Our squad has been back in the States for a little over a week. It’s been weird to be home, and if I had to guess, I’d say things will continue to be weird for a while. But hey, that’s life.
You guys asked some questions about the Race, and answering them has been a great way for me to process the Race itself. So without further adieu, your toughest questions answered:
First thing you ate coming home?
Chipotle. Followed shortly thereafter by an almond croissant and caramel iced coffee with almond milk from Starbucks. Basic is basic for a reason.
Favorite food on the Race?
Can I give you a top three? In no particular order:
Street pancakes from the night market in Siem Reap, Cambodia. They’re thin little pancakes rolled up and filled with the yumminess of your choice (I recommend banana and Nutella).
Burmese curries. My team lived right on the Burma border during our time in Thailand. Most of our friends there were Burmese and MAN did they introduce us to some amazing food. Think the cousin of Indian curries. Spicy. Yummy. Always with rice.
Vietnamese Bánh mì. Bánh mì is a traditional Vietnamese sandwich on a little baguette. It’s filled with meat, vegetables, and tons of cilantro.
Honorable mentions: Pho, pad thai, chapati, green mangoes, and tiny street vendor pineapples.
Best thing you packed/used the most?
Bare necessity wise, probably my headlamp. We didn’t have much electricity during our time in Africa.
Luxury item wise, definitely my Kindle. I’m a big reader and carrying multiple books around the world isn’t super feasible.
How many times did someone steal your shoes?
My sandals were kidnapped three times in Asia alone. Somehow they made it through Africa safe from harm.
Give me a moment you laughed so hard you couldn’t breathe.
I could write a whole blog just on moments where I laughed way too hard. The first thing that comes to mind is the second time my sandals temporarily went missing while we were in Cambodia.
Asian culture typically involves taking your shoes off and leaving them at the door before entering homes and sometimes businesses. I left my sandals at the door of our hostel room one night. When I went to leave the room they were missing and after a good bit of searching I discovered a Cambodian man in the hostel bathroom was wearing them.
When he realized I was looking for the sandals on his feet he scurried across the bathroom and kicked them off. I then went back in our hostel room to tell my team, in a very over the top and theatrical manner, about where I’d found my sandals. It’s safe to say I wasn’t the only one laughing to the point of tears.
If you want to hear more “laugh so hard you can’t breathe” stories, ask me about the time I got hit in the head with a guitar by a blind man on a bus, “scram kid,” or the other times my sandals were kidnapped.
What “modern conveniences” did you miss the most?
Air conditioning, a cell phone that works without wifi or a SIM card, and hot water.
What are you going to do now?
Great question. Still asking Jesus about that one. For the moment, my only plans are to ask the Lord what His plans are.
If you could only use one word to describe the experience what would it be?
As cliche as it is, I’d pick life-changing.
What are the top three lessons you learned, or experiences that made you grow through this experience?
Again, each of these could be their own blog so shoot me a message if you want to talk more about them. 🙂
The Lord keeps His promises. Always. The big ones and little ones. His promises about our lives and futures, His promises about who He is, His promises about who we are. He keeps every one of them. When we truly believe those promises and take the Lord at His word, life is so much better.
Cease striving (Psalm 46:10 NASB). Give up control. Let God be God. The thorn in my side all of my life just might be that I want to have control over things that only the Lord has the right and power to control. But life really is a whole lot better and more joyful when I trust Him to guide every aspect of my life. When I hold my plans with open hands and truly believe that His ways are better than mine. When He reminds me that He’s a good dad who always has my best interest in mind. He can handle it. My life, my plans, all of it.
We really can do anything. There’s a sense of accomplishment that comes from doing the Race that reminds you that our lives really are our own and the world really is our oyster. The Lord wants us to coauthor our lives with Him. If there’s some large goal or life move that you want to make or passion you want to act upon, you already have everything you need to do it. Believe in yourself. You’re capable of way more than you give yourself credit for.
In addition to knowledge of the Lord, if you could give one piece of knowledge to the people in each country what would it be?
During month one of the Race, our host said something that really stuck with me.
“We’re nothing special. We’re just kingdom people who know what they carry.”
I think the world would be a very different place if every person carried that humble confidence that says, “I know that I’m not all that and a bag of chips. But I’ll be darned if I’m going to waste the passions, gifts, and talents that I have out of insecurity. I’m going to use them for the good of others and the glory of God. Not because I’m anything special, but because I don’t want to waste anything the Lord has given me.”
Every person on this earth has something the world needs. When we don’t show up to the table with everything that we have and everything that we are, we’re robbing the other seven billion people around us of something very special.
You have something the world needs. That’s the piece of knowledge I’d want to pass along.
Would you do it again (if you felt called) knowing the good and the bad that you know now?
Absolutely. The Race is hard and the realities of the broken world we live in can be hard to swallow up close. But the Lord is always in the hard things. The good always outweighs the tough stuff. I wouldn’t trade what the Lord has taught me about Himself, our relationship, and His kids around the world over the last eight months for anything.
Can you explain in words how it feels to be back in the States?
Weird and contradictory, but also exciting. It feels comforting and confusing. It feels simultaneously like a new adventure and the most uncertain time in my life. I don’t know a lot about what’s next in my life. I have some ideas, the Lord has some ideas. But we’re holding them with open hands. This next season of life has a lot of goodness, and joy, and processing in store. All I know is that no matter how weird and contradictory and exciting it may be, I have a good Father who’s going with me every step of the way.
