So there’s that.

All the way back in Mozambique, month 1 of my race, I had a conversation with two of my new squad mates, Kelley Reierson and Paul Stafiej. They were both telling me about a phrase they love to use simply because it can be used in any situation.

“So there’s that.”

Any time something happens or someone says something and you’re not sure what else to say it somehow works perfectly. Go ahead and try it if you don’t believe me!

Right now it’s 6:49am for me here in Chicago, and I’ve been up since 4:30. I finally made it back home to America last night from Romania and my sleeping schedule is apparently still a bit off. But as I’m sitting here thinking about what just happened, how these past 11 months just flew by, I’m at a loss for words.

So there’s that…

I fought spiders the size of my face.

So there’s that…

I helped design and build an orphanage.

So there’s that…

I taught kids how to play guitar.

So there’s that…

I harvested corn and chili peppers with Gogo’s in Swaziland.

I went surfing.

I bungee jumped.

So there’s that…

I taught kids around the world “The funky chicken.”

I showed them love.

So there’s that…

I visited new villages each day to pray for anyone and everyone.

I told people who had never heard of Jesus about the sacrifice he made for us because of his love.

So there’s that…

I ate honey directly from a bees nest.

I celebrated my 21st birthday in India.

I climbed mountains for 8 hours a day to spread the good news.

I learned bits and pieces of 10 different languages.

I burned down a jungle.

I plowed a rice field.

I became an English teacher.

I ate worms, crickets, octopus, brain, and spinal cord.

I lost track of which country I was actually in.

I fed the homeless.

I led countless people into the presence of God through worship.

I prayed over cities and villages overlooking them from the highest heights I could reach.

I performed live music in cafés in Vietnam.

So there’s that…

I lived with the same 40 people all year long.

I learned what real community looks like.

I served under 5 different team leaders, and 7 squad leaders.

I learned how to pack as efficiently as possible giving away anything that’s unnecessary or weighs me down.

I was more honest with people than I’ve ever been.

I was more frustrated with people than I’ve ever been, and yet those same people I couldn’t help but hug them anyway for the incredible amount of love and friendship they showed even through the toughest times.

So there’s that…

This race was the most incredible year of my life, traveling to so many countries across the world experiencing God in so many new ways. Learning more about him and my identity found within him, hearing him speak to and through me. Doing things I never dreamed of.

At the same time it was the hardest year in my life. Giving up everything, putting everything aside, putting my life aside, to go into countries to preach the Gospel where that very well may have ended up in jail. I experienced hardships I didn’t know I could handle, while watching other people live through hardships ten times worse, and yet they just see it as life, as that’s just how it goes.

I tried my hardest to make an impact on as many people, as many villages, as many cities, as many countries as possible, and I come home wondering how much more effective I could have been if I had just said these few words, did this one action, or didn’t do something I may have regretted.

But I leave this all in God’s hands. He had this whole year planned out from the beginning, guiding me and my whole squad the entire way. Making sure we were all in the right places at the right time, to show people the love that is only found in him.

I leave this race with so much more knowledge, so much more experience.

I leave this race closer to God, with a stronger and fuller relationship with him.

I leave this race ready for more, to serve God in more places.

I leave this race as a winner.

I leave this race a better man.

I leave this race a man of God.

So there’s that.