Sexiest Racer

During busy hours of working in the children’s home and planting an international size soccer field, we managed to have a little bit of fun…just kidding we always have fun 🙂 Allan found a 5K race that was in the city of Malaybalay during our month. This is our second 5K since the World Race and quite like any other I’ve ever ran. We absolutely had a blast and there were some pretty intense little Filipino runners. The race was at night so we had our headlamps as we ran down the main street which was complete chaos and hilarious. I ran with Cassie and we ended up in top 15 for the women. (Don’t be impressed we were some of the few women that ran but it’s the highest I’ve placed in a race so I’ll take top 15). We were handed plastic “necklaces” during the big run that I’m pretty sure were made out of trash bags. I also had the most supporters I’ve ever had cheering throughout the entire run since we are white. Side note: A lot of Asian’s assume since you’re white, you’re famous. It’s super awkward having your picture taken everywhere you go. I’m kind of over it. Anyways…

The best part was at the end of the big run when we were waiting to see if we won any door prizes. They started giving out medals to the tallest racer (Allan won by a longshot), the fattest–yes fattest runner, (I can’t believe they did that), and the best one: SEXIEST runner. World Racer’s pulled through in the sexiest runner contest, of course. We volunteered the handsome Greg Houghton representing the men, and gorgeous Christina Palmer for the ladies. It was hilarious. The door prizes also never ended. The store that sponsored the race must have lost money because they pulled out about half of the merchandise in the store for door prizes. I didn’t win anything–big shocker.

When we found time we jumped into a multicab (a jeep front with cab/bus type seating) to head into the city which consisted of a strip of random shops and not a whole lot to do. We decided to have a team day and wanted to kill some time and find something fun to do. As we walked by the park, we saw a party going on and decided to check out the situation. SCORE…Filipino karaoke! We strolled up and asked if we could get in on the fun and they were all booked for the night. We busted out the “I’m a white American” card and they handed us the microphone. Ginger picked out “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. We were quite the sight. Then right after that, I caught a bus while it was moving!!! I know that doesn’t sound too exciting but it’s been a goal of mine since Honduras to jump on public transportation while it’s moving. I feel like I’m kind of blending into the cultures around the world finally (minus the blonde hair).

Donald and Marie got married and we attended their wedding! We don’t know Donald or Marie…haha. We met them after they got married at their reception. Donald is involved with K.I.M. but he wasn’t around when we were working there since he was busy planning his wedding. I loved being able to experience a Filipino wedding even though the ceremony was about two hours long. It was great because the ceremony was centered around the promise they were making to God. I realized how far away a lot of American weddings have gotten from what God really intended them to be. The reception was a blast with great food, dancing, pictures with the happy new couple (hilarious/awkward) and two Atlanta Braves baseball players. Quite the party!

The Filipino culture is different from any other places we’ve experienced. The people are very shy and honored that Americans come to help their country. I love that they appreciated we were there, but it was hard sometimes to serve them when the staff at K.I.M. was always trying to cater to us. The children’s home was short-staffed and I found a lot of joy in getting to know the house moms. They are there 24 hours a day with usually only one day off a week. Some of them seemed to scramble around like robots because they were just so exhausted.

I really got to know the heart of one amazing woman who worked there named Elizabeth (Bingh). She was in her 40’s, single and had one of the biggest hearts and best attitude I’ve ever seen . Bingh was our cook, mommy to 23 hyper kids, a good friend, and a great example of a woman who dedicated her life to the kids, but more importantly to serving God. While the babies were napping one day, Bingh opened up to me about her life. She was working at a nursery in Thailand prior to working in the Philippines and was telling me about her desire to go serve in another country. It was evident that she loved the kids there and she is Filipino so I didn’t understand why she would want to leave again.

Through her broken English, Bingh told me that she wants to go anywhere God tells her to go because Jesus is coming back and she wants to be serving Him when He does.

I have met an incredible number of people along this race that have impacted my life in ways that I never expected. She is willing to sacrifice anything for God because of her rock solid faith and assurance that Jesus is coming back. She wants to serve wherever, whenever and whoever God tells her to now. I feel like it’s easy to make excuses because it doesn’t seem like “the right time” but she is a true example of following Christ. Sacrifice is a funny word when it comes to sacrificing things for God, because whatever it is you’re giving up, God is giving you something greater in return. So really, it’s not even a sacrifice. I don’t know why I get scared of making sacrifices for God when I know the reward is awesome and pleasing to Him.

It’s been on my heart a lot lately to pray for the ministry contacts (all of them) who have impacted my walk in such an encouraging way. I can honestly say I have taken something away from each one of them in the way they live or the wisdom they imparted to me. I hate only being in a place for one month then leaving, but I’ve realized that the best thing I can do is to keep praying for them. I’ve found it’s easy to move on once you’re in a new month and a new country, but that doesn’t make the impacts fade away.