A few months ago I gave you all the opportunity to ask me questions about my World Race experience so far. I hope reading this will give you all a better glimpse into what my life has looked like over the last 8 months.
Q: In what ways has the Lord provided for you during the world race?
A: I’ve learned the answer to this question through one of my squadmates, Rachel, who is a logistics coordinator for our squad and was on my first team. She is constantly sharing stories of how God has showed up and provided food, lodging, travel, and other things for our squad in miraculous ways. It seems truly amazing how things always work out for us, even when circumstances seem impossible.
Q: What have you learned about yourself during these months?
A: This question is fun for me because I’ve learned so so much about myself this year. Some of those things have even been pretty unappealing, but I’ve been thankful because of the amount of growth that has come from it.
Two of the biggest things I’ve learned this year are that I’m a control freak and that I highly value direct and open communication. I’ve even seen how my desire for control can hinder my ministry and the ministry of those around me. I’ve seen how I am reluctant and unwilling to invite strangers into outings with my friends (or teammates) because doing so introduces an element of uncertainty, meaning I can no longer control whether or not I will enjoy those outings. Like I said, not everything I’ve learned about myself has been good.
As far as my value for communication, this has proved to be both good and bad. My desire for others to communicate clearly with me has led me to do so for others, which helps me remain open with the people and my life and clearly communicate my desires and expectations. However, I’m still learning to accept that sometimes people just don’t feel the need or desire to communicate as much as I want to know, and I have to accept that.
Q: What has God shined a light on in your life during this time?
A: A very general answer is that God has shined a light on my sin, and because of that, on his immense grace. In one of my blogs I talked about how my squad had a vulnerability night and we all shared really vulnerable stuff with one another. It was really incredible because I was shown so much love from my squad (and learned that there were other people on my squad who were struggling or had previously struggled with the same things as me). So God shed light on my sin, really showed me the power of vulnerability, and showed me his grace through my squadmates in the way they responded. It’s been really hard and frustrating at times, but also so incredible to be a part of the ways God has transformed me through the things I’ve allowed him to bring to the light.
Q: What’s the farthest you’ve had to step out of your comfort zone, meaning what was the most culture-shocking thing you had to adapt to?
A: Something that I knew to expect, but I don’t think I could ever have been prepared for was the way I’ve experienced poverty and expectation in some of the countries we’ve been to. This is something I had to know coming into the race: it is not my job to fix or save anyone. I was told by a host in Africa that when people look at us, all they see is money, which is something I don’t have a lot of at the moment. Every place we visit comes with mixed feelings that include the discomfort of feeling that some people (not necessarily our ministry hosts, but strangers who aren’t aware of our purpose here) want something from us that we don’t have to offer, and the desire to help accompanied by the conviction to remember that I am no one’s savior.
Q: What’s one of the most difficult things you’ve done in order to get closer to God since you’ve been on this mission?
A: An hour of solitude. For lent this year I decided to take an hour of solitude every day to spend with the Lord. As timing would have it, I started this practice during the busiest month I’ve had on the race, which meant this hour almost always took place late in the evening as everyone was turning in for the night. Two things that made this hard were that I was completely exhausted from the day, and secondly, that it meant I was now missing out on late-night conversations with my roommates as we drifted off to sleep (something I’ve come to really enjoy during the race).
Interestingly enough, the hardest thing I’ve done has also been the most rewarding. I’ve learned the value of fighting for my time with the Lord, and have realized that, though sometimes I’m missing out on things I want to be a part of with the people around me, neglecting time with God will cause me to miss out on far more.
Q: What are you most looking forward to having (or doing, eating, whatever) when you get back?
A: MY BED. For the first 7 months on the field, I had a bed for 3 of them, one of which was about as hard as a floor. I used to think I knew that I took things for granted, but I understand that I didn’t have any kind of grasp of that before. I’m so grateful to have a bed to sleep in… something I look forward to eagerly upon returning home.
Q: Give me one thing you have to routinely do that you absolutely hate followed by one that you love.
A: One thing you can’t avoid on the race is travel (yeah, I know, that’s obvious). I love experiencing new places and new cultures, but the process of getting there is a different story. I believe our longest travel day has been about 60 hours, and has consisted of multiple forms of transportation. The worst part of this for me is that it is such a struggle for me to sleep on any of them, which means I tend to arrive at our destinations as an exhausted, delirious zombie-unicorn. It’s not my favorite first impression to make.
A World Race routine that I love is team time. It is required that each day, our team takes time to step away from our busy schedule and spend time together. Sometimes this looks like playing a game of cards or telephone pictionary, and sometimes it looks like giving super-feedback or answering one another’s questions about what the Lord is teaching us. I enjoy this routine so much because the continual practice of joining together keeps us bonded as a team, and also provides an atmosphere each day in which we can relax, have fun, and be reminded that we are all here for one another with the same God and the same purpose.
Q: Is the meat in Africa as bad as I’ve heard it is?
A: I haven’t had a bad experience with meat during my time in Africa. Of course, Africa is a huge continent with varying struggles and lack. As for the countries I’ve been to in Africa (Botswana, South Africa, and Swaziland), they often have what they call a braai. I would say it’s the equivalent of an American barbeque, but the menu consists of up to 3 different kinds of meat, braai bread (grilled rolls, basically), and chakalaka (a delicious mixture of beans, cabbage, tomato sauce, and other spices). It’s a common welcome or celebration meal, and something my squad-mates and I have come to enjoy greatly. Anyway, the quality of the meat has never been disappointing.
Q: What the most beautiful landscape you’ve seen since you’ve been out there?
A: Hands down, the snow-capped Himalayas in Nepal. I don’t think I realized this kind of beauty existed before that month.
Just before this picture was taken, my team and I got to watch the sunrise over these mountains. It was truly breathtaking!
I’ve really enjoyed writing this blog and answering these questions. If reading this has brought any questions to your mind that you’d like me to answer, feel free to e-mail me or send me a message and I’d be more than happy to answer those as well!
