It’s month 9 and I’m in Guatemala. I’ll spend the next three months of my life drinking delicious coffee, eating tortillas and probably lots of beans, rice, and and eggs, and hearing Spanish everywhere I go. And I can’t believe that this is my life.
Since we are now in the last three months of the race I have started creating a list of my top 11 memories/stories/adventures from this past year. And since we’re in the last three months I’ve also been taking a lot more time to notice what is around me.
Although our time in Guatemala is only a few short weeks I have had more “is this really my life?” moments, or “you’re on the World Race” moments as they are sometimes called, than any other month before this I’m pretty sure. And I’m not just talking about the crazy adventures or the completely out-of-place-in-real-life moments (like listening to a live mariachi band form a balcony), I’m also talking about the crazy lessons I’ve learned from God, the crazy amount of growth I have seen in others and myself, and the hard, point-blank, but needed-to-be-had conversations among teammates that would almost never occur in real life without lots of yelling and hurt feelings.
More times than I can count I have been sitting enjoying a simple lunch of rice, beans, and perhaps some kind of eat with )my favorite food here in Guatemala) warm corn tortillas with butter, and I just have had to stop because the only thought in my mind is “how could this possibly be my life?”
Coming on the World Race seemed absolutely crazy for a girl with a history like mine. I mean someone who couldn’t live 10 hours from home, flying around the globe for a year? Sounds pretty ludicrous to me. I remember thinking as I wrote out speeches to give at churches, which talked about when I quit school and ran home because of home sickness, that no one is going to want to donate money to me. When I put on fundraisers that weren’t always quite as successful as I hoped, or when I tried to save money so I could buy gear and plane tickets to Georgia, and culturally appropriate clothing for 11 different countries, all of it seemed absolutely insane.
I honestly never truly believed that I would make it this far and be as happy as I am. I didn’t think I would raise all that money, and then somehow between Thanksgiving and Christmas the final donation came in. In UGanda I struggled once again with believing that I would get over my homesickness and be able to enjoy the coming year, in Nepal I was terrified of team changes because I wasn’t sure I was ready to let people in. About halfway through the race I gave up on hoping that I would leave with a closer relationship with the Lord than ever before. I had so many doubts before the race and on the race that I would ever reach month 9 loving where I am. I figured that at this point in the race I would just be taking it day by day, waiting for the final plane ride back to the states.
But I’m not! At this point in the race I am not just waiting to go home I am marveling at all the Father has done in me over this past year. I am amazed at all of the crazy things I’ve done like raft the Nile or hike in the Himalayas. I am astounded at the number of children I have gotten to shower love on this year and how many of them have stolen pieces of my heart. I am grateful that I have gotten to see and explore so many countries around the world, and even places in the States I never thought I would visit. I am thankful for friendships that through no decision other than the one where we were placed on a team together, have now blossomed into relationships that I hope will last a lifetime. I am completely floored by the fact that living out of a backpack, sleeping on the floor with a 1.5 inch thick sleeping pad, wearing the same clothes multiple days in a row, going more days than you should without showering, and hearing a language other than English everywhere, has becoming normal.
When I left the U.S. 9 months ago I really had no idea what life would be like out in the field, and now that I’m here I still can’t begin to fathom how incredible, hard, amazing, goring, and life-changing it is every day. One of my teammates says she wants to finish her last three months the way she started the first three. Me? I want to finish these last three months the exact opposite of the way that I start my first three. I’ve started our journey in Central America in awe that God would bring me to this place, asking the question “how can this possibly be my life?” Because of all the crazy things He has done and is doing. When I get to the end of the race the adventure isn’t over, the wonder isn’t gone, it is simply a new country to explore and wake up every morning amazed, asking “how can this possibly be my life?”.
