When I signed up for the World Race, I had a perfect plan built up in my head. I knew exactly what it was going to look like, I knew what living in community was going to feel like, and I knew it’d be a breeze. Or so I thought. This year was going to be filled with ministry, life-long friends, wild adventures, and once in a lifetime experiences. I didn’t really think too much about the hard parts, only the exciting and attractive parts that made this all seem so glamorous. I was no where near as ready as I thought I was.
What have I gotten myself into?
Manual labor is hard. Ministry isn’t always teaching, playing with kids, or evangelism. Sometimes you spend several days a week hauling 40-50 pound palm leaves up 100 stairs in the pouring rain for 9 hours a day. And let me be the first to tell you, being covered from head to toe in mud, sweat, and tears is not glamorous at all.
Manual Labor is beautiful. Being able to see physical and feasible progress in both yourself and your project is so rewarding. This month our team has been building a beautiful sanctuary in the middle of the rainforest, and to see our project that once started as a bundle of wooden poles, become a place of salvation and worship is so so beautiful. Watching those around you become stronger mentally and physically everyday is so beautiful.
What have I gotten myself into?
Living without the luxuries of home is hard. Air conditioning is the thing I miss most, especially when the Costa Rican rainforest is blazing hot and humid. I never really thought about how awesome it was to have a roof, or a fully enclosed home, but I will say a sometimes solid, wooden wall and some tin hanging about three feet above it does a pretty solid job at keeping the rain out. Outdoor showers don’t sound too bad until you’re joined by any number of lizards or scorpions. And sleeping outside sounds pretty cool until you find spiders, ants, or any sort of unknown creature in your sleeping bag. Not to mention; rice, beans, and greens three times a day is not ideal. (SO MUCH RICE)
Living without the luxuries of home is beautiful. Living in such a pure and virtually untouched environment is refreshing. Everything and everyone is so full of life, even though I often felt unfulfilled even when I was being pampered by first world luxuries. There’s something so empowering about not looking in a mirror for weeks at a time and still feeling confident and beautiful effortlessly.
What have I gotten myself into?
Community is hard. Spending 24/7 with 18 people, living under one roof is hard. Sure it’s hard to be alone or lonely, but never having a second to yourself is rough. Fighting for showers, food, and beds is no fun. Sometimes you want to go to bed but all 9 of your roommates think it’d be more fun to play uno, have a sing along, or reorganize their bunk. Maybe road trips are your favorite thing, but they get uncomfortable and sweaty when 14 of you have to squeeze into a 9 passenger van, especially when some of your teammates are 6’5” (or 5’17” if you’re
Kit).
Community is beautiful. Doing life fully and intimately with your brothers and sisters is so beautiful. There is beauty in sharing a room with nine people, and never sleeping because we have too much to talk about. There is beauty in community laundry, and accidentally wearing someone else socks or underwear for the whole day (sorry Anna). There is beauty in late night worship using a guitar, our voices, and whatever makeshift instruments we can find. Especially when your host brother is a professional drummer and can do a wicked job with a beat on the back of a guitar. There is so much beauty in piling into our van, sitting on laps, and having sweaty and miserable sing-a-longs. There is beauty in having nine bookmarks in Mere Christianity because everyone wants to read it and we just can’t wait. And nothing fills my heart more than sitting around our 25 person table for meals.
What have I gotten myself into?
It gets hard. Spiritual attacks are hard because the enemy loves to attack us when we’re vulnerable but we have to be vulnerable in order for this to all work. We have to be vulnerable with our teammates in order to build authentic relationships, so he takes teammates and paints an ill-minded image of them. We have to be present, so we’re open to culture, people, and experiences, so he will attack our spirit and make us feel homesick and weak. Friends lives are moving forward back home, and you’re not there (FOMO is real you guys). Wondering what your life could look like if you were at home is hard. Missing your family cuts deep, and FaceTime is both a blessing and a curse. Notes from home are awesome, but they can also break your heart in beautiful ways and make you miss home even more (Mom, you are killin’ it. And Derek I love BFBs)
It is beautiful. It’s so beautiful to see teammates come together and pray over the spiritual attacks, and heartache of others. It’s beautiful to feel so at home with those around you, even though you’re continents away and haven’t seen your family in far too long. It’s beautiful to see your new family invest and indulge in the culture, people, and experiences that they are handed here, especially after a week of struggling to be present. There is beauty in knowing that your friends are moving on without you at home and that their lives continue to unfold, because your story is continuing to be written even though you are worlds away. FaceTiming your family is beautiful and fills your heart with joy. And it’s also fun to see your teammates tell your mom your embarrassing moments from the field.
What have I gotten myself into?
I have gotten into something beautiful, unique, awe inspiring, and life-changing. I have signed up to live life out of my comfort zone, and in the parts of the world that need Christ’s love the most. I have singed up to be shown that I don’t need much in this life to truly live. I have signed up for authentic life, beauty, and community. I have signed up for Him to break my heart a thousand times over, to come in and wreck my life and create something beautiful from the dust. I have gotten myself into something that will bring me to the other side completely changed, and never the same. And I’ll be the first to say, I hate it. But I love it more.
