100 Lessons in 100 Days

Yesterday officially marked the 100^th day of our journey on the World Race. That’s 100 days in Asia, 100 days living from one backpack, 100 days of having no permanent home and often no bed, and 100 days spent living/sleeping/breathing within 2 feet of these 5 other women who have quickly become family. Our team decided to write down 100 things we have learned as a way to look back on our journey, and celebrate what is to come. Trust us when we say, some of these lessons have come easier than others.

1. God desires to use ALL people for his Kingdom who are willing to be used.
2. How to depend on those you just met
3. How to “shower” with just a bucket.
4. We are blessed beyond measure to have been born in a country of freedom and opportunity.
5. What it looks like to truly be servant-hearted.
6. How to use a squatty potty. (Asia has left us no choice to put this at the top of the list. Great news is we surpassed the novice level and are entering expert territory—squatting flat-footed.)
7. How to live a semi-normal life out of a backpack.
8. A genuine smile is universally appreciated.
9. How to still feel like a girl without ever looking in a mirror.
10. The overflow of your life comes from the time you spend alone with the Lord.
11. ALWAYS carry toilet paper in your bag.
12. Mastering charades and hand gestures will eventually get you where you want to go.
13. How to safely and successfully kill a scorpion.
14. The importance of letting go of control…
15. And letting go of outcomes.
16. How to properly shave a coconut.
17. How to say goodbye every month to people you grow to deeply love.
18. How to sleep on a bus.
19. How to sleep on airport chairs.
20. How to sleep on the floor.
21. How to sleep on a plane.
22. How to sleep on your teammate’s shoulder.
23. Time spent making friends is always better than time spent searching for Wi-Fi.
24. Ant spray is a versatile killing agent for all kinds of creatures.
25. How to ditch all utensils and eat with your right hand.
26. How to say 5 words in 4 different languages and incorporate all of them into a single conversation.
27. How much people appreciate it if you attempt to speak their language, even if you fail miserably.
28. Ministry is a lifestyle, not a place you go.
29. Hydroflasks are lifelines.
30. How to sleep with earplugs.
31. How to fit 7 people in a 3 person tuk tuk.
32. Geckos the length of your forearm can bark as loud as a dog.
33. How to make the perfect cup of chai
34. Also, that chai tea technically means “tea tea”. Meaning most of America is walking around saying they like to drink “tea tea”.
35. It is impossible to drown ants. Even if you put your ant covered clothes in the wash for a double cycle.
36. The importance of walking in our spiritual authority.
37. A 10-hour bus ride does not guarantee a bathroom break.
38. How to cut hair. Specifically for Asian school children, providing girls with a perfectly manicured bob, and boys with the ever so popular uptown fade.
39. How to play a new instrument
40. That God doesn’t need us, but he invites us to partner with him because that is just how much he loves us.
41. How to communicate without using words
42. The proper way to put on & wear a sari
43. The Church is not merely a building, but a living and breathing community.
44. How to make 12 outfits out of 4 articles of clothing.
45. That you can actually survive without washing your hair for a week.
46. How to get 51 people across a border. (walking, riding a bus, or flying)
47. How to be okay with not being okay.
48. How to survive on rice and noodles for every.single.meal.
49. The beauty of leaning on faith when you have nothing else.
50. How to barter with a cab or tuk tuk driver.
51. How to calmly and casually remove leeches from your body.
52. How to get free food.
53. How to worship like no one is watching.
54. How to find Wi-Fi in India, or the Thai Jungle.
55. Playing cards in Thailand is a ticket straight to prison
56. Hot water is a luxury, not a necessity.
57. How to listen for the quiet whispers of God’s voice
58. How to make a luxurious face mask out of egg whites
59. To be a great leader you must first be a great servant.
60. Hallelujah is the same in every language
61. Eating curry with your hand for a month stains your nails an interesting shade of yellow.
62. How to get your team on the list for VIP events.
63. #favor isn’t fair.
64. How to de-lice a teammate or yourself without access to lice shampoo. (Sunflower oil, mayo, saran wrap)
65. How to successfully find a bus stop on a four-lane highway in India, in the dark, without Wi-Fi, while it is raining
66. How to get discounts (say all the words you know in the local language in one sentence)
67. Jumping spiders are very difficult to kill.
68. You can indeed make a Chipotle rice bowl from the comfort of your “foreign home”.
69. How to escape a Nepali hospital when they refuse to discharge you.
70. How to live in community… 24/7.
71. How to safely cross the street in India (walk slowly and directly behind a cow)
72. Even in 2017, God still performs miracles everyday.
73. The easiest way to scare a whole bus of Thai men: drop a hydroflask on the metal floor
74. The free table is the closest thing to Christmas morning. (*The Free Table* is the place each month where everyone on our squad drops items from their pack they no longer wish to keep)
75. The importance of brushing up on basic math when it comes to currency exchanges. (32.86 Thai Baht to 1 US dollar is no easy equation)
76. How to acquire a hot shower (visit your friends in the hospital… and don’t forget your shower shoes!)
77. How to be okay with being continuously uncomfortable…
78. And continuously sweating.
79. How to barter. (you hold all the power in the slow turn and fake walk-away) 
80. How to avoid being scammed by women trying get you to buy milk for their “babies”.
81. The importance of reading the Bible even when you don’t want to.
82. It is appropriate and wonderful to eat Oreos dipped in peanut butter after every meal.
83. How to wear the same clothes everyday without smelling like an armpit. (febreeze2go)
84. Prayer HAS power.
85. How to make your phone battery last on a travel-day.
86. How to trust the Lord to finish what he starts
87. True joy is found in the simple things, not the material things.
88. All people desire to be listened to and truly known.
89. Swapping movies on external hard-drives is almost as good as Netflix.  
90. The importance of a “baby-wipe bath” when the water runs out.
91. How to paint a 50-foot mural for less than $30 dollars. (Pro-tip, tree limbs work as excellent paint-stirrers)
92. Wearing make-up is the least of your worries.
93. The average height of a male in Asia is 5’6”.
94. Being okay with not knowing where you’re going. (even the day before you go to a new country)
95. How to go through the process of abandoning.literally.everyting.
96. The whole world is searching for God even if they don’t realize it.  
97. Owning a hairbrush is optional
98. You will be okay if you have to go a week or in some cases a couple months without a phone.
99. 50 strangers really can become family in less than 100 days.
100. Jesus Christ is the same [all across the WORLD] yesterday and today and forevermore. 

Here’s to 237 more days of growing, learning, and loving.

 

Pictured Above: Us on American Soil, 100 days ago. 

Pictured Below: Us a couple of months in, a little dirtier but with so much more love and appreciation for this family.