A couple of days ago, I asked my Facebook friends to ask me questions about my World Race experience. I was so surprised and encouraged to see how people from all over the world chimed in!
So now, you asked the questions – here are the answers!!
1. “Can you tell me one interesting thing you learned about each of the eleven countries you visited that you did not know beforehand?” – Peter Clark; Spain
Well, seeing as I was traveling to so many countries (12 actually) in a row, I didn’t do a whole lot of research beforehand. I knew very little about most of the countries I visited until I arrived there, and our hosts always did a great job at filling us in on the culture and the spiritual environment of their country. That being said, here’s something about each country that I learned on the World Race:
Costa Rica: They have WalMart in Costa Rica!?! This was especially funny, considering that I stressed so much with what to pack, only to find out that most of the things I brought I could have bought here. Costa Rica was a country that I loved from visiting when I was a kid, and I fell in love with the culture and the natural beauty even more this second time, especially from time spent with my new Tica family!
Nicaragua: I didn’t realize this when I lived there as a kid, but Nicaragua is a fantastic tourist destination! It has beautiful volcanoes, amazing little towns (Granada was a little slice of Heaven), dense jungles, friendly locals, and SO many different opportunities for adventure! And the best part is that it’s so cheap, because the tourists haven’t discovered it yet! Nicaragua is a must-visit adventure destination!
Honduras: I assumed Latin American was largely peaceful, so I was surprised to find out Honduras was one of the most dangerous countries in the world! Because of gang violence, we were told to be very cautious in our short time in Tegucigalpa. Luckily, the Lord took care of us there, and I absolutely adored my month in the Valley of Angels – a beautiful artisan town up in the mountains!
Guatemala: Ummm… their volcanoes erupt on the regular. Like, no big deal. Watching the volcano near our house spew ash all day and lava all night was unbelievable! But I was also surprised by how much I loved the culture. The colors, the music, the architecture, the food – everything! I could spend hours watching the little Guatemalan women in Antigua, wearing their beautifully colored traditional gowns.
Belize: This country is TOTALLY different from the rest of Latin America. English is the native language, and the culture is mostly Caribbean influenced! It’s an extremely small country (less that 250,000 people), with very little development. But it also hosts a huge variety of people groups – native Mayans, Caribbean people, and even a large community of white Mennonites!
Malaysia: I knew this country was largely Islamic and was a closed country to Christianity. But yet, I met so many Christians who were risking their lives to live out the Gospel, and were having so much success in their churches and ministries! I was also totally surprised by how NICE and CLEAN everything was, especially in the capital city Kuala Lumpur – I’ve never been to a mall with a Gucci store before.
Thailand: The Thai people love their king! Their last king passed away back in the Fall of 2016, but the nation is in mourning for a whole year. Pictures of him are plastered everywhere – on billboards, in homes, and even in 7/11! One of the strangest cultural experiences I had was going to the movie theatre, and having to stand for a short video honoring the king before the movie started!
Cambodia: I never really realized how tragic the Khmer Rouge Genocide was back in the 1970’s. After visiting the Killing Fields, I was horrified to learn that almost three million people were killed, and most of the world had no idea! But what was beautiful was to see how warm and friendly the Cambodian people are still. They were some of the most humble and joy-filled people I’ve met on my travels.
The Philippines: I was totally surprised by how much this country reminded me of Latin America. It’s an Asian country, but it’s roots were established by Hispanic settlers. It’s largely Catholic too, with very little influences from Islam or Buddhism. The country was such a strange hodge-podge of cultures, almost like the countries I had already visited on the Race were tossed into a blender.
Rwanda: This country is so peaceful!! I didn’t know what to expect, knowing that Rwanda was still healing from such a tragic genocide only 23 years prior. But there is so much life and peace in this country – I was so taken aback by how beautiful the landscape, how hospitable the people were, and how well-developed the city and surrounding towns were!
Uganda: I always knew Uganda as a country with immense poverty, but I also didn’t realize just how much beauty there is in this country too! There’s so many beautiful hillsides and forests and wildlife reserves, and a lot of amazing adventures to be had there too – rafting the Nile being my favorite! And the people there are very warm and hospitable. I met a lot of people and ate a lot of food!
