5 1/2 months down
1/2 months to go
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What?!
It’s crazy to think that I’m already halfway through my journey around the world. Southeast Asia feels like a distant memory and I can’t believe I’ve already reached my last month in Africa.I still remember my excitement before the race and the feelings I got from reading blog posts and watching videos.
Before leaving for the World Race, I received a lot of great advice from former racers and I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. They said that there will be challenging times, that community 24/7 is hard, and that you’re not always going to get along. They said that old habits die hard and those struggles don’t simply go away by embarking on this trip, and that you don’t become immediately closer to God. They all agreed that everybody’s race looks different and people experience hardships at different periods of the race. After nearly six months, every one of these points held true and despite having been thoroughly warned, nothing could have actually prepared me for what I have experienced so far.
To give a quick recap of the last 3 months…
Vietnam was definitely one of my favorite, if not the favorite, month so far on the race. We were located in the backpackers district in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and my team stayed at a small hostel. Our basic schedule for the month consisted of teaching English to students who wanted to continue their studies in the states, once in the morning (9AM – 11:30AM) and once in the afternoon (2PM – 4:30PM). We spent a lot of time prepping them for their interviews. In the evening, we went to Grace Cafe (6PM – 9PM) where we taught English and got to meet and hang out with some awesome kids who just love Jesus. Our last night there, two kids who we spent the past month building relationships with gave their lives to Jesus which was a sweet moment. Additionally, we went to English clubs to just converse with students once a week, which also created another opportunity for us to build relationships and share the gospel. One weekend, our main contact, Timothy, took us on one of the most memorable trips so far. We started the day hiking up in Dalat where we camped out under the most incredible view, spending the night worshiping, praying, and star-gazing around the campfire. The next day, we took a bus to Nha Thrang and were able to relax on a beautiful beach and go island hopping.
In contrast to Vietnam, month 4 in Uganda was the most difficult and challenging month so far. Month 4 started off great– our team had debriefed in Jinja and we got to raft the Nile River (one of the coolest experiences.) Then our teams separated to different areas of Kampala. We split off to partner with Pastor Jane of Restoration Bible Church. Upon arriving to the church, we were quickly informed that her husband, who was the pastor of the church and was preparing for our arrival, had passed away unexpectedly just a couple of months ago. It was a tough time for Pastor Jane and the church community, but they still wanted a team to honor her husband and the impact former racers had on them. We spent a lot of time helping and serving the family, doing the dishes, laundry, and whatever else that was needed to be done. In terms of our ministry, we spoke every Wednesdays, preached on Sundays, had children’s ministry and hospital ministry once a week, helped paint the church, and a lot of door to door evangelism.
It’s hard to put into words the way I felt and what exactly caused me to feel the way I did, but all I can say is that it came unexpectedly and I was definitely feeling “off.” Looking back, I think it was the culmination of many little things here and there that created the perfect storm for my struggle that month. Door-to-door ministry was extremely tough for me, especially because their way of doing things was very straightforward and cut-throat. We wanted to build relationships with these people instead of shoving the gospel down their throats. I guess my honeymoon stage had passed and the initial excitement of adventure had worn off. I also got sick for the first time on the race– I constantly felt tired, drained, irritable, and suffocated. I was growing weary from all the traveling, having to meet new people only to say goodbye a month later, and adjusting and adapting to new cultures. And for someone who rarely gets homesick, being away from my family and friends during the holidays was more difficult than I had expected. Admittedly, my attitude was pretty poor and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake it off it for a while. I felt ashamed for feeling the way I did and I tried so hard to fix these things on my own, but when you are in a funk, you are in a funk.
Towards the end of the month, I was reading a book and I came across a story where Jesus is calling Peter out to walk on the water. For a little bit, Peter starts to walk on water along with Jesus, but when he sees the wind, he quickly becomes frightened and begins to sink. Like Peter, I was sinking spiritually because I stopped focusing on Jesus. Instead of putting my eyes on Him, I started focusing on the wind, on my circumstances and my physical and mental discomfort. I had lost focus on what was most important– just being with Him. It’s okay to go through these struggles and feel the way you do, but God simply just wants us to just go to Him.
PART TWO coming soon!
