So every once in a while I look back at my journal to see where i’ve come and to see how i’ve “grown or changed” over a month. This is an excerpt from a journal entry from earlier this month. It was just between waking up and breakfast, so my thoughts just kinda came outta’ me without a filter.
I thought that it was quite accurate and had some humor, but most importantly portrayed a problem we have on the race quite frequently, colorfully and with taste… enjoy.
“One thing on this trip that never ceases to amaze me is the fact that moods, relationships, opinions, attitudes and habits can change over night.
It’s hard to explain, but one night of bad sleep can mean a world of difference to how you feel about your team, the day, or ministry. I think because this trip is high-intensity and often finds you exhausted, it’s so detrimental to find good rest.
I mean sure, everyone has a bad nights rest once in a while.
Back at home if you have a bad nights rest you get up, maybe growl a bit, but you wake up in a nice room, with comfortable pillows and a bed. You’re somewhere safe and secure. You simply stroll to the kitchen, put on that pot of coffee, maybe turn on some soft music or the morning news in an attempt of get rid of the sleepiness. You head to the fridge and pull out whatever you want to eat; theres so much freedom and choice. Soon you find yourself on the way to work, making an absolute fool of yourself as you sing or hum along to the radio.
It’s easy to shake off a bad nights sleep at home. But here, on the race… well lets explore this all-too-true topic of horrible sleeps, consisting of a total 20 minuets of steady sleep all night:
You wake up on the floor of a concrete room in uganda, maybe on the floor of a cold Nepalese church, or a stifling-hot Indian sanctuary. Perhaps you find yourself waking up, practically in the embrace of one of your fellow bunk mates in Kenya, where you struggle to untangle yourself from the mosquito net that offered minimal protection against the flying lobsters.
You wake up to a mouth full of phlegm, crusty eyes and your nose is completely plugged from all the dust that circulates the room at night. Once you roll over you realize how dirty your sleeping quarters are. They often boast half living, or dead insects that are often small but sometimes as large as an iphone…. But only after you’ve made your size comparison do you realize that most people you will talk to today don’t even know what an iphone is…
You try to smile at the thought of how ridiculous you look staggering out of your tent with stiff bones from a hard sleeping surface. It doesn’t help that it’s nearly pitch-black in the room and that you can’t see very well our of your sleepy eyes, (believe me the darkness in the room is the only thing it’s got going for it… sometimes, you sleep in rooms without shutters on the windows, and it’s bright by 5am. So you’re thankful for at least one thing; the dark)
You stumble over miscellaneous objects on your attempt to get to the door. There’s no light switch on the wall to illuminate your path. You suddenly realize how bitter you really are. Everything you should be laughing at just pisses you off… then you begin to realize how truly thankful you are for the dark… at least no one can see the frustrated scowl on your face, or your lame attempt to get out of your tent…
Now I find myself; dirty, sweaty, and miserable waiting for my breakfast of rice and beans. Oh how appreciative I’ll be when I get home!
praying that today ends, or gets better in a HURRY.”
Thankfully I’ve now made it to Thailand, and we’re laving shortly to head to ministry but I wanted to give you a bit to read until my next post.
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts!
I’ll blog about Thailand when I learn more! I promise! 😉 What i do know is that I'll be living on a goat farm, and thats it's "guys month" so my team is a little different, with a lot less beauty, and a whole lot more testosterone.
Thanks for reading
