It’s Not All Fun and Games
One morning last February I woke up really early, abnormally early. I couldn’t fall back to sleep so naturally I pulled out my phone and scrolled through facebook. One of my facebook friends had posted a link to a blog with a catchy title so I clicked on it. The girl who wrote the blog was a former racer and she was sharing some of her story. I had heard of The World Race before so I decided to go to the website and do some research. As I was looking through the website I clicked on the videos page. I was mesmerized by all of the amazing videos that I saw. After I applied I did the same thing. Sometimes I still do!
But the race isn’t always what you see in the videos. While the race does include lots of small children, serving the elderly, and going on fun adventures, it also has lots of hard times. The race stretches you and changes you. Sometimes it hurts and you don’t want to be challenged and you just want to give up. Sometimes I don’t understand why mice have to frequent my bed in order to do amazing things for Jesus, but even those little things provide opportunities for growth.
Getting to be a part of different cultures is beautiful thing, but it can also be very challenging. I am an American, that is part of who I am. My American culture isn’t better or more important than other cultures, and that’s a learning process. Here are some of the struggles we World Racers are learning to adjust to.
Waiting in line? In some countries lines are only figments of your imagination. That’s when being a New Yorker comes in handy. While in Asia, my team had to learn to “stand our ground” while trying to pay for something in the grocery store, or while trying to flag down a taxi.
(Cambodia month 1, look at all those people!)
Not a physical touch person? In some cultures physical touch is required to show respect and appreciation. That could mean holding someone’s hand for lengthy periods of time after a full day of ministry when all you want to do is stick your head in the sand like an ostrich.
(Because in Africa holding hands is a thing. Uganda month 4.)
Running water? Luxury! Every time you turn on your faucet to wash your hands, or fill up your glass, or brush your teeth think about the millions of people all over the world that have to walk a mile or more just to get water to drink. For 23 years I’ve never had to think about that. I never had to worry about flushing a toilet, or using a washing machine. But not having running water has become my reality. Hand washing my unmentionables along with my teammates’ is not really what I look forward to doing when I wake up every morning. It’s hard work. Limiting showers to only a couple times a week because there is no water isn’t ideal. Walking 50 yards away to use the “toilet” (actually just a hole in the ground) that is sometimes consumed with flies and roaches doesn’t sound exciting to me.
(Laundry day! Uganda month 4.)
(Our “toilet” for the month. Uganda month 4.)
Personal space? What’s that again? A lot of times on the race we don’t live in conditions that we’re used to. Sharing a bed with two other people for a month doesn’t sound appealing to me, but it is what it is. Oh you want to unpack your bag? Yeah, there’s no room to do that. Reading my bible on the front porch has become a sort of show. Sometimes while I’m reading or journaling, I’ll have my headphones in and I’ll look up and notice that there are ten pairs of eyes staring at the muzungu (white person) who’s trying to get a minute alone.
(This is a normal thing for us muzungus, getting trampled by children. Uganda month 4.)
(Our humble abode for month 4 Uganda. See our packed bags?)
The World Race is teaching me balance. It’s teaching me how to accept other cultural norms, while still keeping mine even though it’s not what I’m used to. It can be very exhausting. But it’s worth it. It’s worth every bucket shower, it’s worth every night that I have to sleep on the floor, and it’s worth every kid that hangs on me and pulls my hair while I’m walking down the street. As harsh as this may sound, it’s even worth missing my family. It’s worth missing Gabrielle’s college graduation and Natalie’s first year of high school. It’s worth missing Preston, Ava, and Phoebe’s sports events. It’s worth missing out on conversations that I cherish with Matthew, Daniel, Nicholas and Austin. It’s worth missing the opportunity to spend time with Brianna and Garrett at Christmas. It’s worth missing lunch outings with my grandparents and laughs with my aunts and uncles. It’s worth not getting a hug from my mom or holding my dad’s hand for 11 months. It’s worth it. It can be really easy to focus on what I don’t have. Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about my bed, air-conditioning, and other luxuries I have access to at home. But I have to quickly bring myself back to my current reality, because thinking about those things won’t change my circumstances; it will only open up the door for ungratefulness and frustration. I am no saint let’s get that straight, this is something that I have to work on daily. Like fifteen times a day.
Let me tell you why this is all worth it. It’s worth it because my presence alone, don’t ask me why, can bring such joy to an old women who watched her family die maliciously during the genocide in Rwanda 20 years ago. It’s worth it because giving a child a toothbrush and toothpaste can make them feel valued and loved. It’s worth it because telling people that Jesus died on the cross for them, because He loves them can change a person’s world. It’s worth it because talking to a prostitute and simply asking them how they are, is more care than they get on a weekly basis. It’s so worth it. While 11 months is a long time, it’s less than 1/23of my life. So when I catch myself complaining or getting frustrated with my circumstances, I count my strawberries. I count all of the sweet wonderful things that the Lord has shown me so far in these five months that I’ve been away. The list is endless. This blog could really be never ending, but I won’t make you read that much. Know that in the middle of the trials and the struggles it’s all worth it. The videos we make are real, those things actually happen, but there is so much more to dying to yourself and living for Christ than what you see in the videos, and it’s worth it.
