I’m in a tent with Sam and Zach, two of my teammates, on the banks of the Okavango Delta in Northern Botswana. It’s spectacular here. The wildlife is vast and magnificent. It was quite the journey to get here. We took a five hour bus ride from Johannesburg to Gaborrone, Botswana, and then a fifteen hour bus ride from Gaborrone, the capital in the south, just across the border with South Africa, to the northwestern portion of the country where I sit now.
Life is absolutely incredible, unbelievable, ridiculous, and mesmerizing. As I sit here in this tent, the night sky illuminated brightly by unrelenting and impressive strikes of lightning, contrasting against the ominous storm clouds, I’m reflecting on my Race so far, on Asia as a whole, and on my first few days in Africa and where I’m at with all of it.
There are hard days on the Race. I think it’s imperative for people to know that. The nature of the Race is as follows: you will be sweaty, often. You will be hot, you will be hungry, you will be assaulted relentlessly by mosquitoes and you will be uncomfortable. Things are not convenient. Adversity strikes in various aspects, there is sometimes inner squad drama, there’s conflict, there’s unpredictability, there’s possible adverse circumstances back home, and where we are now, there isn’t even power, electricity, or water.
The Super Bowl is tomorrow and I can’t watch. My mom’s birthday is next week and I can’t celebrate with her and my family, and as custom, say I’ll take her out to a fancy dinner and then only pay the tip. I feel helpless and saddened deeply by the tumultuous times our country faces, particularly our minorities and refugees. That’s messed up. Sometimes it’s tough being away from home.
But life is spectacular. It’s a wild adventure and it’s a dream come true.
Last week, my squad and I were in Siem Reap, Cambodia for debrief, reflecting on our time in Asia and preparing for the continent ahead. It was a time of solitude and relaxation, and of fabulous conversation with newfound friends, which consequently paved way for glorious epiphanies to grapple with.
Then, a few days ago, outside Pretoria, South Africa, my squad was blessed to be apart of a “Spiritual Awakening” which was just a gathering of our squad and two Gap Squads, comprised of younger Racers. Our brief time there was marvelous. Diving into conversation with squad mates who are now close friends, developing new relationships with the younger ladies and gents from other Squads, learning from their experiences on their respective journeys and instilling in them things I have learned on mine, has been brilliant. Connecting with the beautiful women cooking our meals, the Adventures’ staff present at the Awakening, and getting to know incredible people from all over the continent was so rewarding. It was also the perfect place to evaluate my Race up to this point, and to shed some light on some of my personal experience on this journey.
I live differently. I love differently. I believe my God wants us to live good stories. He wants us to enjoy this life he’s blessed us with. I’m passionate, wild, free, and adventurous and I believe that’s a reflection of the father’s heart in me. Fierce and romantic and passionate at my core. My passion for life has never been higher because I’ve never been more passionate about Him, or his people.
I’m passionate about loving people extravagantly. I’m passionate about showing them that they are worthy, and adored, and treasured by a Father in heaven who loves them exactly for who they are. I go to bed at 2 and 3 am because life is so glorious. I love my life.
At training camp, and truthfully, launch, I grudgingly sat down at team time, internally despising the concept of talking about spirituality and feelings and being vulnerable, etc. My aversion to community and all that came with it was gargantuan. I hated the idea of sitting around a circle with people I didn’t really know or trust and pretending to care about what they were going through and facing the daunting prospect of sharing my feelings. I didn’t care at all about the intentionality it would take to cultivate a loving community.
So the night before we flew to India, I told myself that it was exactly what I would press into. I confessed all that to my team, and told them I’d press into all the stuff I hated. That decision has propelled me forward in ways I never would’ve expected.
I love to see my squad. To make them feel seen, and heard, and special. To compliment them, to empower them, to do life with them. My team is my family. I care about what they’re going through. They’re mine.
My women are treasure. I laugh with them and listen to them and protect them as best I can. They’re in the fight with me.
My men are my warriors. Those are my men, my warriors in this ongoing battle. We are a team, and We are one. We stand as one, we fight as one, and we’re traveling the world, confronting evil face to face, and battling it head on with the strength of God within us. We sit in solidarity in the hard moments, and explode triumphantly during the celebratory moments.
