The race is a unique opportunity to meet people from many different cultures and countries. We've traveled far and been blessed by many. The bracelets on my wrist tell a story of many who have loved us well and each bracelet is a gift from someone on my race.
Purple paracord: America:
The very first bracelet comes from my squadmates Billy and Ashley. They bought enough paracord for each of us to have one and we stood around the Atlanta airport the day we left cutting the cord and burning it back together around a wrist or ankle. Most of us have chosen to wear it the entirety of our race as a reminder of what we're doing and the community doing it with us. The idea is one that came from our alumni squad leader Cabe; his squad did it for their race and he now wears both bracelets.
Wrap of strings: Thailand
In Thailand it's traditional to present school graduates with strings that have been blesssed by Buddhist monks. The strings are meant to offer good wishes and protection as graduates enter the next step of their lives and are tied in sets by people at the graduation. We got to attend the graduation of the students at the Buddhist school we worked at and take part in tying the string around the graduates' wrists. Afterwards, the school principal tied strings around our wrists, thanked us for the work we'd done there, and told us that the monks had prayed safety over the rest of our journey.
Shell bracelet: Malaysia:
Given to us by our hosts in Malaysia and made by a local tribe. These are the same hosts that prophesied over us and they also prayed over us and the rest of our race.
Plastic Jesus bracelet: Guatemala:
While in Guatemala we had the chance to be a part of a weekly youth group. The youth leader brought us bracelets the he gives or to youth group members to remind them of Jesus' love and sacrifice.
These bracelets in no way represent the entirety of what we've been given on the race. We've received things like beautiful purses, fabric, jewelry, pencil holders, and more importantly, the love and prayers of so many that we've met. People that we worked with have been amazing and many of the people we only met briefly have been wonderful too.
From the people that invited us into their offices to eat lunch so we didn't eat on the street to the random translators who saw our confused looks to the shopkeepers who gives directions to the taxi drivers that always get us safely there even when they have a lot of work from our lack of information about where we want to go, people have been basically good and helpful. We always hear the stories of the racer who gets mugged or the host that was treated badly or other times when things go wrong but my experience on the race has been thousands of interactions with people that want to help each other.
I want to take that assumption home with me. I want to trust that most people are basically well meaning. I want to acknowledge that even when they aren't, it's usually going to be okay because as a Christ follower I walk in favor. I'm protected and loved and when the bad does come, God will bring me through it. If He doesn't, it will still be okay because I will have lived well and will be in a place more like home and more at peace than I've ever experienced before. I want to continue to live in this place of joy and peace that God has shown me. And I want to remember all the people that helped me learn that people are basically good.
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