An experience like the race puts you in a lot of different situations, whether you like it or not. Many times I’ve asked myself, “if someone asked you what you’d be doing at this time on this specific date, would you say this very thing?—probably not.”I wanted to share a handful of things that sometimes happen on the race. More specifically things that have happened to me so far.
Sometimes on the race…
… you will have a water balloon fight with roughly 15 boys from Mozambique on a hot day.
…you will sing “You are my sunshine” at least 3 times a month to different church congregations because that’s the only song you know how to play comfortably for the first 3 months.
…you can’t make it to the bathroom when you’re at the beach swimming at 4:30am…and you poop on the beach in a hole that you dug……and wipe with a leaf……and then bury it….
….you have to throw your toilet paper in the garbage and flush the toilet with a bucket of water.
…you get food poisoning…enough said.
…you’ll drink thai tea almost every day…sometimes multiple times a day….
…you will travel on a bus that has only 32 seats, with 35 people for over 50+ hours.
…you get to teach English to kids who are hungry to learn and know more.
…you’ll get your whole head of hair braided by anywhere from 3-6 Mozambiquen women at any given time and it will take roughly 10-11 hours.
….people will talk to you in a different language and even after you say that you don’t speak their language, they will continue to talk to you….in their language.
…you will get diarrhea almost every month–it’s bound to happen.
…your team celebrates your birthday by making signs and cards and giving you a cake that is topped with a frosting goat because in that country it’s the year of the goat. It was a fantastic birthday.
…you’ll pray over men, women and children and witness healings happen before your eyes.
…preaching at any given moment is likely to happen, so you need to have at least a 15 minutes sermon prepared at all times.
…zebras will walk in the front yard of the hotel that your team is eating dinner at and NOBODY but you and your team seem to care.
…you will eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every morning for breakfast for a month.
…on a Saturday in April you count thousands of bracelets made by women of the local community to provide their families with a stable income.
…you will have invisible light saber fights with a 5 year old for hours on end.
…you try local food like balute (a partially incubated duck egg with vinegar as a condiment) and you gag up your second and last bite on the beach…and then also bury it in the sand….
…you get a massage on the beach.
….you will sign autographs and take pictures at a school as if you are a celebrity right after you’ve taught the children English and sang songs with them.
…you will attend a wedding in the Phillipines of people that you don’t know your 4th day in the country.
…you’re excited when a place has air conditioning. Actually that’s every time on the race…
…you’ll ride on top of a tricycle(which is the main form of transportation in the Phillipines), just so the weight is evenly distributed because as Americans you are typically larger than an average Filipino.
…you make people smile as you’re making eye contact and even though you don’t speak the same language you know the Lord is bigger than any language barrier.
…you will hike the mountain that inspired J.R.R Tolken to write The Lord of the Rings series.
…you will walk up exactly 30 stairs to get to your bedroom and then realize that you have to go to the bathroom, which is on the first floor. And then after you get upstairs after going to the bathroom, you remember that you have to brush your teeth….meh.
…you get a tattoo…just kidding I haven’t, but some people have. 🙂
…you ride to ministry in the back of a truck that makes you feel as though you’re cattle.
..you see people’s lives changed both locals and your teammates.
…local people will stop doing everything they are doing to stare at the small group of Caucasians walking/driving/riding through their town.
…you are offered coffee and snacks at every place you visit. Hospitality around the world is incredible.
There have been so many moments that have made up our time on the race, and I’m sure there will be many more. The Lord is doing many important, miraculous, and hilarious things all over this Earth. Our God does not delay and He will not cease to keep pursuing us in whatever way that looks. Keep looking to see Him in each fiber life, He doesn’t disappoint.
