Out of all the struggles and obstacles I anticipated or imagined, living in community was not one that I had considered. Before leaving the comfort of my life in the States, I mentally prepared myself for the adjustments I’d have to make while being on the World Race. These things consisted of but were not limited to the following: uncomfortable sleeping arrangements, lack of food choices, unsanitary bathroom conditions, lack of a plan or schedule (I’m a rather Type A person so I definitely had to let go of that approach to life). Somehow the adjustment to living in community 24/7 never dawned on me. It’s not that I didn’t consider what it’d be like living with my teammates, but I guess I just didn’t fully consider what it really meant to live with (or nearly on top of!) a minimum of 5 other people every day for the next 11 months. I should have expected the struggle of living in constant community, especially since I was being thrown into a community of people whom were practically strangers, but I just didn’t even think about it.
I’m sure some of you are laughing at my naivety as you read this, especially those of you who are or were fellow Racers. Let me explain. Before this, the World Race, I lived alone; just me and my 2 dogs. It can get pretty lonely living alone. I’d see friends on the weekend, but for the most part, I spent my days isolated in a cubicle at work and my evenings alone at home. The idea of living in community excited me. It meant that there’d always be someone around to talk to, to eat with … to just be together when I wanted. Obviously, I hadn’t considered the other extreme. This also meant there’d ALWAYS be someone around, even when I didn’t want it – meaning zero alone time. At training camp, we all agreed to lose all our expectations and give up the comforts we take for granted. On our team, it’s a running joke that when we signed on for this thing, we also lost our right to any personal space. Upon launching on this journey, our invisible bubble was popped. No more personal space, physically or mentally.
Month 1 was an eye-opener for me. My team was paired with another team, so there was a total of 12 individuals living together. The ladies, 8 of us, all stayed in one room, while the 4 men bunked in another room. Let me tell you, there is zero privacy when 8 females are living in one shared space. The newness of living together and being on this exciting adventure wears off rather quickly. You quickly find ways to have alone time, whether you get up early before anyone else or you hide out by the haystacks. When you do find time to just be with your own thoughts, you find yourself questioning whether or not you’ll be able to handle this. Can I live in community for the next 11 months??
I don’t think I really ever asked myself if I “could” live like this, but probably only because I knew it was pointless to pose such a question. There was no turning back at this point. However, I definitely found myself wondering if it would get any better, any easier. While mulling this over one night (now several weeks ago), I realized that we weren’t the first groups of people to live in constant community – and I’m not referring to prior World Race squads. Jesus lived such a life, a life shared with 12 others, with little to no time alone. Jesus chose his 12 disciples, and with them, He slept, ate, ministered, etc. So here, during my first month on the World Race, I found myself doing the same (well there was 12 of us total, but Jesus is there in Spirit!). I realized that Jesus knew and could totally understand my struggles with living in constant community. He could listen to me and say “Been there. Done that.”
Jesus wasn’t always surrounded by the 12 disciples, and as such, my team is alone this month. With that said, while we do not have another team with us, we are staying in our contact’s home, who is married with 6 children. Last month, I shared a large, spacious room with 7 other grown women. In this room, we had 2 bathrooms with showers to share. This month, we, myself and my fellow 3 female teammates, are sharing a small, cramped room with 3-4 children (all depends on where the children fall asleep each night). For the whole family and us, we have one tiny bathroom, with a partially functional bathtub. Oh, and an out-house (for when you have to poop). The indoor toilet is not well-equipped for World Racer poop, so we learned on day 1 here when a teammate of mine nearly broke the toilet and had to have help getting it to flush (she will remain nameless). Needless to say, living with 11 other teammates in a “hotel” is a piece of cake when compared to living with a family of 8 in their own home.
Now in month 2, I’m beginning to understand (and even beginning to appreciate) why Jesus would have us living in community as such. The Bible has not only helped show me that Jesus understands what it means to live in community, but it has also shown me how it’s important to seek out that alone time with God. In the Bible, Jesus made a point to go off by himself to pray to his father (our Father), thus it's good for me to desire that time in peace with Him.
