As I shared before, you just never know what a day on the World
Race will look like! The other day, for instance, we went on a prayer walk
around the city of Paneng. Malaysia is a place of great diversity, everywhere
you look there are different kinds of temples and churches of all religions. We
ended up outside of a large Muslim Mosque and were praying for the people
coming and going as well as the 1.26 billion followers of Islam around the
world. I asked my teammate what his thoughts were on the Muslim faith and
Islamic extremism, etc. and he told me what he thought, concluding with “I
guess I don’t actually know that much about what they believe, I would really
like to know more”. As if on cue, out walks this Muslim man who invites us
inside! It turns out he is the chairman of the mosque and had seen us from his
office sitting out on the street. Next thing you know we are dressed in robes
and being led from room to room as he explains about their faith and asks us
about ours. We spent the better part of an hour talking with him and it was a
really memorable experience. It got me to thinking of all the random things
I’ve done from day to day this year and BOY is there a lot! This is by no means
a comprehensive list but should give you an idea of the variety of activities
ministry on the World Race provides:
Things I’ve done in
the last 11 months:
(in no particular order)
-sawed wood, stacked wood, scraped wood, sanded wood
-prayed for the sick, prayed for the poor, prayed for the dying
-raked leaves, weed wacked, shoveled gravel, planted a garden,
harvested corn
-ministered to orphans, refugees, prostitutes, homeless, cross
dressers, and gypsies
-painted a mural, painted buildings, painted signs
-chased rats, chased sheep, chased cows, chased geese, and plenty
of monkeys!
-insulated houses, installed sheetrock, dug ditches, caulked
bathrooms, mixed concrete
-led bible studies, led worship, led games, led team time
-slept in tents, slept in buses, slept on airport floors, slept on a golf course, slept in a convent & slept in hammocks
-dove with great white sharks, cuddled with a tiger, rode an
elephant, rode a camel, held a python
-painted trees, planted trees, pruned trees
-rode airplanes, buses, trains, autos, boats, tuk-tuks, and nearly
every form of travel possible
-swept, mopped, did dishes, picked up trash, changed bed sheets
-played movie trivia, tv trivia, bible trivia, music trivia and
every kind of trivia you can imagine
-typed documents, shredded documents, filed documents, collated
doncuments
-went inside a Hindu temple, Muslim Mosque, Buddhist Temple, and
Russian Orthodox Church
-killed more spiders, ants, cockroaches, and creepy crawlies than I
ever care to imagine
-preached, sang, did skits, made music videos and human videos
-baked cupcakes, baked cookies, baked muffins, baked cakes, baked
bread
-drove a golf cart, drove a moped, drove on the left side of the
road
-learned to french braid hair & learned to cut hair
-learned to speak some phrases in Portuguese, Romanian, Afrikaans,
Thai, Telagu, SiSwati, Kmer, & Malay
-hiked mountains, slid down waterfalls, ran on the beach,
accidentally rolled down a cliff
-learned to play tennis, learned to crochet, learned to play boogie
woogie on the piano
-swam in the pacific ocean, swam in the indian ocean, swam in the
atlantic ocean,
-went bowling, went to the movies, went to malls, went to coffee
shops,
-watched a pig get slaughtered, milked a cow, watched a pigeon get
its head twisted off
-played soccer, basketball, ultimate frisbee, badminton, and
volleyball
-did magic tricks, made up songs, gave away stickers & balloons
& candy
-jumped on a trampoline, swung on the swings, had pillow fights,
went down water slides
-went to castles, went to zoos, went to botanical gardens, went to
ancient ruins, went to museums
-taught Sunday School, taught English, taught piano lessons
-flooded a house, got electrocuted, jumped on a moving train, got
chased by the police
-watched the sun set, watched the sun rise, watched thunderstorms,
snowstorms and hail storms
-saw people get saved, delivered, and healed
-Made at least 11 years of memories in only 11 months!