Kenya: Everything in Kenya is just so grand. I imagined it would be, but I didn’t expect I’d be right! The mountains, the forests, the beaches, the cities, the wildlife, the culture – it’s all just so bold and beautiful. Kenya really embodies the great powerful image of Africa that I always imagined it would be. I’m so glad it’s my last country on the Race, because there is just so much to love about it here!
2. “What scared you, and what did you think you couldn’t do?” – Amalia Moreno Moya; Costa Rica
Well, showing up to Costa Rica and realizing my Spanish was ROUGH scared the daylights out of me! Luckily, it all came back to me pretty quickly, and I got comfortable with it. You know, some of the scariest parts of the Race haven’t been ministry related. The Lord has always given me peace and confidence to enter into any ministry situation and believe that I could be used. Honestly, the scariest thing about the Race is the unpredictability – about not knowing what comes next. Having to transition from one month to the next was a challenge even up to this last month. Leaving the place that has become a home for a month, saying “goodbye forever” to people who have become dear to you, and having to travel to a completely new and foreign location always made me nervous. What if the next place I live in is too difficult for me? What if I don’t connect with the people? What if I don’t love the ministry like the last place I was at? The biggest fear of mine this whole Race has been over whether or not I’ll be able to endure the next place. Cambodia especially, I remember wondering one night if I even had the will to finish the month. And that terrified me, knowing that I couldn’t just quit now and not finish the Race, but also knowing that the challenges ahead of me were seemingly impossible to endure. Luckily, I’m on the other end of the Race now and I can say this confidently – I GOT THROUGH IT!
3. “What’s one thing that you learned on the Race that you’re going to implement into your life once you’re back home?” – Elizabeth Rowland; United States
Definitely piñata making. After Honduras, I decided to open up my own piñata making business in New York City! Definitely a new passion of mine, and a gifting that I feel helped me rise above the rest of my teammates who refused to finish theirs and decided to pay other people to finish them…
More seriously, I think the biggest thing the Race has taught me that I want to implement when I get home is the desire to listen and understand people. Coming on the Race, I held a lot of beliefs that I thought were fact but were actually just opinions reinforced by bias and familiarity. Being on teams with people who come from VERY different backgrounds, I often made a lot of judgments about them and their choices before realizing later that I was making incorrect assumptions. Even with Christians, it’s easy for one person to be in contention with another, even though both believe they’re following what the Bible tells them to do! Some of the biggest issues I’ve had with teammates happened because of misunderstandings, and I found that if I took the time to listen and understand before making judgments, I would find areas where I believed falsely and needed to be corrected. So, coming home to an American culture that is so divided by politics and personal biases, I want to bring an open mind to understanding where people are coming from. I want to have sympathy for peoples’ needs and what underlying struggles might be coming out in conflict, and choose grace even if the other person’s actions hurt me. James 1:19 was particularly convicting to me during one conflict – “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” Among the many things the World Race has taught me, choosing to listen and believe that there’s more to a person’s perspective than what I see is something that I want to continue to practice for the rest of my life.
4. “What were your best and worst moments on the Race?” – Becca Oakley; United States
My best moments on the Race were the moments that I felt God in. I found on the Race that one of the best ways that the Lord connects with me is through adventure. My absolute favorite day on the Race was when my team visited Railay Beach in Thailand, and I spent the afternoon adventuring alongside the cliffs, climbing up rocks and watching the sunset over the ocean, just Him and I. It was a moment where I saw Him saying “see Jonathan? I know you so well. I know exactly what you love.” I’ve also loved taking time to go on walks, to explore the places I’ve lived in, and talk to God about everything. In ministry, the best moments are where I felt His presence, like when worshiping and dancing with my teammates and the special needs residents in Honduras, or when pouring into the boys at the Children’s Garden in the Philippines, or doing prayer walks in Belize and sharing the Gospel with strangers. Adventure has been my favorite part of the Race, and I’ve found that the best adventures are the ones where He’s the one leading the way.
The worst moments were when I lost sight of the Lord. Some ministries I couldn’t seem to find the Lord in – teaching ministry felt more like a day job than actual ministry. There were definitely seasons where I couldn’t hear the Lord’s voice, and couldn’t tell if He was proud of me or frustrated by me. In those seasons, I didn’t know if I was being obedient or disobedient. Sometimes, I couldn’t even tell if the voice I heard was the enemy or God. Those seasons were discouraging and spiritually exhausting, but I’ve found the Lord teach me the most powerful lessons through those hard times.
