It is 3 months and 12 days until I'm on the plane, on my way to Kathmandu. It is not long now till the 100-day countdown begins – OH MY HAT!! It has been 8 months since I started on my journey to become healthier and fitter. I started seeing muscles in my body which I thought were permanently dormant ;) or I’ve never had. 3 Weeks ago, I went to Wales and hiked 42km in two days. My body coped well with the up-hill but the down-hill was hard. My knees and my joints don't particularly like the impact, so I know my decent will be much slower than my ascent, but rather be cautious than ending up with a dislocated knee or ankle, right?
Mentally, the whole idea of flying via Abu Dhabi and then to Kathmandu, leaving Jacques and Jamie for 19 days is in the back of my mind. I'm very excited but let’s just say, Jesus and I spend A LOT of time talking ... Some of my medicine is prohibited from entering the UAE and Nepal - I trust it will all work out as my travel company is looking into this for me … like I said, there is A LOT of talking going on.
Over the last 5 weeks I started working my way down my enormous list of things to take with me to EBC (Everest Base Camp) and bought some of my gear. I am like a little girl in a sweet shop and with that came the reality. I cannot tell you how this whole journey made me realise how incredibly blessed I am (we are). We’ve all heard the saying “It is easier to give than to receive” well, I find it incredibly difficult to ask for donations and thank you for making it easier with all your messages etc. Both Jacques and I are so overwhelmed by my GoFundMe donations so far. There is still a long road ahead with not a lot of time left. If you feel you would like to make a donation, please go to my page and you can make an electronic donation. If you prefer making a cash donation, please contact me on my email address below. As the money started coming in, I was able to put names down next to my items I bought. To me it is very special to know that when I’ll be holding my poles, I’ll be thinking of the person who donated towards that and the support going along with it, getting into my sleeping bag, how blessed I am to know who the people are who made it possible, when drinking water on my trek from my water-bladder I’ll know who donated towards that. It motivates me to know that I’m doing this not on my own and that I have a lot of support.
A fork in the road … sometimes things don’t work out the way we planned it.
Jacques and I have decided that we want to share this part of our journey with you as well, as it is now so intertwined. Given that I’ve shared everything with you from day one, my health, weight-loss, challenges etc., why stop now as we want to continue giving hope to others and not giving up regardless of our circumstances, and by sharing our story, we hope that someone out there will read this and find courage and strength. It is an interesting time here in the Wucherpfennig household as Jacques has been at home since his job has been made redundant early December. We both are positive that something will come along at the right time as he is very diligent and searches daily, but the timing could not have been more off (is there ever a good time to find out about redundancy?). It is not just an important lesson we can teach Jamie, to have faith, and to question where one’s security lie, but also for us to take stock in valuing our lives, each other and our situation. When Jacques came home on December 11th and told me that he got a redundancy package, we both laughed hysterically – ended up on the kitchen floor. Partly because it was shock as we did NOT see this one coming, but also because that is the way we handle things. When he told me that he is on garden leave and with immediate effect, I lost it completely because listen, we are a great team, but we need our space. We couldn’t stop laughing. LOL.
In the days following I found myself at a fork in the road – what do I choose, FEAR or FAITH? So, even while I was processing so many thoughts in my head – about my challenge to Base Camp (will I make it?), my health (I was just diagnosed a few weeks before) and then the financial side of things. It was faith that had always propelled me forward through my circumstances in the past, so I choose faith in my present situation. Now, that doesn’t mean that fear went away. It is definitely there, big time, but I knew that being tempted with fear isn’t the same as giving into it – and not giving into it is the only way I will overcome its grip. Time and time again, in big things and in small ones, I had learned to run to God and not from Him and not to blame Him for things that go wrong in my life. We either feed fear or we feed faith, and that I had the power to choose which one I would feed. So, I am feeding my faith.
No matter how much we wish we could go around a situation, under it, or it being taken away from us, there are times we just have to walk through a process, because that is what’s best for us, as hard as it is (I know). The challenge then becomes choosing not to allow negative thoughts to use these unplanned and upsetting events to rob us of life and joy. Moving through whatever you’re facing isn’t about merely surviving until it’s over, moving through is about continuing to live a life of purpose and passion – always moving forward, never losing sight of your objective – no matter how devastating the unexpected is.
The fork in the road can be a stumbling block or a choice of adventure.