At 4:53 local time, on Tuesday, January 12th 2010 A massive earthquake hit Haiti killing thousands and injuring countless others. A few months later I went with my church on a mission trip there to help with the recovery. It is there while visiting an orphanage that we just happened to run into a world race team who had come to help as well. I spent a while talking to them and getting to know them as well as finding out about the world race. I love to travel and I love adventure so joining the world race seemed like a great idea. So after I returned home I applied and a little bit later I was accepted. That is where this story begins……….and here’s where it ends;
Since the beginning of the race everyone has been telling us that the Philippines is a great place to end. And now I know why. The people are awesome. The food is amazing. The beds were comfortable. And the showers are hot. In many ways the Philippines is just like The U.S. They even have Dunkin Donuts. Anyway, my team and I spent our last month helping out at a children’s home in Malaybalay on the island of Mindanao. During the mornings from 9am to 11:30am we helped by digging, moving rocks, and pouring cement. The rest of the time we got to hang out with the kids. We helped them with homework, played with them, led devotions at night, and helped with the Awana program on Saturdays. We also helped run basketball tournaments and even got to help put on a bible conference for the thousands of juniors and seniors in the area (which they are, by the way, REQUIRED to attend. Imagine all the public schools in the states requiring students to attend a bible conference.) Helping out at the children’s home was such an amazing experience and it was sad to leave. I knew the kids were just as sad to see me leave because our last morning there they were waiting outside our door to make sure they had a chance to say goodbye to me before I left. As sad as it was saying goodbye I was very much looking forward to what was ahead……..FINAL DEBRIEF. We are spending our last week in the Philippines at a beach resort called Eagles Point. And since it’s almost Christmas they have Christmas decorations up everywhere and are constantly playing Christmas music. It’s kind of funny actually. Anyway, they have almost everything here. They have snorkeling, scuba diving, 3 swimming pools, and a salt water pool where you can swim with baby sharks. They even have their own private island (where we got to spend our day today). After all of this I can definitely say that everyone was right. The Philippines is THE BEST place to end the race.
Endings are hard. Any monkey can poop out a beginning. But endings are different. And since it’s the ending it’s all supposed to add up to something. I’m telling you it’s a raging pain in the butt. So what does it all mean? Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is that I got to spend 11 months doing what I love. I got to travel around the world, seeing things and doing things that very few people get to do. But more importantly I got to help others in the process. I definitely grew from it and I’m a better person because of it. Yes, I am sad that it’s over. And I will, of course, miss my fellow teammates. But I am so ready to go home. At least for a little bit……….
