A list of things I had never done before I left for the World Race:
Before the World Race, Never Had I Ever……
- Used a church skirt as a towel
- Slept on the floor for 10 straight months
- Had 8 currencies in my wallet at one time
- Worn 6 outfits in rotation for a whole year
- Gone months on end without wearing a drop of make-up
- Painted a room with Paint that looked like blue cottage cheese
- Showered using a bucket and bowl
- Been able to count on one hand how many times I’ve had a hot shower in the last 10 months
- Maxed out the capacity of a vehicle by double it’s intended seats
- Felt an earthquake, or 6
- Slept on the floor of an airport, a bus, a bus station, or a church
- Ordered a Coke to go and was given Coke in a bag
- Jumped off a waterfall
- Been on a bus for 42 hours straight
- Relied on public transportation to get anywhere and everywhere
- Sat on the side of the road to pick up a wifi signal
- Taught English as a second language
- Gone zip-lining
- Judged the health of someone by the regularity of their bowel movements, color of their pee, and amount of bug bites
- Painted a mural
- Lived in close quarters with 7 to 45 people
- Showered in a waterfall
- Gone to a symphony
- Learned to surf
- Been on a missions trip with my parents
- Cleaned maggots out of a refrigerator
- Not been able to remember the last time I was alone
- Eaten iguana, guinea pig, cow stomach, chicken hearts, or quail eggs
- Known the potential of my love for plantains
- Turned off the water during showers to suds up and save water
- Washed my hair in a rain storm
- Shared one bathroom with 45 people
- Had conversations in another language
- Been cat-called by grown men, daily
- Dug a 12 foot deep septic tank
(only a 3rd of the way done)
- Been a part of community worship on a mountain top
- Lived in a tent for 4 months
- Sang in Spanish and danced in front of a church
- Needed a rain jacket to go to the bathroom
- Worked at an orphanage
- Used a dog bowl as an eating dish
- Almost capsized a boat in the ocean
- Mended a pair of shorts four times
- Had the entire Pitch Perfect movie memorized
- Milked a cow
- Checked someone’s hair for lice
- Used a pocket knife to open a can
- Washed mold out of all my clothes
- Listened to podcast sermons at least four times a week
- Gone snorkeling in the Caribbean
- Carried benches through a dump to get to church
- Flushed a toilet with a bucket
- Hitch hiked
- Mopped the floor with a t-shirt and a stick
- Had 3 different tan lines at the same time
- Visited indigenous Indian tribes
- Descended into a pitch black cave
- Ridden in the back of a pick-up truck regularly
- Heard someone speak in tongues
- Realized how prideful I was
- Thrown up on an airplane
- Almost drove off a cliff
- Laid hands on and prayed for healing over someone
- Bartered for my groceries
- Owned an alpaca sweater
- Hand washed my clothes
- Assisted ants in carrying something across the room
- Eaten medicinal leaves at an organic farm
- Gotten locked inside a shopping mall
- Skinned a chicken
- Seen raw meat sold on the side of the road
- Worked at a feeding center
- Developed extremely close, deep friendships in only a couple months
- Talked about God on such a regular basis
- Had to get out and push a charter bus out of a hole, on the edge of a cliff
- Created hashtags to describe my life
- Had so many bug bites it looks like chicken pox
- Created a zip-line to get down a waterfall
- Blindly gotten into cars with strangers
- Used laundry detergent to mop a bathroom floor
- Chopped down a tree with a machete
- Gone to 4am church services
- Woken up to cows outside my tent
- Had to be inside by 7pm every night for safety precautions
- Collected rain water to wash the dishes
- Been to a Compassion International base
- Done street evangelism
- Translated from Spanish to English for my parents
- Not had running water
- Had a pastor preach barefoot and in board shorts
- Heated water up on a stove to shower with
- Taught crafts in Spanish
- Slept on church pews
- Eaten rice, beans, and scrambled eggs every day for all three meals
- Been asked to speak in front of a church with no prep time
- Drank fresh coconut water straight from the coconut
- Created a bucket list because I had things to check off it
And last but not least…
Never Had I Ever allowed God to take me on an eleven month trip, around the world, to serve His people, witness the splendor of His creation, cry at His feet in brokenness, and have my breath taken away by His never ending love and blessings.
