So much of what you are is where you’ve been
A year of traveling is simple rewarding. It’s dirty, nothing is ever “clean,” you’re constantly second guessing the water you’re drinking, your body has a layer of dirt that you’re sure will never come off, your clothes never quiet smell fresh but you just hand washed them yesterday, and the food is delicious but you’re not even sure what it is. Even the food that seems normal doesn’t taste the same. Your headlamp Is the main source of light all too often and you’re pretty sure there are creatures crawling over everything all the time.
Through it all you are in awe of how amazing life can be. Of the beautiful children and the smiles, the laughter that comes from you simply noticing them. The continued gratitude from the community because you took the time to sit with them, listen, and remind them they are seen. The constant welcome you get just coming into a host’s home and while they literally give up every square inch of their home to six complete strangers is amazing. You begin to love them like they are your own family and they support and lift you up from day one. You get to wake up in a country see amazing sunsets or sunrises or even amazing rain storms. Nature in all its beauty, all around, engulfing you in the awe of each country and how they can be so different yet have so much in common.
Then there are the times that your heart breaks because you meet a family who has nothing but the clothes they are wearing and are barely able to provide for themselves but are still full of joy. They want to pray with you, the kids want to sit in your lap and stroke your arm because they’ve never seen a white person before. You realize that this simple act of just sitting with them has brought them joy but more importantly it wasn’t an object or money or a thing, it was a person. You realize that things don’t bring you joy as much as people do and that you can be content and happy without all the materialistic things we believe we have to have. At the end of the day you’re tired and all you want to do is crawl up in bed, sometimes you can, other times you share a bed or a bedroom but these women you will know for a lifetime, women who have laughed and cried alongside you. They may have been complete strangers a few months ago but now 11 months into this experience, they’ve become more like sisters you didn’t really ask for but got blessed with anyways.
Life on the race is an adventure that’s for sure. A hard run with so many amazing moments and times of good growth. 11 countries and I am still in awe of the things I’ve seen. I am sure I will continue to be in awe even as I arrive home and many years down the road. As my body recovers and really, I am exhausted; I wouldn’t take a moment back, I would have still endured this whole challenge in order to experience all the Lord has blessed us with.