5. “What amenities did you miss the most?” – Megan Wilson; United States
I would say hot showers, or comfortable beds, or even just American food, but it’s actually pretty surprising to look back and realize just how often I got to have these amenities. I was expecting to live in my tent and take bucket showers on the regular, but I only had one month where I took bucket showers, and I only used my tent a total of four nights throughout the whole Race. Training Camp did NOT prepare me for how boujee* the World Race can be!
I think the amenity I missed the most was being able to drive a car. Something about having my own time behind the wheel, blasting music, and just driving with the window down, was a sensation that I struggled to find fulfillment for on the Race. Though riding everywhere in the truck bed during our month in Nicaragua was pretty close.
(*boujee – a frequently used World Race term, a derivative of the French term ‘bourgeouise’, signifying something that is “fancy” or “high class”. i.e. Calling a travel day “boujee” because the bus has a bathroom; going over your $5/day food budget to get that white chocolate Magnum ice cream bar at 7/11, because you’ve suffered and you deserve to feel “boujee”.)
6. “What were your favorite and least favorite foods you ate on the Race?” – Megan Wilson; United States
Oh man. I ate SO much good food on the Race!! My favorites, if I had to pick, were mostly bread based – Roti Chanai in Malaysia, Pandesal in the Philippines, and Rolex in Uganda (or really, any time I got to eat Chapati), but I also loved Kway Teao and Schwarma wraps in Malaysia (by far the best food month), Chicken Masala and Pad Thai in Thailand, and the Chai Tea in Rwanda. Goat on a stick in Uganda was pretty fun too. Oh! And we roasted wild gibnut in Belize (a delicacy in this country), a kind of jungle rodent similar to a capybara. SO. GOOD.
Bad foods… Oh man, Asia had some winners. One day in Thailand, I went to the market hoping to find a good plate of noodles for lunch, but because all of the signs were in Thai, all I could do is point to a picture of some noodles that looked good without knowing what was in it. So I brought home this bowl of noodles with this reddish broth, and enjoyed it, until my Thai host politely informed me that the broth was made of pig’s blood. Definitely a low moment for World Race Jonathan. Some other winners (or losers?) – Durian (a green spiky fruit that’s considered a delicacy in Asia, but smells and tastes like a dirty diaper), tarantula in Cambodia (seriously, who eats these!?!), and Balut Egg (a boiled duck fetus, cooked inside the egg – beak, feathers, and all!).
7. “What were some of the biggest surprises you had on the trip – lessons learned, experiences you had that you totally weren’t expecting?” – Kara Faraldi; United States
Oh man, there were SO many surprises! I didn’t realize how much stuff I would end up buying on the Race – I thought that what I had in my pack on Day 1 would have to last me the whole Race, but I’ve since picked up so many different clothing items and things I’ve needed! I was surprised by the breadth of experiences the Lord has allowed me to have – to try new things, learn new skills, experience new cultures, and gain new perspective. I was surprised by the fact that the Lord worked out so many things in my favor – to be able to visit my favorite old places in Nicaragua, visit that beach with the long boats in Thailand, and revisit my parents’ old home in Uganda were opportunities that only worked out because of the Lord orchestration! I was surprised by how faithful the Lord was in allowing us to have safe and smooth travel days – only one went really awry (and it’s quite a story)! But really, I think the biggest surprises were in me. I was surprised in seeing how much I’ve grown through my experiences, how much the Lord has taught me about myself, and how much He has challenged my faith and shown me parts of my heart that I still need to surrender. I’m surprised, but I guess not that surprised, to find how much the Lord still has to teach me even after this crazy year. This Race, as grand as it is, is still just a chapter of my life. Even though I feel like I’ve experienced everything already, He’s still got even more ahead.
