Figured I'd continue on with this 'wheels' theme while I got it rollin…
So today was my first World Race Travel Day! We spent 5 hours on a bus from DC to NYC; then 4 hours on a plane from NYC to Liberia, Costa Rica; then another 7 or so hours on the bus from Costa Rica to the Nicaraguan border; then to Managua where I sit at a hostel writing to you now. And just to sleep here for a few hours and then get back in the bus at 6am to ride another 5 hours to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Pheeew! That was a long time in the bus. (But I bet this Travel Day is nothing compared to F Squad who is heading to India tomorrow – or is it today? I'm not even sure how many days have gone by since we parted ways in DC. Yeah, I think F Squad &b G Squad are headed to India & Ireland now. I'll be sure to add my F Squad pals from Palm Beach County's blogs to my home page soon, so you and me both can read about those wild travel days.)
So why am I writing to you about the bus wheels that going round and round and round and? Not to complain, but to be real: this was a challenge for me! You see, I love to travel. But I realized today that I love to travel MY way. I like to stop and peruse and taste. I like to snap photos of scenery and shop around for local delicacies. These things were not on the agenda today. And I get the feeling they are not often going to be on the agenda for Travel Days. Bummer! But, yeah that's what I learned today. It's not about me! 😉
I was literally twitching when I was asked to remain on the bus when our Team Treasurers went inside a local supermarket to buy food for the Teams. I wanted to go in! But I get it, if I go in, then every one is going to want to go in, and we can't have 53 of us wandering the aisles of the supermarket and expect to ever actually get anywhere within a reasonable time frame. I get it. But I still wanted to do it my way! I figured, 'I speak Spanish! I am actually very familiar with Costa Rican grocery stores! I can help her shop!' — I was being logical. But, as I think you are beginning to hear me say again and again, this mission is not about the logical.
Beyond testing the limits of my FOMO (it's a pretty serious condition: Fear of Mission Out! 😉 ,today's trip to the grocery story (or lack there of) and limitations to stay within the wheels of the bus the whole day taught me that I've got a lot of dying to do. Don't freak out, I don't mean literally dying. At Training Camp & at Launch they talked a lot about 'dying to yourself' in order to honor your team. So I guess for me that meant swallowing my desires to go inside and buy delicious Costa Rican Lizano Sauce, maybe a fresh empanada in the bakery, and one of those scrumptious ice cream cookie sandwiches I know they sell (like a Richwich but better)…resisting my natural urge to suggest that we were suuuper close to The Arbol de Vida Ranch that I did mission work at these past 2 summers with Christ Fellowship and we should totally stop by there! Juan & Ana (the couple that run the ranch) make some amazing Chalupas that would be sooo much more satisfying than the ham & cheese and PB&J's we ended up scoring at the supermarket Yea, I am gonna learn the easy way or the hard way that I am not often going to get to do things my way– I sacrificed that when I signed up to do in the World Race Way. I'm gonna learn to die to having it my way and it sounds like sometimes die to my food cravings, too huh? Hah. This was Day 1 of a verrrrry long adventure.
But for now, I am thankful for wifi, getting to talk to my mom & write to you, a bed, the grapes I just ate, and a cold shower (it's hot! The flight attendant actually said when we landed, "Welcome to Costa Rica. The local time is 2pm and the temperature is very hot" haha)
Let the wheels roll on…
