I love my team so much I could cry. In July we met for the first time, at training camp, and when I saw their names on a slip of paper I didn’t know who they were. Throughout all the Facebook groups and social media, I hadn’t heard Shea or Luke’s names before, and I thought Casey was a girl. Now we are in our 4th month of living together, and we are no longer strangers. We’ve taken each other to the hospital, shared our diarrhea medication, washed each other’s clothes, been kicked off a military base, learned cultures, and been homesick together. As we grow as individuals, we grow as a team. While I’m writing this, Hunter and Kendra are singing together on the roof, Shea and I just worked out, and Casey and Luke are chasing each other like little boys. Even though we are living with 3 other teams, we are still each other’s best friends.
October was an amazing, challenging, and frustrating month. We lived in Roma, Lesotho with a host family. It was just our team, and no squad leaders. Together we navigated life in Africa. We learned about buying SIM cards, taking public transportation, and how to negotiate (and eventually befriend) your taxi driver. Pukani became our favorite driver, and we would call him whenever we needed a ride. He spoke fast, heavily accented English, wore a red beanie no matter the weather, and he tried to teach us French, Chinese, and Sisoto, so we taught him Spanish. Casey, Luke, and I took Kendra to a few hospitals. Luke and I took Shea to the police station when her passport was stolen. We all took Shea to the U.S. embassy at some point. There was no alone time. We needed that month to strengthen our relationships. When we were mad at each other, the walls were thin so no one was hiding anything. The first time I heard the boys talking about me, it was while I was brushing my teeth, and I couldn’t help but laugh. I was just as I annoyed at them as they were at me, and I was so happy we had reached this point. We were family.
Now we live with other teams, but we each have our own ministry. Living alone was great for our team, we needed to bond in that way before living with other teams. We look forward to team times, and we get excited thinking about going places “just us.” Before leaving I imagined what it would be like living with my team, and the reality is nothing like my dreams, but in the best way. You just can’t imagine the community the World Race creates, it’s unlike anything else.
At this end of this month, Casey and Luke need to be fully funded to continue with our team. No one likes asking for money, so I’m shamelessly asking for help for them, because I love them too much to do nothing. Please consider helping them financially so we can keep checking each other’s heads for lice!
