Traveling the world is probably on your bucket list.
Traveling the world with 46 strangers is probably not.
The World Race is an adventure that requires all of you. What I mean is that when you're spending time with people 24/7, you can't hide much and if you do, it'll come out somehow.
Basically, if you got an issue, you have to deal with it.
Emotions and patience will be tested. (When we say that alone time is iPod time- we're not kidding.)
April was our month in India.
We had two teams stay at our ministry site. 12 girls in one room, 3 guys in another room. The temperature was in the 100's and we were required to cover our legs to our ankles and our shoulders. We battled vicious red ants, insatiable mosquitos, uncomfortable heat and contagious lice. For ministry we worked with special needs children and although it was surprisingly easy to fall in love with them, we got drooled on, smacked, grabbed, slapped, tackled and straight up punched in the face. Culturally, we had to get used to Indian head nods (side to side= yes) and eating spicy foods with carbs for almost every meal. Garbage is tossed on the side of the street and "holy" cows poop anywhere they want, creating some interesting fragrances for my nose.
Needless to say, India was a hard month. It was the first month where I honestly considered going back home to New York to start my life. Then it hit me, this is my life and whether I'm in New York or traveling around the world, people are still people and I am still me. Issues don't disappear because of new countries, cultures and friends.
Constantly living in community has made me extremely aware of how I interact with people, at all times of the day, in all sorts of situations. An experience like this tests your character and you really have no choice but to choose what kind of attitude you will have towards everything.
So this month I learned that while you might not always be able to choose what happens in your life, you can choose your attitude. You can choose to suck it up and get by for the sake of your future happiness (or in my case, just get to the next month/country) or make the choice to live each moment, present, engaged and genuinely happy. Although India has been the most exhausting and draining country, it has also been the best month of ministry.
We chose to work out on the roof after ministry despite the heat. We chose to go to ministry despite exhaustion from a sleepless nights. We chose to enjoy crazy auto rides with almost nonexistent safety regulations and excessive honking. We chose to take advantage of our dress code and do a photoshoot. We chose to spend quality time over being inconvenienced. We chose to praise Jesus on rooftops despite loudspeakers proclaiming other gods. We chose to love the children that drool and diarrhea on us. We chose to write encouraging notes even when we're not feeling it. We chose to find humor and love through it all.. especially when we all got lice and put lard in our hair for a day to cure it..
You don't need to have more money, become famous, look like a model, have a degree or even travel the world to start living.
Still in need of $2,000 for my May deadline. If you feel led to support me, click the support me link on the left side.
Thank you all for your support!
