The Race is over. I’m sorry, what? Is this real life? The Race is over. This thing that I prayed into for two years, spent seven months fundraising for, and actually did for almost a year is actually over. I did it! I survived! Jesus took me on this amazing journey, and He gave me the strength to make it across the finish line. It’s means a lot that you have prayed for me, read my blogs, commented on my pictures, emailed and encouraged me, asked my friends and family how I’m doing, and overall just been invested in my World Race. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Those of you that I’ve seen in person have been so wonderful and asked to know all about my trip. I’m still processing everything I’ve experienced over the past year, but I wanted to respond to some of the questions I’ve gotten over the past few weeks. You asked, so here are the answers!
My whole squad at our Final Debrief in Bariloche, Argentina
When did you get back?
I landed in the States on December 15, 2015.
Why didn’t you come home with the rest of your squad?
The Race ended on November 24th in Buenos Aires, Argentina, my favorite place in the world. If you’ve been following my blog, I’m sure you’ve read about how I used to live in Buenos Aires and how it totally changed my life. I decided to stay behind for an additional three weeks to spend time with my dear friends there, to go back to my church and other places I used to frequent, and to just experience life there again. It was absolutely the best way to end this year. The Lord has done so much in my life since I left Argentina the first time, and it was beautiful to be back in that place and share part of my journey with my friends. God is so good!
How was it? Did you like the Race?
I understand that people mean well when they ask me this, but these questions are extremely hard to answer. The Race was a whole year of my life. Sometimes I was happy, I was sad, I was angry, I was overjoyed, I was frustrated, I was excited…and sometimes I was all of those things at once. Ya know how people talk about the difference between something being “good” and something being “good for you”? That’s pretty much the Race in a nutshell. It wasn’t always good—there were bug bites and sweaty tents and long travel days—but it was always, always good for me. I did ministry in eleven different countries. I witnessed missionaries doing amazing work for the Kingdom of God. I lived and worked with an incredible squad. I made friends in communities all across Latin America, people who have taken a piece of my heart. I did things and went to places I didn’t even know to dream about, and I came out of all of it with even more dreams and plans. So, how was it? Indescribably good for me.
What was your favorite country?
Each country was special and played a role in creating my World Race experience, so it’s hard to pick an absolute favorite. But if you’d like an answer, I’d have to say Ecuador. The landscape itself is absolutely beautiful, the Spanish is super clear, and there are llamas. Who doesn’t love llamas? But seriously, Ecuador is also home to my favorite ministry (teaching English, working in a café, and doing church activities) and some of my favorite people. If you want to read more, I wrote about Ecuador in these two posts: “The Decision that Changed Everything” and “All We Ever Do is Say Goodbye”
Are you glad to be able to shower every day?
You’d be surprised how often I get this question. I wouldn’t say I’m “glad” necessarily, it’s mostly just weird to be this clean. Honestly, it’s really not that bad to not shower on a daily basis. In fact, the majority of the world operates that way. We’re the weird ones here (“we” being United States-ians). If I’m being honest, eventually it got to be a burden to have to shower because it just took so much time and effort. When it takes three hours to heat water in a tea kettle and fill up a giant washtub to take a bucket shower, it’s preferable to just wait a couple of days. And now, even though I have a reliably hot shower located down the hall from my room, I’m like, “Why? Why do we feel the need to be this clean?” The World Race changes you, people.
What is a moment you experienced God?
Oh my goodness, do I have stories to tell. Too many stories for this blog post. Like the time my host mom prophesied over me in El Salvador, or that time I lost my sweater on a boat in Guatemala and it made its way back to me, or that time I met a Honduran pastor on an airplane and he ended up being an Unsung Heroes contact, or the time we prayed for free steak and got it within 24 hours, or the time God sent me a whole team of people to take care of me while I was sick, or that time I presented the Gospel to an indigenous family in Panama, or that time we got in a car accident in Ecuador and no one got hurt, or that time I got to celebrate my birthday with my dad, or that time I wept on the side of a mountain in Peru, or that time we walked 6 miles to church only to find it closed but met new ministry contacts anyway, or that time I lost my glasses at a church in Bolivia and got them back a week later, or that time the Holy Spirit spoke to me in Spanish, or that time I watched the sunrise in Chile, or that time I reunited with my friends from all over the world in Argentina, or that time or that time or that time…I could go on forever. Let’s get coffee sometime and I’ll gladly share more.
Month 11 ministry in Patagonia
Would you do the Race again?
Here’s the thing. The Race is an incredible experience that results in a great amount of growth in a short amount of time. So if the question is, “Now that the Race is over, would you do it a second time?” the answer is “Probably not.” Not because I didn’t enjoy it (I definitely did), but because I’ve grown so much that doing the Race again would be kind of a step backwards. Hallelujah praise the Lord for spiritual growth, am I right? But if the question is, “If you could go back in time before the Race and decide to do it or not, would you still do it?” the answer is a resounding, “HECK YES.”
What’s the weirdest thing about being back in the United States?
It’s cold here. Everything is in English. I can go places by myself. I drive a car. There are traffic laws and seatbelts. Anything I need can be bought at a single store. Any fruit that I eat was not grown in my backyard. My Chaco tan has almost completely faded away. But the weirdest thing is probably having different clothes. After wearing the same clothes for more than 11 months, I don’t know how to put together an outfit with any variety.
Will you be giving a presentation of some sort?
Yes! I’m so glad you asked! I will be giving a full report on Sunday, February 7th at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Cross Plains, TN. We’ll have lunch right after the second worship service ends (around 11:15 or 11:30am), and my presentation will start soon after. Please join me! All are welcome!
What’s next for you?
Good question. I’m still trying to figure that out. I’m applying for jobs in the States and overseas, I am putting together an application for grad school, I might try to go back to one of the ministries I worked in this year, or I might go serve somewhere I’ve never been to before. Right now I’m just taking life day-by-day as I see where the Lord leads me next.
Before and After: On the left we have the the day I left for the Race, on the right we have the day I returned to the States. Can we just talk about how much better my pack looks now?
So there you have it, friends. My World Race journey has officially come to an end. But the end of this year, the end of this “11 countries in 11 months,” is not the end of my journey with the Lord. My life has been changed forever, and now I am walking into the next season, whatever that may be. Thanks for living this adventure with me. ¡Dios los bendiga!
