The first week of this month was one of my favorites on the Race so far. It was a week that I desperately needed to be able to experience all that God has for me in these last 3 months of the Race.
I had found myself in a place of survival mode. Everyday I found myself wanting to be home and counting down the days until my feet hit American soil.
But then my amazing mom steps into the picture and everything changes.
Reuniting with my mom was exactly what I needed.
God was so involved in the smallest details of this trip and allowed for my mom to experience the beautiful, amazing, uncomfortable, and hard parts of the Race for me.
We first experienced this when she and Bernie (Aubree’s mom) missed their connecting flight and came in at 4 in the morning instead of 7 the night before.
I experienced the sleepless and anxious night waiting for her to get to the hostel we were staying at. And she experienced the long travel day that makes you want to have your feet on solid ground again. Role reversal much?
After tears and hugs and a couple hours of sleep, we made our way to Kijabe, Kenya. There, we joined up with the other parents and Racers and missionaries we would be working with this week.
We immediately jumped into an orientation and ministry.
The week had a very full schedule that allowed the parents to experience the different types of ministry we might do in a typical month.
These included loving on children in an orphanage, going door to door to encourage believers and share the Gospel, and rebuilding a home.
The week was full of “is this really my life” moments.
One of my favorites was when we went to a nearby village to encourage believers and share the Gospel with those who had not heard the Good News.
We went to a home of a woman and her friend who had come by to visit. The visiting woman was a Masaai woman, complete with the huge earlobes and crazy African dress that you’ve always imagined.
We encouraged and prayed for the women, and when we stood up to leave, the Massai woman took off her necklace and put it around my mom’s neck. We later found out that this is a huge deal in African culture and means that she saw my mom as a part of her family.
Then the woman walked hand in hand with my mom for quite a while. They connected on a deep level based on the mother’s hearts that they both have. Our translator stayed with them to help them communicate to each other and share their hearts for their children.
I remember looking back and thinking about how incredible our God is.
It’s so amazing that He can connect hearts that live completely different lives thousands of miles away from each other.
It’s easy to see these people in Africa or anywhere in the world and wonder what we could ever have in common.
But my eyes have been opened to the beautiful fact that no matter where we live, how much money we have, or what language we speak, we humans are ridiculously similar.
We have the same desires, the same needs, the same struggles, the same insecurities.
And our God is the answer to them all.
We were also blessed with the opportunity to go to an orphanage for 2 days of ministry.
These children had lost their parents 6 years beforehand during the violence that took place after their presidential elections in 2007.
And by God’s crazy timing, this was the anniversary of the elections that had left these precious children as orphans.
These moments at the orphanage were beyond special to me.
I have always loved taking the “motherly” role when my team is around children. I love just holding them and smiling and giggling with them. I love showing them that they are special and that they are delighted in.
And with a turn of the head, I could see my own mom doing the exact same thing.
My parents have always shown me that they delight in me. That they are proud of me and that I am important to them.
And because of that being embedded in me as a child, I am able to share that with children who need to know that they are loved so desperately.
So as you can imagine, I was once again in awe of how incredible God is.
Seeing my mom love orphans the same way she loved me, while I do the exact same right beside her, was a moment I will treasure forever.
Most importantly, with my mom on the Race with me, I was able to see with fresh eyes again.
I was able to remember how hilarious it is that a chicken walks into the house your ministering in and no one blinks an eye.
I was reminded that people stuffed into a vehicle with no one wearing a seat belt isn’t exactly normal (or legal) in my life back home.
I was able to take in the beauty of God’s creation in Kijabe, Kenya.
I was able to appreciate the amazing gift it is to walk into a stranger’s home and find family instead. The feeling of being loved by someone who has never seen you before is so special.
I was able to remember how amazing God’s love and power is. I had almost gotten immune to God using me as a vessel to speak to people that needed to hear that they are completely loved and He has such a purpose for their life. It’s been my normal for the past 9 months.
But these things are all extraordinary gifts that I never want to “get used to”.
So as I step into this final stretch of the Race, I am indescribably thankful for this week of serving beside my mom.
Being able to process with her and share stories face to face was a precious gift that I needed more than I realized.
I have been refreshed, encouraged, and reminded why I signed up for this crazy journey in the first place!
