Let me set the scene for you:
It’s the middle of the night and there you are, sleeping on your sleeping pad on the floor, the chill of the African night slightly coming through the window. You have fallen into a deep sleep. The type of deep sleep where your dreams are so vivid that they appear all to real. And in this moment, you hear a scream. No, not one scream. Two screams. Possibly three. Four? No, the fourth is coming from your own mouth. This is no dream. Your teammates around you are screaming. Without any real control of your own body, you scream and fling yourself out of your sleeping bag and across the room. You’ve been awakened out of your deep sleep by the screams and are feeling completely confused. Even though you can’t fully comprehend what is going on, amidst the screams of your teammates and the screams coming out of your own mouth, you are able to formulate one thought:
It’s the rat.
The rat you saw running through the rafters two nights earlier has decided to come down from his lair up on the rafters, and has made his way onto your teammate’s face. Is this even logical? Possibly. Well, why not? Nothing was keeping the rat you saw up in the rafters. It is completely understandable to assume he has made his way down into your room and has now run across someone’s face. Your host’s wife runs into the room, turns the light on and asks if you are all okay. She starts to comfort your teammate whose face was subject to the rat’s evil form. Then, one of the men from your team runs to the door and you hear “girls, are you okay?!” One other male teammate is still asleep, dead to the world and to your screams. Well, you know at least one will come save you if something serious happens (yes, this is your actual thought process). “Okay” you think, “its okay, control yourself. Calm down and figure out what is going on”. So, you gain control of yourself. You look around the now lit room in search of the rat and see:
Nothing.
Your immediate reaction now is laughter. Hysterical laughter. There is nothing there. You were awakened to a teammate who felt something on her face in her sleep, she screamed and an immediate chain reaction of screams happened. Was it really the rat that ran across your teammate’s face? Maybe. Was it bug? Possibly that too. Was a piece of cement falling off the wall? More than likely, yes. That has happened before….several times. But, it may have also been the rat. You will never know. You all lay back down, turn out the light and try to go back to sleep, all while laughing, but still leery of the rat lurking throughout the house.
What is your life?
This. This is my life, and I have to say, what we now refer to as the “screaming incident” will be one of my funniest and fondest memories of the Race.
On the Race, I have often times said out loud or to myself something along the lines of “What is my life?” or “What is this life?” Things happen on the Race. Funny things, difficult things, random things, anything at all, and you find yourself saying “what is my life?” The girls on my team were reading through James, and we read a verse that caused us all to start laughing. A verse that could essentially be the theme for life on the World Race. James 4:14:
” yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life?”
When you are on the World Race, you will never know what tomorrow will bring. Ministry in Malawi has been subject to this logic countless times. More than once, we are told a particular thing for ministry, then learn that once we get there we have to come up with a program to do within seconds. This is life. And you know what? That is okay. If you are preparing for the World Race, remember that you will not know what tomorrow will bring. If you are a planner and one who is obsessed with schedules that do not change, prepare to grow in your spontaneity. Once, we were told we would be helping widows make soap. Our relief of having a break from teaching/preaching and giving testimonies was short lived. Once there, we found out we would be bringing the Word and sharing testimonies instead. We’ve been told we would merely be playing soccer with kids at a kid’s club. Merely play soccer? Oh no, once we arrived we soon realized we needed to teach them a Bible lesson and have activities to do. Alot of ministry in Malawi has been a combination of teaching/preaching and giving testimonies within churches and schools. We’ve gone to a different school almost everyday and have learned that no matter how prepared we think we are, usually we are thrown a curveball and have to come up with something different completely on the fly. Future World Racers, get used to this. It will happen and I promise, It is not a big deal. Regardless of how prepared or unprepared you are, God will use what you say for His glory. Even if only one person is reached, it will all be worth it. Trust me, you will become used to having a 5 second conversation with your team deciding on who will do what. Life on the Race rarely goes according to plan, so get ready.
*Update on the rat*
About two days after the “screaming incident”, the demon rat was chased out of the house.
*Update on funds*
I am a little less than $3000 away from being fully funded at $16,250! I have about one month left to make this happen. I am so close!
*General Update*
One small favor. I’ve been sick on and off ever since we’ve been in Malawi. I’ve had a fever on and off, and generally do not feel well. I’ve been to the doctor and now have medicine to help with my fever that comes and goes. Though it’s nothing serious, being sick on the Race isn’t fun, so prayers for my health would be much appreciated!
