Exactly one hundred days ago, I woke up at the earliest hour of the morning in a hotel in Atlanta. I finished packing Bruce, double checked I had my passport, and said adios to the U.S.A. after a quick trip to the Atlanta airport and a long layover in Chicago. One hundred days ago, my walk with the Lord really began to grow and change and strengthen. One hundred days ago, I began the World Race.
In honor of the first one hundred days on the Race, here are one hundred lessons I have learned…
• Leave launch with clean clothes and a clean body
• Do not take your shoes off in the Istanbul airport (luckily not learned the hard way)
• When you want to learn a country’s money system, have a kid teach you
• Always wake a teammate up at midnight on their birthday with instruments & singing
• When you do not understand a conversation in another language, laugh when they do
• In conversation in another language, there should be subtitles under each person
• Quiet time with the Lord / a book / journaling is essential to start every day
• Being awake from 3 to 6 am for no reason due to jet lag is seriously the worst
• Nucrema is cheaper than actual Nutella and it is amazing on everything
• Learning the essential phrases in a new language is a fun and wonderful challenge
• Chocolate is a necessity, especially during team time
• Sharing stories is important and builds relationships
• When you cannot read labels in another language, you use tomato paste or sweet salsa as pasta sauce, and you eat it because you don’t have anything else
• The language barrier challenge is for real
• Sleeping in, dozing and reading is the best way to wake up on an off day
• Cafes for quiet time are an introvert’s dream come true
• Hearing English with a Bulgarian accent is quite humorous
• “Encouragement Station” is the best thing during team time
• You get used to wearing the same clothes over and over again
• Doing laundry in a real washer and dryer is heaven after wearing sweaty clothes for days
• Take a chance, sit with new people at meals
• Always say yes when it comes to going on a walk (and always remember your camera)
• Straighten your hair when you get the chance to because it feels good to feel normal
• Hot showers are the best way to wake up
• Learning to play guitar makes your fingers hurt
• Laughter is the best cure for an off feeling day
• Sometimes it is really okay to put your headphones in and turn the volume up all the way
• Learn your favorite drink in the local language, it makes a trip to the café so much easier
• When you ask for an adventure, you’ll get an adventure
• Bulgarian bus schedules and train schedules are never accurate
• They make multiple variations of Trivial Pursuit; the British one is hard
• Don’t fall asleep in church; you will be endlessly teased by whoever preached (Jonathan) and Pete
• Reading a whole book in one sitting is possible on the Race
• Team time is a time to be vulnerable and honest because your teammates truly do love you and will endlessly encourage you
• When you have the opportunity to climb into a watch tower of a 1000+ year old broken down castle, just do it
• Buying a Snickers bar is always, always worth it
• Adventure days are for exploring broken down castles and eating desserts
• Oatmeal is the best breakfast
• Hang drying clothes in a house takes days
• Clothes hanging between bunks is like playing limbo multiple times a day
• People all over the world except Washingtonians use umbrellas
• Cobblestone streets are the norm in Eastern Europe, especially in bigger cities
• Reuniting with the whole squad is like Christmas morning, full of hugs and joy
• Debrief is a mix of rest, chaos, squad games, and one-on-ones
• Dance parties are the best prior to team time
• Teammates can always cheer you up on an off day
• You know you’re not in the US when milk comes in cardboard boxes and can be stored on shelves
• Nutella and jelly sandwiches are the best quick lunches
• Team hugs are the best hugs
• Some days it really is acceptable to skip ministry and stay home sick
• Birthdays on the Race are the best days
• All squad month is a mess of clothes drying on clothesline and shoes by the front door, the smell is ridiculous
• When you go to google in another country, it comes up in that language and you have to google “google English” to get it to show up in English
• Intercession is a time to be vulnerable with your squad and really lift each other up in prayer; we all have crap going on in our own lives but we are family and can come alongside each other in prayer
• It is really hard to live out of a hiking pack, your stuff ends up all over the dirty floor if you do not keep it organized
• Nalgenes get gross, cleaning them often is a must
• Even when you don’t speak the language, street kids are content with smiles and hugs
• Deadlines are stressful, but stress is unnecessary because God has a plan even if you do not know what it is
• It gets easier and easier to translate kilometers to miles (especially if you regularly run races at home)
• When you’re short on party supplies, toilet paper makes great streamers
• Podcasts are a must for travel days
• If the front row of the bus has a small shelf, always sit in the front row
• Even if you don’t have to pee when the bus takes a bathroom break, try to go because you don’t know when the driver will stop again
• Jelly sandwiches are completely acceptable at 4am after a long border crossing
• Even if the border has no line, it will still take at least an hour to get through with 40 people’s passports
• It is okay if processing something takes way longer than you’d like it to
• Introvert off days spent in an eno are the best kind of off days after a long workweek
• Running hugs are the best kind, especially from kids who always greet you like this
• A kindle is the best possible thing you can have when you’re sick in bed all day
• Teammates who take care of you when you’re sick are the best kind
• When your ministry hosts have children, adopt them as your little brothers and sisters
• When you get the opportunity to travel to a different country for a weekend, take it
• Late night card games are the best way to end a day
• If there is an option to sleep in a room with fewer people, do it (especially if you’re an introvert)
• Apple cider on a rainy day is almost like being at home, not quite, but almost
• Keep currency (a bill and coins) from each country, it’s fun to see how different they all are
• Take your headlamp with you, even if you leave way before it gets dark, chances are you’ll end up out till after dark and you’ll thank yourself
• Italian lasagna really is what dreams are made of
• Traveling on three ish hours of sleep means you probably won’t think straight
• When in Italy, eat like the Italians
• Learning another language is fun – pick a couple phrases and learn them in every language
• When you find American fast food, always eat it (even if you don’t eat fast food at home)
• Take introvert time when you need it even if everyone else is hanging out, it’s worth it
• When you’re told a bus ride will be 5-7 hours, always plan for longer than that
• Always pick the bed with the closest wall plug
• Tight spaces mean your stuff stays packed and cleaner
• Hostels usually have wifi, but it doesn’t always work with 30+ people trying to use it
• Get as much sleep as possible the night before a travel day
• Pack all of your snacks into your daypack for travel days, it makes everything much easier to carry
• Pack clothes to sleep in and a change of clothes in your daypack on travel days
• Bring something you love from home, it really will make the Race feel more homey (for me, I brought apple cider packets and my mug specifically for cider)
• If there is an opportunity to buy nutella or peanut butter, always buy it
• Always, always get to know the people you are working with, it makes ministry so much better
• Use your downtime wisely, especially if you’re an introvert
• Keep up with your favorite sports teams, a good victory really brightens your mood
• If you remotely get car sick, bring more Dramamine than you really think you need
• Grab a teammate and pray for them, pray for them often
• When asked to sort donated can items, turn the messy pile into a hipster cardboard box grocery store; it makes for good laughs and some skilled organization
• When you dislike what you’re doing for ministry, always remember you are doing it for God’s glory
• Always remember to wear shoes in the bathroom, especially after someone has showered
Here’s to the next seven months of the Race and all of the incredible lessons I will learn in Africa and South America, whether serious or humorous, lessons are lessons! And they are fun to learn!
