How have 11 days already gone by? It’s month 10 and I’m in El Tunco, El Salvador. I head home after next month and I’ve started processing what “going home” might look like. Looking back over the last 9 months I have met so many people and had so many different experiences, both good and….hmmmm….some not worth repeating. Here is a glimpse:
#1. What was my favorite ministry? As I look back on the 10 ministries I have now worked with, my favorite is still Mision Adulam in El Alto, Bolivia. Adulam is a drugs and alcohol rehabilitation program for young women, men, and couples seeking to break their addictions. I absolutely loved working and living alongside the couples of Jesed and seeing God work so clearly in their lives. It was freezing cold when we were there and we worked 12-14 hour days but I still couldn’t wait to go back every morning.
(The couples from Jesed)
#2. What was my favorite country? Crazy how time flies and this is already month #10! My favorite though is definitely Puerto Rico, month #1. My 1st team Salmo 45:11 worked alongside Firestarters. To this day those relationships are the closest ones I have on the race and I know they’re going to last for a life-time. I not only loved the work but also being accepted as family by the church body. We connected with the youth in a way I haven’t had again on the race. Pastor Peter, our host, also invested incredible amounts of time and energy not only into both teams but into Sabrina and I as the two team leaders. The country was beautiful and I got to speak lots of Spanish. It was an absolutely incredible month.
(Firestarters and Salmo 45:11)
(The first house we worked on)
#3. What was my hardest month? God has been so good. In every month God has provided blessings to make even hard months, easier. My hardest month though was Ecuador. It was month #5 and I hit an emotional, physical, and even psycological wall. I was exhausted from not sleeping well and tired of packing up every month and having to start over again. Teams had just changed, I spent my birthday far from family, and I had a hard time connecting with the ministry.
#4. What was the coolest thing I did or place I visited? As I said, God has been so good. Even in my hardest month, Ecuador, He provided a huge blessing in the form of my teammate Jaide’s family friend Scott and his family. Scott and his family had us all over for an “All American” cook-out for burgers and then drove us to Quilotoa for an excursion. Quilotoa is an active volcano that imploded years ago and now has a lake in the center that you can hike down into. For those of you familiar with Crater Lake in Oregon, it was very similar to that. It was absolutely beautiful. The hike up was incredibly intense but I can proudly say I did it without the help of a donkey.
#6. Weirdest food I ate/best food I ate? I have eaten so many plantains this year I have them coming out my ears. However, they are so good! Starting month #1 in Puerto Rico we have had the green plantains fried as “Tostones” and the ripe black ones as “Amarillos” and they are delicious. In Central American I have eaten lots of beans and rice but every country and host has had their own unique spin on cooking them. As for weird food? Pig neck and cow’s stomach definitely take the cake. I ate both in Ecuador and on both accounts, once was enough for me.
#7. What do you miss most from home? I have purposefully not used internet every day on the race because I wanted to remain as present and focused as possible. That has meant limited contact with my family and friends from back home so I’m very ready to be back in easy, constant contact with my loved ones. I have been very surprised how much wireless internet we have found on the race but I’m ready to not have the connection cut out in the middle of a conversation. Here are some other little things that I have missed:
I never thought I would be so thankful for running water every day (in Tegucigalpa we only had water 2x per week so we had to use buckets the rest of the time.) That means toilets that flush every time and showering with water out of the showerhead instead of a bucket.
I haven’t really sat on a couch since Panama or had carpet ever. I have also forgotten what it’s like to sleep in a bed or get a good night’s sleep.
Pies. I really miss pie. All kids of pie. Pie, pie, pie. Oh, and cookies and brownies. My team hasn’t had an oven since Panama so any baked goods really. Definitely pie.
I am a big planner and while it’s been a good challenge to say “goodbye” to plans for the last 10 months, I am ready for some normalcy in my life. I’m ready to have more normal hours of working, better boundaries between work and off time, even have 2-day weekends again.
#8. What are my plans for after the race? When I came on the race I was ready to fall in love with a country or ministry. I love Spanish and the culture so I was waiting to see where I would head to next, since this route seemed to present countless opportunities. However, nothing really clicked. Instead, I’m going to return home and after the holidays, move to New York to pursue further schooling to get my Masters of Nursing and be a Nurse Practitioner. I started the process before the race and am extremely excited to continue it. I’ll be home for the holidays which will be a huge blessing since I have been away for 11 months but then I’ll pack my bags and head off for my next adventure. Since I graduated back in ’08 I have only taken 1 class so it’ll definitely be a change for me, to get back into the groove of schooling, but it’s one I’m really looking forward to.
