Someone who ran into my mom at an OSU tailgate in the fall mentioned to her that it looked like I was enjoying my experience with “Christian tourism” around the world. I really do understand why some people would think that based on some Instagram or Facebook posts including pictures of beautiful landscapes, sunsets, smiles & icecream cones, waterfalls, exotic animals, wonders of the world, etc. We do get to take adventures and do some beautiful sight seeing.
However, if you’re judging what the race is like solely from those mountain top moments, please know you’re seeing only the peaks and missing all the valleys. The reason you see so much of that is because racers aren’t posting the pictures of questionable meals, dead animals, malnourished children, or any of the heart-breaking realities we encounter. We’re not posting pictures of fervent prayers because we’re busy praying. Or of evangelism because we’re actively evangelizing. You may not see a picture of us teaching English because we have a piece of chalk in our hands instead of a smart phone. Ministry isn’t always conducive to picture taking because it’s often not appropriate. All of my posts when we were in the Philippines revolved around bar ministry because that was our purpose for being there. However, we also served at an orphanage 3 times a week during the day. It was a HIGHLIGHT for me and honestly one of my favorite parts of the race. We took some pictures, but they can’t be posted on social media for the kids’ protection.
For anyone who thinks the race is a vacation, please enjoy some World Race realities below:
Here’s a month by month snapshot of how much my weight fluctuated over the first 8 months of the race.
Here are a few pictures of what transportation looks like on the race
CROWDED. Much of the time, way too many bodies for one place. Back to back bus rides on bumpy under-developed roads. Piling as many bodies as can fit into a taxi, pick up truck, bus or van. In the last photo, we sat 4 people in the back row of this un-air conditioned van, my knees were pushed up against my teammate’s back, and my shoulder was pushed outside the window for a four hour trip down windy dirt roads in Africa. Travel day may sound singular, but it’s usually far more than 24 hours. Those are the days that range in temperature the most. We go from carrying our packs in 90+ degree heat to the inside of a bus or plane which sometimes feels like a frozen tundra. For someone covered in dry sweat that can’t remember what air conditioning feels like, it’s a lot to take in. On the race, I’ve been in a car accident, I’ve helped change a tire, I’ve been in a van when it’s broken down. You really never know what you’re gonna get. I do know that when I get home, I’d like to go a long time before getting on a bus again and would probably greatly benefit from visiting a chiropractor.
Some less than vacation-like experiences:
Here’s a picture recap of a few of our luxury hotels:
Tents outside next to the Zambezi River
Triple-decker bunk beds. We called these skateboard beds because the mattresses were so worn that our backs and hips would touch the wood frame and the mattress would go up on either side.
Bug nets galore and the occasional fan to ‘cool off’
Piles of clothes everywhere
Sleeping pad on the ground
Proof below that you can’t handle air conditioning when you’ve gone without it for a while:
Here’s a picture of people napping at debrief outside because the rooms were too hot to be in during the day.
Some questionable food:
In Swaziland, I picked ants out of my oatmeal daily. My average was usually around ten.
A round of applause and never-ending gratitude to all of our squad treasurers and logistics team who handle the money with grocery shopping, transportation, and lodging.
Here are some photos from the lice epidemic that hit our squad three times over the course of the race…
Everyone had to be checked daily whether we had it or not because it spread so quickly and took us forever to get rid of
Here’s my team doing lice checks after English class. Enthralled with the idea of ordering a pizza (a dream that would not become a reality)
Let the vacation-like chronicles continue with a picture of my armpit covered in a beetle acid burn.
And my stomach covered in mosquito bites- still trying to figure out why they like my stomach so much.
A picture of my finger after a horse mistakenly thought it was a snack…
Mega bug bite:
When you take anti-malaria medication, a side effect is being very sensitive to the sun.
I wish I had a picture of the tapeworms that came out of my body, but lucky you, I don’t.
This is a picture of our entire team’s stuff thrown into this room because our room started flooding during a rain storm.
Napping at debrief in front of the fans
Cleaning dishes by pumping water from a well…
A picture of me smelling Alyx’s wrist to discern if it’s poop or dirt
A friend I found while making toast for breakfast…
Taking my teammate to the doctor to get his dog bite checked out…
Our dog in Malawi that couldn’t relax for even a second without flies swarming these wounds on her ears.
Sitting with my hosts for 2 hours in the pharmacy waiting for parasite medication
Getting our hair and makeup done for a traditional Cambodian wedding was all fun and games until we wiped off the makeup and realized the makeup artist shaved off the ends of our eyebrows.
Here’s a pic of some kiddos helping me get ticks out of the dog’s ears
At this point, I can now use a squatty potty without peeing on myself so that’s good news.
It’s embarrassing how tired our arms get hand-washing laundry
Here’s my teammate, Courtney, holding a bag of iced coffee on her head as she did quiet time.
I have sweat so much on the race that I often feel like a wrestler trying to bump down to the next weight class by sweating out all my water weight.
Luxury swimming pool or digging bamboo sticks out of a fish pond? You decide.
I write this for several reasons- one being for the sake of laughter. Another is to show you that it’s not all beaches and sunsets. As a fully-funded month 11 racer, I’m not writing this to prove anything for myself or convince you of what a ‘terrible’ time I had. I’m writing it on behalf of future racers. I don’t want them to be written off as self-gratifying adventurers. I’m here to tell you racers really do serve the Kingdom and make a difference. Yes, it’s back to back short term missions packed into 11 months. Yes, it’s a short time to build relationships. Yes, being in one place for a longer period of time is a recipe for more impact. However, to our Heavenly Father, a thousand years is like a day and a day a thousand years. It’s God’s timing, not our own. It’s not a good idea to underestimate the power of the Holy Spirit or put God in a box. Putting our human understanding of limitation on God just makes him laugh. The investment you make in a racer by prayer or by giving will immeasurably surpass the eleven months they’re on the field. It sets them up for a lifetime of running after Jesus with everything they have. The things my eyes have seen and ears have heard over the course of the race can’t be forgotten. God has revealed so much more of who He is and who He created me to be through this opportunity to serve the Kingdom around the world. To the person considering going on the race for any reason other than to serve God and His people- you will be disappointed. It’s not a ‘free’ vacation. It’s hard work (spiritually, physically, and emotionally). You’ll be expected to show up and really be there. You’ll be expected to choose and love your teammates even when you don’t feel like it. You’ll be expected to have a yes in your spirit and an all-in attitude even if it’s not your favorite idea of ministry or if you’re underwhelmed by your living situation. Even if you’re hot and tired, you need to be willing to show up with a smile on your face and serve. You need to be willing to have hard conversations and understand how to give and take constructive feedback. You need to have the desire to grow and be open to what God wants to show you. If that doesn’t pertain to you, don’t come. For the sake of the people on your future squad and team, don’t come for the wrong reasons. As the Lord says to us in the Bible, it’s better to be all in or all out- not lukewarm.
Thank you for those of you who believed in me. It means so much more than the world (pun intended).
Love to all!
Ps- 20 days till my feet are on US soil!
