I’m writing this on a plane ride from Beijing, China to Bangkok, Thailand. I just spent a week with my family in Alaska for a family vacation. It was cold, it was crazy, and it was exactly what I needed. The older I get, the more I realize that vacation for the Callaway’s is not the traditional way of doing vacation. We are always doing something, and there is never time you can spend alone unless it’s the middle of the night. I mean, it makes sense when 25 people are living in one house. With that being said, I have had little time to truly sit in stillness, until I started to fly all the way across the world by myself.
As I’ve sat on the plane rides pondering my life, the Lord led me to think about all of the things he has entrusted me with. Gap T being the first thing to come to mind, but deeper than that I can’t help but think about my own story and the stories of people that I encounter all around the world. He has entrusted me with those stories and it makes me so thankful. The stories of people that I encountered on my race, and people that I encounter on this race. And in this circumstance the Lord highlighted the stories of people I have encountered in Asia.
You see I used to really really not like Asia. I went to Northeast India in 2016 with a team from my university, and it was the worst trip of my life. I didn’t get along well with my team, the ministry wasn’t what I was expecting, and I pretty sick while I was there. I left that trip with a bad taste in my mouth for Asia. I would have been ok with never coming back. Then the World Race came around and I had to choose a route. I wanted to choose a route in August, so I started narrowing it down by routes that had the most amount of time in Africa and the least amount of time in Asia. No other August route had more than 2 months in Africa and less than 5 months in Asia except the one I chose. 3 months Asia, 3 months Africa. I could deal with 3 months in Asia if I really had to.
Fast forward to being on the race. We were about to leave for Asia and I was not excited, and everyone knew it. I was trying to change my perspective but terrible memories from India kept popping up.
Then, before I knew it those three months in Asia were over. I had experienced 5 countries in Southeast Asia and I realized I didn’t mind it. I actually kind of liked it, but would never admit that to anyone. I told myself that I can’t change my mind now, everyone already knows that I don’t like it. So instead of telling everyone how much I don’t like it, I changed it to telling everyone how much of a hard time I had in those 3 months. They were 3 of my hardest months so I was telling the truth, but I was hiding behind that. The bad taste in my mouth was no longer there, but no one knew that.
Now I’m squad leading. I have already spent almost 2 months in Asia this time around, and when I was leaving for family vacation I was sad. Sad because I was leaving Gap T, but I was also sad because I was leaving Asia. Granted, it was only a week so I got over it real fast, but I was sad nonetheless. I had to come to a harsh reality within that sadness…
I actually really do like Asia.
I never thought those words would come out of my mouth. I never thought those thoughts would pop up. But they did, and I’m honestly pumped about it.
Asia has been tough every time I have been here. The spiritual heaviness is always so easy to feel, and there is always something the Lord and I have to walk through together. But I think that’s why it’s grown on me so much. The beauty of the growth I’ve experienced in this continent, and the beauty of people in these places. It’s because of these people and the place that they call home that I have experienced this growth.
So I am able to get off this plane so extremely grateful for where I’m at. Physically and spiritually I am right where the Lord wants me to grow and keep on chiseling me to be the man he wants me to be.
Thanks God for bringing me back to this continent 4 times already, and many more times to come.
As always, your support means the world to me. Thank you for the encouragement. Thank you for the prayers. Thank you for journeying with me for a year and a half so far!
In Him,
Caleb
