The Never-ending Race

We have been on the race now for quite sometime…month number ten right? We’ve gone from bottom corners of Asia, the plains of Africa, the extreme temperatures of India and Nepal, and now currently in Romania, the luscious greens of Europe. I could have never guessed what these past ten months would have done to me, ten months ago. I did a little back-tracking to remember what I actually have accomplished over the year, and this is just a few things of what I came up with:

I took my first plane overseas to the Phillipines and did a front flip off a waterfall.

Ate a fried tarantula in Cambodia. Slightly unattractive, yet quite delectable.

Spent Thanksgiving in the jungles of Malaysia, showering in the rain.

Preached my first sermon to around 100 people on Christmas Day in Thailand.

I danced for literally HOURS at church in Rwanda.

Led my first music class in Kenya.

Survived my lovely bus ride in Tanzania. That’s a fun story.

Trekked over 15 hours through the mountains and tea gardens of Nepal.

I loved on a precious premortial dwarf named Aloe in India.

I’m currently in Romania, I’ve lost 80 pounds so far on the race, I’m now running 4-5 miles a day, and I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in my life.

But to be completly honest, none of those things are number one on the top of my list of most incredible things happening to me. I’ve gone throught eating Belot, riding in the back of crazy tuk tuks (not to mention getting hit by one), and thrown indian snowballs at water buffalo, and it STILL doesn’t compare to my number one. 

So what is it? At the very beggining, on a lovely bus ride to training camp, I had a lovely squad leader named Tim Dixon ask me, “So what is the one main thing you want to get out of coming on this trip?”. I paused, looked to him, and said, “I want to learn what it means to be a man. To get my initiation and stop being just a boy.” And boy did I get that. God has worked me over month after month, and nothing has even come close to becoming the most incredible thing to happen me. God has shown up in so many incredible ways, shapes, and forms, I couldn’t recall probably half of them because there are so many. I still cannot believe on how far of a journey God has taken me, testing my character, redefining my identity in him, and proving it. And so, the story ends next month when we hit Ukraine and go home. Game over. Right?

My journey doesn’t stop here. These 11 months, being on The World Race, was just a kick start to a new revolution. My body, my being, cannot stop craving the hunger I have, yearning to know more about Christ, to have this wanting to do His will. This is only the beggining. I feel like with each day passing, God is changing and morphing me more and more into the MAN he wants me to be, and honestly, I don’t see that stopping. Ever.

So what now? Where is my track to run on? I hit back home in under six weeks, only to head to New York after that for a couple months, then starts G42 (woot for new blog!) for six months of intense leadership training. After that? Who knows. I hope to someday lead youth, directing them towards Christ, possibly as a leader for a school of worship. I’m planning on returning to Thailand eventually, for what purpose, I have no clue. But all I know is that my focus is on God. And I’m not just tip-toeing through this race we call life. I’m in a dead sprint, and I pray that it will never slow down. He’s worth every last breath, sweat, and tears.