8. “The second half of the trip was definitely harder than the first. How much more did it test your faith being in rough conditions? What emotions did you feel in your highs and lows?” – Megan Wilson; United States
The second half of the trip was ABSOLUTELY harder than the first. The honeymoon phase wore off about halfway through Month Six in Thailand, and disillusionment set in HARD. I thought after our squad debrief in Bangkok at the end of the month that I was over that wall, until Cambodia slapped me in the face. Trying to teach English to children who only speak Khmer, enduring a daily 110 degree heat index, sleeping on a desk, eating the same plate of rice and vegetables, and fighting off every kind of flying and crawling bug known to man, I was ready to give up on the World Race. But you know, I realized later that what was hardest about that season wasn’t just the physical conditions. Despite my griping about the heat in Southeast Asia and the struggles with stomaching the food, I was really struggling to understand my purpose. I didn’t feel Jesus in my ministry, and because of that, I didn’t know why I was even enduring the physical conditions in the first place. The Lord helped me come to some understanding in the Philippines about purpose, and I came to discover that the whole point of this trip was not to try and “get work done for the Kingdom”, but to be obedient and faithful to the assignment God has put in front of me. I realized that my worth as a Christian, and my worth as a son of God, actually had less to do with the “significance” of my work, and more to do with heart behind it. That was a hard conclusion to swallow, as it was still hard some days to believe that my efforts were really making a difference, but the Lord has been trying to teach me this whole Race to understand that the work I do doesn’t matter to Him as much as my obedience and love relationship with Him. I’ve still wrestled with this throughout these last three months in Africa, but God has been faithful to give me strength and find purpose even in the most mundane tasks.
9. “What are some things you wish you had known or done before you left? Would you do anything differently if you had to do it again?” – Jaymee Wagner; United States
I definitely wish I could have bought more souvenirs! I realize now that I’m in Africa that I have very few souvenirs from my first couple of months in Central America, mostly because I didn’t think I could fit them in my pack! I tried to buy a patch from every country, but I soon found those were impossible to find in Africa, so I wish that I had picked something easier to collect from every country. I think the biggest thing I wish I had understood early was that the World Race, as a program, would not be the defining factor in making me a stronger Christian. It took me a couple of months to realize that while the World Race is an experience that facilitates growth, it is not directly responsible for your growth. Only you are. I put too much pressure on my teammates and leaders to push me in my walk with the Lord, and I realized later that it was entirely my decision to choose into the World Race experience and into whatever the Lord was asking me to do. The World Race has the power to change your life, but only if you want it to.
10. “How can we, as friends back home, support you best as you make the transition back to American life?” – Laura Ficken; United States
You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about this question, and have been reading a lot of blogs about people who have transitioned home from the Race. I don’t honestly know yet how I’m going to react to the next season. I do know that it’s going to take some time for me to fully process big things about this Race, like what God taught me, or how God changed me through this year. Asking questions like “How was your trip?” will be difficult for me to answer, as I’ve essentially been on 11 incredible missions trips in one year. Asking more specific questions like “what country really stuck out to you?” “what was your favorite ministry that you did on the Race?” or “what were some of your favorite God moments that you experienced?” would be things that I could answer more easily. I really do want to talk about my experiences, but it might be hard at first to know how to process them. But really, the best thing would be to just have grace for me. Giving me space to think, pray, and process through my experiences. I might be totally overwhelmed in the first couple of days or weeks, and answering questions about the Race might be too much for me. I know I’ll be dealing with a lot of complicated emotions – I’m going to be overjoyed to see my friends and family and to have all of the comforts of home once again, but I’m also going to be mourning my World Race family and the people I love all across the world, and so I might be wrestling with a lot of emotions even in those amazing reunion moments that I’ve been looking forward to for months. I realize most people won’t understand what I’m going through, but taking time to ask questions, listen to my responses and make an effort to understand would really mean the world to me.
11. “Would you do the World Race again?” – Amalia Moreno Moya; Costa Rica
Well, certainly not until I get a nice break! In all seriousness, I loved the World Race. But one of the things I found by the end of it was a spiritual appreciation for stability. Traveling to so many countries in the World, I loved getting to learn and experience what God was doing in each place, but I also wished I could stay longer and plant roots. I’ve come to value the importance of commitment to one location, and diving in deeper into that community. The Race was a wonderful experience for stretching me out of my comfort zone and allowing me to learn more about what God’s people are doing all over the globe, but I would hope that from here, the Lord calls me to one place and one people so that I can fully all of myself to that work. That being said, I definitely want to keep traveling, and I don’t see that changing any time soon!
