I am here in Swaziland and enjoying this country a lot. Most of the time I am on a farm and rarely get to leave the property. We get off about once a week for shopping and Internet. So far this month I have done quite a lot few different things. I have helped build a chicken coop, painted houses, did stuff with their irrigation system, got rid of rocks from the fields, dug and installed fence posts, herded cattle, dug out dirt for new stairs, poured cement, and a whole lot more. There is endless work here at Project Canaan.
I start my day off by waking up at 5:30 and read my Bible until 6:30. Then we eat breakfast which is usually cornflakes with milk or yogurt with oats. We begin work at 7:30am and go until 3 or 4pm. We stop for a half hour break at 10am and 1 hour lunch break at 1pm. After work some people make supper while the rest relax. At 5:30 we eat together and the meals have been super delicious. There are 9 of us guys and some of then can sure cook. One night we made poutine which was a first for all 8 of them (they’re American). They loved it and we are making it again soon. After supper we clean up and have team time at 6:30pm. This could go anywhere from 1-3 hours, depending on how deep we go. We start by having feedback and then someone will share a testimony or we watch Lord of the Rings extended version.
On the World Race we do something called “Feedback”. The basis of feedback is to call someone out and up. The model looks like saying something encouraging, then something they are doing wrong and could work on and then something encouraging again. It has been an awesome way to go deep with people and work on character issues we never knew we had. If everyone buys into it, it can be very beneficial.
I personally was getting called out on some stuff the other day and wanted to share that. Something I do, is when someone says something that I find to be stupid or don’t agree with, I will either give them a blank stare or say something hurtful back about what the person said. I never really realized I did this until a teammate pointed it out. I see things from one direction and when people ask a question or make a comment from a different perspective I never thought of, I often think they are dumb for it. This is wrong. I am understanding more that I think differently than others and that’s the way God created me. We are all unique and see things from different perspectives for a reason.
Another thing I had pointed out to me is that I try to always be right. I have a high value for truth and if someone says something I don’t agree with, I have to show them they are wrong and show how I am right. Sometimes this is a really good thing to do, but often the way I do it is not loving, but rather prideful. I love to be right. There are even times when people will prove me wrong and I know it, but I will still try to argue my case because I hate being proved wrong. So I am learning to humble myself and admit when I am wrong. I am also working on coming across a lot more gentle and loving.
I was called out on some stuff last month as well. It was the fact that I am not very sensitive to girls and their emotions. My logical way of thinking says, “Get over yourself and man up”. I’m learning that that way of thinking can work on a man, but on the average female, it could be very damaging. I’m learning to be more gentle with females and trying to tap into the emotional side of things. This is not easy for me. I grew up with mostly guys in my family (4 guys, 2 girls). Our family friends and cousins growing up were mostly guys as well. As I got older, I was a lot more comfortable around guys than girls. I had a ton of guys friends and could go deep with all of them. Being on the World Race with 46 other females has definitely been a new experience for me. Learning to live in community with them has been a lot of fun, but it comes with its challenges. I would say that I have improved in this area, but due to the fact that I was really bad to begin with, I’d safely say I still have a long way to go.
You could definitely be praying for me in these areas. Humility is the biggest thing I need. God is doing great things in me and I don’t want Him to stop. It’s cool to see that in the midst of the business of life and working all day, God is still refining me and making me more like the way He originally designed me. I’m excited to see His final product.
