I will be arriving home in twenty something days and it has my emotions on every end of the spectrum. I was recently on a bus thinking through the race (feeling nostalgic like no other) and compiled a list of life lessons for me to absorb and remember as I head into the end of this season and begin preparing for the next one at home. While some lessons are silly and others vital, they all serve as one wild foundation for what is to come. They also are a compilation of memories and moments that make my mind whirl with disbelief because of how insanely faithful God is throughout it all.
World Race/Life Lessons
1. You will in fact survive nine months without your friends and family. Though it’s hard to imagine endless days without talking to or seeing the people you love, the tear filled goodbyes will soon be worth it.
2. Home will never again be a single house with familiar people. It will be memories across continents filled with emotions embodied with love and joy.
3. God could not care less about comfortability.
4. Indian black beetles will not kill you. Eating them in curry for a month will be eventually be funny.
5. Do your quiet time every day and value that solitude with God. It’s the rest you need more than anything.
6. Quiet time doesn’t have to be reading the Bible and writing down a list of prayer requests. Blast some music, dance, journal, ask God some ridiculous question just to see if an answer will be shared. Simply spend time in the presence of something greater than yourself.
7. Never try to get less food than you think you’ll need for travel days. Those extra pieces of bread will be your best friend come hour 12 on the overheated bus.
8. Expect nothing when it comes to a new country. No ministry or host is as it seems.
9. Drink water! Every! Single! Day!
10. Always say yes to worship.
11. You can survive a week without a phone and will eventually learn to prefer it.
12. The heartache of poverty can be used for good. Don’t just cry and feel stressed while walking through slums and trekking the jungle. Actually figure out a way to help and take action.
13. Always take time for sunrises and sunsets. Especially in Zambia. It’s a necessity.
14. Africa is not the same from country to country. While there’s the village life filled with chickens and goats, there’s also the city life where you play pool with a bunch of college kids. Value the diversity.
15. Pour into high school girls. It doesn’t matter where, they all need some encouragement and if you don’t know where to start when it comes to ministry, a go to is always Esther.
16. Ask questions. Whether it’s silly or thought provoking, you need to learn. Even if it means being laughed at or looked at completely confused. Soak in the people and culture.
17. Morning walks are always a good idea!!
18. You’ll survive team changes. Your first team splitting up is not the end of the world, though it definitely seemed like it at one point. There’s no use in worrying about it.
19. Bus rides are not glorious. Especially 40 hour ones. Unless the sun is rising or setting over the African countryside, you’ll just have to learn to suck it up and not complain.
20. Saying yes to making popcorn with your team is always a must. The best memories and conversations will be worth the dirty dishes.
21. Missing thanksgiving and Christmas will be incredibly heartbreaking. Even still, there’s nothing like having a makeshift holiday eating overpriced hamburgers and taping a drawn up tree on your door. The people you spend it with matter more than anything.
22. Talking about Jesus with a somewhat stranger is scary at first but just wait until someone invites Him into their heart. All of that fear will vanish and your body will nearly explode with heaven like joy.
23. Value hot showers. They’re a luxury.
24. Farming ministry will bring unreal amounts of happiness.
25. Don’t hold emotions in (good or bad). It’s likely that you’re not alone and that your teammates genuinely care about your wellbeing.
26. Wake up early. Those 5:30 alarms will bear endless fruit.
27. Learn how to cook or you’ll be stuck eating apples and oats forever. Learn the basics (it’s okay to miss your moms cooking though).
28. When in doubt during children’s ministry simply take your hair down and let the girls braid or better yet, teach them how to dab. These things are universal.
29. Speak up about what matters to you. If you don’t address whatever it is, it will come out at unfortunate moments when living with six plus people all day every day.
30. Teaching Malawian kindergarteners to read is one of the most delightful things.
31. Be over the top silly and make a fool of yourself. Dance in the middle of 300 kids in Zimbabwe and sing in front of an Indian wedding. It’s a lot better than sitting in uncomfortable silence.
32. Tell your teammates/best friends you appreciate them as often as possible. Don’t grow numb to the goodness of community.
33. Make sure to text your friends and family back home but don’t feel guilty for the months at a time you’re unable to talk to them. Be present.
34. Mindfulness is the most important thing to grow in both spiritually and physically.
35. Ask big things out of God.
36. The power of Jesus is right within you. Your core is His core. Live in a way that honors that beautiful Truth.
37. Take the Old Testament seriously. While it’s confusing as heck, there’s so much to learn.
38. On the tough days repeat 1 chronicles 28:8-10 to yourself. Be strong and do the work in front of you.
39. Value the Malawian villages. The moments spent teaching things like adverb clauses to how to blow bubbles will mean more than anything. You’ll miss Malawi so much it physically hurts.
40. Learn how to tie African wraps. One wrong move and it’s all over.
41. Take weekend trips. There’s much needed rest in hiking the Andes, swimming in a waterfall, and visiting a volcano. You can sleep Sunday night.
42. Accept the fact that you’re far from perfect. It’s okay to mess up at ministry and feel lost. Just don’t wallow in it.
43. Cleaning up poop everyday for a week will not kill you. The kids are worth it.
44. Take some time to watch a movie with your best fiends even if it means cramming around a 13 inch laptop.
45. Avoiding meat is often times worth it. Those chicken hearts will come out of nowhere if you’re not careful.
46. Complaining will never help a situation. Ever.
47. Value your relationship with God over feeling valued by negative people.
48. The worst days soon turn into the biggest blessings. Embrace the awful little moments and cling to the sweet Truths you know.
49. Don’t underestimate the influence your childhood had on present day. Be thankful for it all.
50. There’s no use in feeling guilty for being passionate about things. Life it too important to water it down!!
51. You can sustain yourself on oats and avocados for months at a time regardless of what people say (still learn how to cook though).
52. Chickens are the universal currency.
53. Texas is one of earths greatest treasures!!
54. Relying on solely yourself is next to useless. Utilize the people around you and find comfort in having a relationship with a God who is endless in love, hope, and grace.
55. There’s joy found in other peoples smile and to be able to serve those very smiles is a sweet thing.
56. At the end of the day it’s really just about the Lord and His heart in all things.
xoxo,
A very sentimental and nostalgic month nine racer, Emily
