Nationals!!

I have always wondered as I hear stories of those who make it to the national spelling bee or any other national tournament what it feels like to succeed like that! Do they feel as heroic as they look? Does it really come that easy for them?

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Ricky has been involved in a speech and debate program for just over two years. For the first year Ricky was involved, he just did debate. This year, he decided to do speech instead. The group he was a member of was part of the nation-wide organization "NCFCA." Across the nation, there are different "regions" which compete within themselves and then send the best speeches & debaters on to the next level. Ricky first competed at the local "qualifying" tournament. He advanced to the semi-finals, which qualified him to move on to the next tournament. That tournament fell on a very busy week for our family, and so he almost did not go. But, a friend of his was going & he was invited to travel with them. It worked out perfectly ~



We really did not expect him to advance in this tournament, b/c the competition was becoming more challenging. So, we were shocked to receive a phone call announcing he had advanced to the semi-finals! Mom almost fainted (thankfully Dad was there to catch her :D) when Ricky called to say he had been chosen to advance to finals! His speech won 3rd place overall at that tournament! By advancing to the finals, this also meant he would receive an invitation to the national tournament....



We were so excited ~



The National tournament was at Regent University on Virginia Beach. There was 480 competitors from 38 states and 664 speeches given. Between 60 - 70 of those were in Ricky's category. (Persuasive) He gave his speech 3 times, each time before 3 judges. Only sixteen of those 60 - 70 advanced to the semi-finals. Ricky was one of them. :) He gave his speech once again before 5 judges. Eight of the sixteen would go to finals.



We all anxiously waited for the announcement to be made. Finally, a friend of Ricky's called and said that he had made it! We were celebrating. :)



It was so exciting to see him rewarded for his hard work!



He gave his speech once more. During the awards ceremony, we anxiously waited to hear how he placed. It could have been anywhere from 8th place to 1st place.


Ricky's speech placed 2nd overall - in the nation!

His speech was on the subject "How the evidence of evil proves the existence of God." It confronts the question, "Why would a loving God allow so much evil in the world?" If you are interested, I would highly recommend watching it ~ (be sure to scroll to the bottom of my blog & turn off my music.)




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While at Nationals, we enjoyed listening to some excellent speeches, and watching some intense debates! There was so much talent....I am so glad I was not old enough to judge. :) I would have been horrible at it.

We were so proud of Ricky. Not just for getting 2nd place, but for his humility through it all. I was so touched by his humble spirit. It taught me so much. His prayer was that God would lead judges to his speech that needed to hear it. Even if it convicted them and caused them to rank him lower. When others asked how they should pray for him, he answered the same way. He was not focused on winning, although he did admit it was a nice addition. ;) He was focused on allowing God to speak to others through himself by picking a topic that can be confusing to many people - even Christians.

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On the first day of the national tournament, Dad told Ricky that if he advanced, we would go to a steakhouse as a family. Little did we know that it would actually happen! It was quite fun ~ we made some wonderful memories. ---

Regent University was such a beautiful college campus!

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And a few captured memories throughout the week ~

My wonderful father. :)

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And we drove over to the beach one evening & one afternoon...so amazing.

A dear friend of mine was staying at our same hotel because her sweet cousin was also competing at the National Tournament. I so enjoyed catching up with her & she was able to go to the beach with us ~ she is such a blessing!!
Blessings on your summer! -nikki