In a way, the first week of the World Race had been everything I was expecting. I knew arriving to Launch on August 4th would fun and exciting! I got a chance to see old friends, learn new things, and say goodbye to the most amazing mom in the world. Our squad got to spend our last precious days in the States together worshiping God and enjoying all the little things that we would miss.
Then came travel day! And it went as expected. Our first flight was to the JFK Airport in NY and naturally, it was delayed due to a power glitch. But no worries! We still had a great time lying on the airport floor playing Uno for hours. After arriving in NY we had our last meal in America for the next 11 months, which I am proud to say was grilled cheese, and we hopped on a plane to Dubai where I watched Disney movies for the next 12 hours and tried to sleep as best I could. Our squad was very lucky to have a short layover in Dubai where some of us were able to catch up on our sleep (me) and some were able to tour the city. Then we were off on our last 10 hours plane ride to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. We traveled for 59 hours and had to jump right in when we arrived!
As expected, we were able to cram 50 World Racers into about 3 cars and we got to see some of the city as we drove to our destination. They took us to the church where my team (Worthy Warriors) and team Kaleidoscope would be severing this month. They blessed our Squad with snacks and drinks as we met many different people from the church. After that we traveled to another ministry site where 5 other teams would be staying and they fed us an amazing African meal! Our first day in Africa was what I was expecting life would be like on the World Race. Jumping from place to place, meeting different people and experiencing the culture around us. However, the days following were filled with things that I did not expect. That night when our two teams arrived to where we would be staying for the month we found a gorgeous Villa waiting for us. The Villa has air-conditioning, working toilets (mostly), comfy beds and wifi. A world racers dream! While I am looking forward to being humbled in my living conditions this year on the field, I can’t lie and say that our home here isn’t nice. But what surprised me more was our ministry this month.
Upon arriving in Cote d’Ivoire our teams were told that we would be working a church called “La Maison de la Destinee” only, they did not know what we would be doing yet. And we didn’t find out until three days later. We had so many questions for those first few days… What are we doing? Where are we going? How do we get there? Why are we here? Not knowing what I was doing or even where my next meal was coming from for a few days was really hard but I believe that is what I needed for God to break down my expectations of this Race and trust in what he has in store for me. He taught me to be still.
“Be still, and know that I am God;”
-Psalm 46:10
He taught me to rely on Him in a new way. He taught me that even if we had no idea what we were doing, God had a plan for our teams this month in Abidjan. It may not have been what I expected it would be but its something that he had planned before I even drew my first breath and I need to trust that he knows what he is doing.
Then came answers. 🙂
On the third day we found out that this month our teams would be serving and evangelizing with the young adults from the church. We got the opportunity to meet with them and to attend an English service on Sunday where we learned more about the amazing love that Christ has for us. After that we all went out to lunch at a local place and ate some pretty amazing chicken! Our conversations were filled with laughs, songs and many snapchat selfies.
I learned that day that even though we may speak different languages and are from different countries, we share the same heart because of Jesus. We have the same purpose. We are brothers and sisters going out into malls, markets and hospitals starting conversations with people about a God who loves them unconditionally.
I didn’t expect that my team would stay in a nice Villa and that we would be cooking pasta and rice every night. I didn’t expect that my french would be as bad as it is or that I wouldn’t be able to get money out of an ATM for the first two weeks. I didn’t expect to be rolling on the floor dying from laughter every night during our Team Times or how much I would like off-brand Nutella. I didn’t expect that the hair stylist that did my hair for my Fundraiser would only give me highlights instead of dying my hair blonde and that the internet here would not let me attach any pictures to this blog (sorry friends). 🙁 But the thing I really didn’t expect was how fast everyone here would feel like family and how much I would love the city of Abidjan and the people who live here.
Either way, positive or negative, I am beginning to learn to love the unexpected.