I love to love my teammates. The men and women on my squad. I have a spectacular group of people on my squad, they’re phenomenal, and have been deeply influential in my growth as a leader and man.
Life changed when I stopped worrying about how often I’d get to share my voice, and focused on how consistently I could listen to the voices of others.
When I surrendered the desire to influence, and grasped the desire to connect, and follow, I acquired influence.
Leading by loving, by serving, by sacrificing, has been humbling, but honestly, really cool.
I’ve learned that if you place yourself on stage, you’ll soon find yourself in the back row. But if you place yourself in the back row, the Lord will place you on stage.
Now we’re here in the bush of Africa, and tonight our host laid out a blueprint of the month, included some cultural lessons and an overview of the surrounding area. This profoundly impoverished region of Botswana is ravished with unemployment, alcoholism, abuse, early death, HIV/AIDS, and perhaps most disturbing, an ongoing, raging war with spiritual darkness. This is the wild of Africa. This is where the world of witch doctors, cults, and even child sacrifice are real. This is my new backyard.
This is a place where children aren’t hugged. This is a place where they are sometimes forced to compete with dogs for food.
This is a place where severely pregnant women will wonder into the bush and deliver their babies alone. And my heart absolutely wrenched when I heard this, but sometimes the mothers will give birth to still born babies, and they bury them, right out in the bush, alone. Then, when they return to the village empty handed, not a word is spoken of the tragedy. This place needs his love and I’m honored to be able to bring it.
I guess that’s part of what makes life so cool. I’m blessed to be on the front lines. I’m ecstatic to be able to do my part in making this world, and this community here in Botswana, a better place. To actually love people that need love most.
We’re here to serve at an orphanage. To sit amongst the village people and love them. To hear the stories and to combat the evil and atrocities that have corroded these villages for far too long. To bring the love of Christ into places long devastated. To live out Isaiah 61.
I can’t wait for all this month will hold. I’ve been telling my teammates that it’s going to be a legendary month. Hard, but a month we will never, ever forget, as we forge ground for the Kingodm here, as we love all those we encounter with his furious love, and as we enjoy life, adventuring constantly in this wild, beautiful, remote country in Africa.
Ride motorcycles, take risks, dance often, stay up late every night, get lost in experiences and conversation, make the most of each moment, and seize the freaking day!! Impact lives, love extravagantly, live unforgettable stories.. BE BOLD, Be audacious, be romantic, and serve others.
There was a camera man at the Awakening (Zack, the legend) interviewing various Racers. He asked me how I’m sure I made the right decision doing the race. The answer I gave him:
I’ve never felt more alive. And I felt alive before the Race, but this is a brand new dimension. I have the opportunity to love people all over the world, to be apart of an incredible community, and to grow daily. To call out gifts and talents in others and to hone my own. Life is so incredible!!! I’m 22 years old and I’m traveling the world with some of my best friends, making connections with countless all over the globe, and fighting for the oppressed.
Life will never be the same. This, as I sit in this tent in Botswana, I know is a dream come true.
I still have a grasp on life before the Race. On who I was, and the hard work it took to get here. I remember well the daily 7am to 9pm shifts this summer. I remember saying no to weekends with my boys in college in favor of working doubles Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I remember the elation in my spirit every time I received a donation. Now I’m here, and it’s bizarre.
The reality is that if you’re reading this and wondering if you should do the Race; go. Say yes to this wild dream that can become a reality. Take the risk, plunge into the deep. Push yourself to grow, embrace the things you don’t enjoy. Life will never be the same. Tell stories, take ministry inside, and outside the box.
The Lord has softened my heart, and fortified it at the same time. I’m gentler, and more valiant. Patient, yet assertive. Considerate, and aggressive in the pursuit of my own dreams and desires. A fighter, and a feeler.
I’m blessed to be here. Constantly striving toward growth. Constantly learning and soaking in all I can from those I do life with and all I encounter, and growing deeper in intimacy and in love with my creator. And seizing the day.
As my teammate and dear friend Sam and I so frequently reminisce, the place we now sit is the same place we would grow up watching on Nat Geo Wild and Discovery Channel every day after school. It’s a dream come true.
Thank you all for your belief in me and for reading my rambling journal entry from Night one in Botswana.
Love to you all and as always, Adventure on.
