I am sitting at the airport at 2:30 in the morning writing this blog. At 5:45am our team will regroup and go through security. Our flight leaves at 9:45am and we will be in Guatemala by 1pm. 

As I sit here, I can't help but realize that it has been 10 months since I came home early from my first race. 10 months of processing, waiting, searching and calling upon God. The last few months in particular have been a bit hard. Knowing that the World Race was again at my fingertips but feeling lost and purposeless in my everyday life. I felt as if I was slowly losing myself. 

The second we arrived at launch, which is like a short training camp but at the end of it we leave for our first country; I felt at home. I felt the peace that comes from being in alignment with God, the inspiration from walking in purpose and the joy from being reunited with my World Race family. I look back to last year and I remember the nervous, reserved and insecure Jackie. She wanted to be there so badly and wanted to make deep friendships. She wanted to believe she was more than ready for this. That Jackie almost feels like an entirely different person. She didn't truly believe she was supposed to be there, as if it was a gift or opportunity that was supposed to go to someone else. 

I have never felt more sure that I am supposed to be here. I have never felt more ready and I think that comes from knowing that I am not ready for everything that we will encounter. There is a comfort in that unknown. I guess you can call it… trust. I trust God to lead us, to hold us and to correct us when needed. I trust the skills that he has been building within me to be flexible and adaptable. He has been instilling an attitude of gratitude in me which can get you through a lot of situations. That peace, purpose and joy are constant confirmations.

I feel eager to be lead by his hand and to lean on him in ways that are hard to in the comfort of “normal” life. So here I am, less than 12 hours from Guatemala and the start of the World Race Round 2. Let’s go!

I am currently $1,850 away from my next fundraising goal of $7,150. Currently I am funded for 3 months but but if I reach this goal, I will be able to stay out on the field through May.

If you would like to help me get there, you can donate here, or scroll up to the donation bar and press the orange "donate" button. Otherwise non tax-deductible gifts can be sent to my Venmo/Cash App at jackieivarsson or PayPal at jacqueline.ivarsson@gmail.com.

Thank you so much for your support!