I flew home on June 10th
to join in the celebration of my eldest brother’s wedding. 
It was strange to
leave my Race family especially after having just come off a difficult month…
not to mention the culture shock of transitioning from West Africa to
Bucharest, Romania. But with my squad’s prayers and blessing I flew home for 5
days. I had to laugh at myself as I wandered through airports following large
student groups forgetting that I was traveling alone. The closer my flight took
me to the States I realized I could understand more and more of the
conversations around me which was strange to me… nine months in countries where
English is not the first language will throw you off like that… And the closer
I got to the States the more and more I saw of that which I had grown up with…
The magazines with familiar musicians and movie stars… The Sky Mall magazine
filled with handy decorative items to purchase…
Even when my middle brother picked me up from the airport I found myself
staring at highways and billboards… things that should have been familiar to
me, yet to be honest it seemed so strange to me.
That night I ate my mom’s
amazing chicken fajitas, a taste I had been craving for several months. I
enjoyed to laughter and conversation with my family as we shared stories and
caught up as much as we could that first night. But as I lay in bed my mind
wandered to my senior quote from high school:
“Our journey will
lead us back to where we began, but we return as changed people with new eyes
to see what once we were blind to.”
-Erwin
Mcmanus
I realized the magnitude of this
quote and just how true it is for me as a World Racer… I fell asleep musing
over this.
I woke in the morning to a knock
on the door from my mom. It took me a bit to figure out where I was and why my
mom was waking me up and not a teammate
… why I was on a bed and not in a bunk…
After a delicious cup of freshly brewed coffee I was off to help with the
pre-wedding stuff and then to help get the house ready for the rehearsal
dinner. The next day was a blur of
family and friends, a beautiful wedding ceremony, reception with a wide array
of food to choose from, dancing, toasting…
Sleep finally… then a day with my mentor, her husband, and their two
daughters, one of whom had arrived only a month before. 
Then the day with my
parents and middle brother, running about picking up snacks and things that my
World Race family had asked for. Then a morning with my parents, and then off
to the airport.
Looking back I realized how much
my eyes had changed. I saw more of the things that God has shown me throughout
the course of the Race. Walking in the grocery store was hard for me… so much…
so so much! And for what? I realized how overwhelmed I had been with more than
one option for meals, with so many leftovers, with cars and organized highways…
With stores that have everything your heart could desire. People talking about
regular things… jobs, work, family, new babies, movies, music… And not that those things are wrong… please
don’t hear me say that… But my heart hurt as my mind turned to the men, women,
and children I have met along the way… those who have nothing… those who don’t
know how they will eat that day… those who have been abandoned by family, or ripped
away from their family because of sickness or war… It was not pity for them
that I felt though… only love… a love born from doing life with them… a love
from the Father’s heart. It is a love that He has been turning towards home as
we draw nearer to the end of our journey here.
But after being away from my Race family I also realize how deep my love
for them has grown. We have lived so
closely together for 9 months now… we have been broken together, we have soared
together… We have been sick and cared for one another… We have fought… we have
cried… we have laughed… we have danced…We have seen the Lord perform miracles
and see how He has grown each person in our family. And I realize now that with
my new eyes I see a need for the church to be healed… I see the essential
nature of community… not just hang out community, but one comprised of men and
women who are willing to enter into covenant… to do life with one another… to
love one another no matter what… and to pursue the Kingdom with all that they are.
However, I understand that this will not necessarily happen over night when we
return to our beloved families and friends back in the States. But I believe it
is coming swiftly. That as we return home with our new eyes we will bring this
things back to share… to spread the Light of Truth and Love in a way our
communities…our cities… our states… our nation has never seen. We are a
generation that is going to new heights… heights made possible by the
generations that have gone before us…
I have no doubt that this will not be easy for any of us on
L squad, but I know that for all of us as well as for all of you… this will be
merely the beginning.
I would ask a favor of all of you… please begin praying not
only for us as we finish out this last leg of the race, but be praying for your
families, our friends, the communities we have come from and are returning to…
please pray for eyes to see the changes that God has brought us into… Pray for
ears to hear the things He has put on our hearts so fervently… and pray for
hearts to understand that which may to most seem like mere insanity… but in the
words of Paul, “If it seems we are in our right minds it is for your sake, but
if it seems we are not, it is for the sake of Christ.”
And like my sister, Haley Smith said back at training camp,
“We’re all here, because we’re not all there.”
Thank you for all you have done in supporting us while we
have answered God’s call for this season, I look forward to, with great
anticipation, seeing how God blesses you all the more for continuing that
support when we return home in early September.
