So much has happened in the first few months of the Race, it’s hard to tell about everything through blogs or Facebook. In fact, it’s so hard to convey even an ounce of what it’s like to be on the Race that sometimes I don’t even bother, but then I get over myself and try anyway. It’s ridiculously difficult to sum up 5 months of ministry, adventure and traveling the world yet here it is in all its flawed glory. No matter what I write here it could never come close to accurately conveying how much God was at work in our lives and the lives of others, or how crazy fun it all is, or how mind-blowingly hard it is. Either way, these have been the best 5 months of my life. Enjoy!
China
Ministry: We worked in Harbin, a city that’s only a hop, skip, and jump away from Siberia. We worked with an American pastor named Jake who was equipping local college students to become pastors too. Our job was to go into the universities and befriend the students, talk English with them, and share Jesus’ love. China was a hard month for me though as I got very sick but it was beautiful to witness what God is doing in China and how they are opening themselves up more and more to Christianity every day.
Coolest Moment: Hands down the coolest moment on the Race so far is when I got to help bring two Chinese students to accept Christ as their savior while sipping lattes at a Starbucks. If nothing else good came from being on the Race (which would be ridiculous) then that moment would make the entire Race worth it. Being able to climb the Great Wall was pretty freaking sweet too; but nothing compares with witnessing two people’s lives radically change.
Weirdest Food Ate: I could go on and on about weird food in China; it’s kind of their specialty. The coolest thing I ate was shark fin which is highly illegal in the States and some of the most delicious and delicate fish I’ve ever had. Or it could be the medicine they gave me to drink to help my mono which tasted like the pharmacist took tuna, moldy cheese, and burnt popcorn, ate it, then vomited it into little vials of death. Or it could be the dumplings sold on the streets that more than likely were made out of rat meat. Good ol’ China.
Hours Traveled: 62.5 hours. This includes luxurious flights with three square meals and our own personal televisions from the States to cramped 16 hour train rides across rural China where it’s so crowded that if you move your foot even a centimeter you’re probably going to kick someone in the shin. Mix in the smell of acrid smoke from chain smokers and the most pungent bathrooms wafting through the corridors and you’ve got a winner of a trip. If you’re ever wondering what the word miserable means, look it up in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of the train to Harbin with a bunch of sad, smelly Racers sitting on top of each other.
Thailand
Ministry: So far this was my favorite month. Not only did we get to work with our hands we also got to love on children. We spent the month building the concrete base of what will become a home for boys who are at risk of sex trafficking, and making a huge garden that would help feed them. It was hard work and I’m not sure I’ve ever sweated so much but it was so rewarding. I learned so many cool life skills this month. Then in the evenings we got to eat rice with the kids at their homes and play soccer and Uno with them. I will definitely be back to Thailand someday.
Coolest Moment: The cool moments in Thailand were numerous from snuggling with a tiger, to riding an elephant, to getting a tattoo but the coolest moments came in learning so much while building and gardening and the beautiful moments working with others. That is invaluable.
Weirdest Food Ate: Thailand had some of the most delicious food I’ve ever had the privilege to enjoy and Thai restaurants in America have nothing on real Thai food. I did get to partake in some nice fried minnows and crickets though. You haven’t experienced true disgust until you can’t get a spiny, cricket leg out of your teeth. And yes, crickets really are as gross as you think they’d be.
Hours Traveled: 33.5 hours. Travel in Thailand wasn’t bad with the most hours coming from bus rides, but one over-nighter bus we took had TV’s on the back of every seat, blankets and pillows, and coffee brought to us as a morning wake up call. Tough, I know.
Cambodia:
Ministry: We lived with Umong and Nary and their new baby, Martin, in a beautiful house on stilts. We got to teach English to children from the village, love on them, and tell them about Jesus. I was skeptical about the eternal worth of teaching English until Umong told me how most of the Christians in Cambodia were first told about Christ in English classes just like ours.
Coolest Moment: There were so many it’s hard to choose. Since we lived with our contacts in a sugarcane field in a teeny tiny little town all the fun things we did were what the locals did for fun too. We got to ride waterbuffalo, swim in the muddy, gritty waters of the Mekong, catch some wild bees for their honey, visit the majestic temples of Angkor Wat, the lost-in-the-60s Otres Beach, and so much more. But the biggest moment for me was that God allowed me to preach for the first time ever. I was so nervous to do this but the Holy Spirit moved in crazy ways and it wasn’t even me speaking. Cambodia taught me how much faith can do.
Weirdest Food Ate: The food in Cambodia was delicious and they had the most succulent mango I’ve ever had; it was like a thousand mango ninjas kicking every corner of your mouth with every bite. Hands down the weirdest thing I’ve ate on the Race is tarantula legs. I tried to eat a whole one, I really did, but I couldn’t even touch it. So I settled on a leg, but then had to eat two just because it sounds cooler to say “legs” instead of one measly “leg.”
Hours Traveled: 30 ½ hours. Roads in Cambodia are quite horrible to say the least so every bus or tuk-tuk we took was a gamble as to whether or not you’d lose your lunch while bouncing around on every pot-hole which were more like the beginning of tunnels being dug to the United States.
Total Hours Traveled So Far: 126.5 hours (that’s a lot of time and a lot of cramped legs)
Part 2 coming at the end of January.
