Twenty-six days from now I step foot on American soil for the first time in a very long time. Twenty-seven days from now I land in Portland and get to hug my family and closest friends for the first time in an even longer time.
A lot happens in eleven months. And it’s a lot to think about all at once. Eleven months is a lot to say goodbye to in just one day, especially when in that same day you have to say hello to something new (Yeah, there comes a point at which you’ve been gone so long and changed so much that home becomes something foreign. And even if everything at home remained unchanged upon my return, I have not. You can’t easily fit a square peg into a circular opening…but I digress).
I’m sure—and I hope—that when I’m back in the States many of you will have an abundance of wonderful questions to ask me about the places I’ve been, the people I’ve met, and the adventures I’ve had over the past year, so I thought I’d put together a short list of tips for all of you lovelies hoping to hear all about it.
- DON’T ASK BROAD QUESTIONS
Asking broad questions might get you broad answers, so avoid questions like “How was your year?”, “What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned on the Race?”, and “What was your favorite; the weirdest; scariest; grossest etc. thing that has happened all year?”. Like I said, a lot has happened in eleven months and it can be really difficult to narrow things down.
- DO ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
Asking specific questions will get you specific answers, and will help bring to mind even more stories from the Race to tell you. Ask tons of questions like “Tell me about the time you were proposed to.”, “What was life and/or ministry like in Bolivia?”, “How difficult was it to use a squatty potty?”, or “What specific lesson was God speaking to you in Argentina?”.
- I WANT TO HEAR ABOUT YOU TOO
Yes, you haven’t seen me for almost an entire year, but I haven’t seen you either. Just as much as you want to hear about what I’ve been doing, so too do I want to hear all about your life. I won’t take any excuses! If you ask me how I’ve grown spiritually, expect to tell me about how God has been working in your life as well. If you ask about my time in Africa, I want to hear about that one time you were in Africa too.
- DON’T EXPECT TO HEAR ABOUT ALL 11 MONTHS IN ONE SITTING
If I’m being honest, regardless of all the photos I’ve taken, the blogs I’ve written, and the journal entries I’ve recorded there’s probably quite a bit of this year that I don’t vividly remember off the top of my head. If you’re expecting me to tell you about literally everything as soon as you see me you’re going to be disappointed because frankly that is unrealistic and puts an unfair pressure on me. I’ll do my best to answer all your questions, and tell you the stories that I do have as I remember them, but it’ll probably take years before you end up hearing everything. Even if I was superhuman and could tell you about every moment on the Race, I don’t think anysane person could actually sit and listen for 11 months straight anyway.
- PLEASE DON’T BOMBARD ME
Maybe you want to spend time with me. I want to spend time with you, too. But just remember I am human and need my own space and time as well… Especially before getting back into the hustle and bustle of school and work this September. Feel free to let me know if you want to hang out, but please don’t be offended if I say no. I will hang out with you once I have time and energy.
- EMBRACE MY WEIRD HABITS
I’m probably going to do weird things when I get back, like throw my toilet paper in the trash instead of down the toilet, take showers using less than a gallon of cold water (mom and dad, you’re welcome in advance for the hundreds of dollars I will save you on your water bill), start conversations with random people on the street, forget what language to speak, freak out in the produce isle at the store, start playing games with random children in my neighborhood, get annoyed when people are in a rush, not even notice if the power goes out, be sad when American church and culture is different than what my life has been for the past year, etc. Expect me to do tons of strange things. Ask me about it because there is probably a reason I do it.
- GIVE ME GRACE
I’ve seen things and experienced things that have changed the way I think and live. I will say and do things differently than before because I am different than before. Give me grace, and ask for understanding in those areas and I will do the same for you.
