As most of you know, the Race is winding down for me and my squad. Everyone seems to enjoy blogs having something to do with the number 11, so I figured I would bless you guys with 11 of the craziest things I could remember experiencing on the Race, in no particular order. Here ya go:
- I had a baby named after me– That’s right. Last month in Zambia, our contact, Pastor Brian and his wife Dora, told me they were naming their baby Andrew. And this was after they spent time with me. I’m so honoured. Pastor Brian is one of the best men I know and a warrior for the Kingdom. And his name is Brian like my dad. Boom. Crazy.
- Crashed a motorcycle on Christmas Day– In Laos on Christmas Day, me and Mike and Erin were planning on camping by the river that night with Miko and another village friend of ours. We decided to take motor bikes up to the store (by up the road I mean like 20 Kilometers) to get marshmallows for the fire. I was given one of the most ghetto bikes I’ve ever seen (no hand brakes, broken clutch, broken mirrors) but as always, gave it a try. It ended with us crashing on the highway and Erin missing camping. But that Christmas was unforgettable.Crazy.
- Hindu mob in Nepal– One morning, while having my quiet time in southern Nepal, a man ran into our pastor’s house screaming. Followed by 50 people with stones and sticks demanding for him to be brought out so they could stone him. Seriously. So they could stone him. The pastor’s son came out in only a towel and saved the guy and the police took him away. Crazy.
- Preached in a mountaintop village– Actually got to do this a couple times. But my favourite time was in the Philippines where I got to preach to a group of believers that literally have nothing but Jesus and encourage them to remind them of their hope in Christ and in eternity. Never has the necessity of this hope been made so real to me. Pastor Jo Jo is the man and he is labouring so hard for his people in Malaybalay. Pray for this brother and his flock. Crazy.
- Dead body in Honduras– this was a tough day. After enjoying the river with some kids from Puerta de Zion, we walked up the mountain road back to our area and stumbled across a victim of the violence in Tegucigulpa. The scene was heart wrenching in itself, but the boys “it happens all the time” reaction was even more heart breaking. Pray for Honduras. Crazy.
- Playing Dad in Honduras– I had the privilege of driving little Anderson and William to their first day of school while we were in Honduras. Hearing Anderson yell “Pelon!!” and feel him slapping me in the back of the head and me threatening to get out of the car and beat him literally warmed my heart. I can’t wait to be a dad. (Oh and school was cancelled without calling us. Can’t wait to be an uninformed parent) Crazy.
- 3 wonders of the world– I’ve been blessed to see some incredible things on our off days while on the Race. 3 of them were wonders of the world. Mt. Everest, the Taj Mahal and Victoria Falls were absolutely beautiful, but I made the mistake of expecting them to satisfy my heart when I went, or wanting them to make me feel something. When you go, let them point you to the beauty of the Creator and just enjoy them for what they are. Crazy.
- Escaped Vietnamese police– A friend and I were riding along the beach in Mui Ne when we came across a Vietnamese road block capturing foreigners (basically so they could demand money from us). They told me I didn’t have a Vietnamese motorcycle license. Duh. After a few minutes of arguing, they let us go and left all the other foreigners there, probably because we didn’t have 500,000 dong to give them. Thank ya Lord. Crazy.
- Shared Jesus while sitting with an atheist on a massive Buddha statue– Remember my pictures of the Buddha statue in Laos that looked over Pakse? I got to sit on there with an atheist ex pat and share with her why I believe in Jesus. It was great conversation and made me so thankful for my time at Christ City Church and the grace they’ve shown me as i’ve grown and asked questions about our faith. Crazy.
- Caving in the Philippines– This was an unbelievable experience. We spent 2 hours swimming in a river through a pitch black cave under a hill in the Philippines. The cave then spit us out into the river that ran through the village. One of the best days i’ve had on the Race. Crazy.
- Ran in Zambia’s Olympic Stadium– Last month, our house overlooked Zambia’s new Olympic soccer stadium, which was about 4 miles away. The last morning, we woke up and ran there. And then decided to run inside it. The adventure ended with us playing in the sprinklers on the soccer field and a bunch of Zambians laughing at the crazy Mizungos. Crazy.
