitely bummed since, a. I lost, b. I was 4+ minutes off a PR, and c. I ran a similar time 6 years ago just after graduating from high school. There was one encouraging thing from the race. I was very surprised with myself by how positive my attitude was. I used to be one of the worst sports out there, so it was cool to see how far God has brought me in this area over the past few years!
The main thing the Lord has been working on my heart lately is learning to completely surrender to the Lord's will. I had a close friend say that he could tell I was very hungry for God, but he didn't feel like I was completely surrendering to God's will. As hard as it was to admit, he was completely right. I have been very hungry and excited to learn what God's will is for my life these past few months. But I haven't surrendered a few things. One of those things is where I will live. I have been telling God lately that I will be on fire for Him and do what He wants me to do as long as I end up back in the Twin Cities. But I have felt very strongly that He wants me to surrender that and be open to wherever He leads me to. To be honest, overseas missions scares the heck out of me. But it is something that I am at least trying to be open to.
Thanks again to everyone who has been so supportive financially, prayerfully, and encouragingly. I am so grateful for all of you!
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