Many people have asked what all I learned on The Race. I like to think of it as a time when I just grew a lot closer to the Father as He revealed His character to me. Through this trip I got to learn and become better acquainted with who He is.
Cambodia – HE IS ENOUGH. In the first month of the race, I learned a lot about abandonment. One must abandon yourself to find the Lord. I had to leave my home, friends, family, lifestyle, basically my whole identity in order to find true identity in the Lord. Leaving everything I’ve ever known made me feel empty and worthless. The reputation I had been building my entire life was now pointless in this new season because the people I was with did not know me. I had a new community, new environment, new routine, and nothing seemed steady. I learned to rely on God because He was all I had. He comforted me when I missed home, He gave me peace when I was worried or scared, He gave me strength when I could not carry on, He gave me words of wisdom when I did not know what to say. In His presence I was made whole.
He taught me to just allow Him to be enough for me and enjoy all the blessings He has for me. When I finally allowed Him to be enough, I realized he was MORE than enough for me and blessed me beyond belief. It’s funny how He has an overflowing amount of gifts that He wants us to enjoy and all He’s waiting on is for us to simply just accept them!
Thailand – HE IS BEAUTIFUL. I really struggled living in Thailand. It was during the Holiday season and I was extremely homesick. I definitely contemplated going home just to spend Christmas with my family. We lived in a Buddhist community and our ministry was teaching English, but we were advised not to speak of the gospel in front of our students. We also were only able to go to church twice in the entire two months. I viewed Thailand as a very ugly and smelly place that I had to spend 49 days in (yes, I counted). With sleeping in a tent, showering out of a bucket, and never seeing a mirror, I viewed myself ugly as well.
The Lord was quick to tell me that HE IS BEAUTIFUL and everything He has made is beautiful in some way. He challenged me to find specific things in His creation that were beautiful. So for four weeks in a row I focused on one thing specifically appreciating and thanking Him for it. Week one was the sky, week two was flowers, week three was mountains, and week four was people. When I focused on the beauty of the Lord and not the ugly, I began really enjoying life in Thailand. I also began seeing myself as beautiful. Every morning I’d wake up and hear Him clearly whisper to me, “Abigail, you are absolutely beautiful.” These sweet whispers would continue throughout the day and has continued every single day.
I thank Him because He makes me beautiful by allowing me radiate His beauty.
Malawi – HE IS GOOD. I saw some very hard things in Africa. I held babies who had been abandoned on the side of the road. I played with girls who had been saved from brothels and boys who had been saved from living in the streets. I played soccer with kids wearing rags if any clothes at all. I even preached in a church made of clay and straw. I questioned the Lord and why He would let His people suffer. His response was, “Taste and see that I am good. Blessed are those who trust in Me.” So I chose to trust Him and search for His goodness in all the hurt. I will tell you now that there is nothing sweeter than the giggles of a baby who is just happy to be held. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as hard as I do when I’m playing charades with the kids at the children’s home. And it is the coolest feeling when you’re running around a field with over fifty kids chasing you because they’re just happy that you care to play with them. Some of the best worship I have ever experienced happened in that mud hut of a church at the top of a mountain.
My view of good was not necessarily the same as the Lord’s, but when I chose to look through His eyes, I saw that it was so much better than I ever imagined.
Guatemala – HE IS INTENTIONAL. My time in Guatemala was very eye-opening. I lived in Guatemala City and experienced high spiritual warfare. One of our ministries was going to the dump/cemetery in the middle of the city for prayer and intercession. Another one of our ministries was establishing relationships with prostitutes and showing them their love and worth in the Lord. After a day of ministry, you could feel the spiritual heaviness weighing you down and lingering throughout the rest of the day. My team would find ourselves aggravated and frustrated with each other when we returned from ministry and didn’t pray over ourselves. Some days we would even feel extremely tired or sick. I think the Lord was intentional in placing us in a city with such high spiritual intensity. It taught me that I also had to be intentional by becoming aware of the warfare and choose to fight back. To intercede means to pray on behalf of someone else and that is exactly what I chose to do. I prayed over my teammates, the house we were living in, the street kids I played with, the prostitutes who became my friends, and random people I passed on the sidewalk. Even if I may never see anyone of these people again, I do believe our paths crossed for a reason and so I was intentional in praying for them.
I also just want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who supported me through prayers, words of encouragement, and even financially. By you saying “yes” to supporting me on this journey, I was able to say “yes” to what the Lord called me to do. We worked together as the body to better the Kingdom and it was beautiful. Thank you for your “yes” in partnering with me. It was an experience that changed my life and I will never forget!
