World Race Recap (Part 3)
I’m not even going to pretend like I know how to recap the last year. I’m not going to come close to what it entails through a few comments either. I believe I would need months of processing and writing to attempt to do so, however, as a glimpse I wanted to put together a few pictures from each country I visited and a brief description of what I did:
11 countries, 11 months, 1 backpack, 1 tent and a serious lack of personal hygiene.
11 months of living in poverty, 11 ministries, and 1 fractured heart from an amazing,
soul-searching year.
Cambodia: I spent two months in Cambodia. I was supposed to go to Laos one of the months, but our contact for Laos never contacted us back, and we stayed stationary.
7. Month Siem Reap, Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Cambodia: Unsung Heroes (traveling a country in search of future World Race contacts for teams to visit) for the THIRD time. We had a great time traveling the beautiful country of Cambodia, which also happens to be the world’s largest hub for non profit organizations. Who knew? We met with a TON of amazing missionaries, and spent a week on the beach talking to travelers in bars about the gospel.
Ankor Wat, Cambodia- One of the 7 Wonders of the World
Ankor Wat, Cambodia- One of the 7 Wonders of the World
Ankor Wat, Cambodia- One of the 7 Wonders of the World
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Buddhist conversations at Ankor Wat
Ankor Wat, Cambodia- One of the 7 Wonders of the World
First arriving in Cambodia with my new team
Gorgeous beaches of Sihanoukville
Some of my teammates and I on the beach for one of our off-days
8. (Month 2) Kampot, Cambodia: My team was a bit disappointed when we realized we had to stay another month in Cambodia, thinking we had “seen it all” already, but we were wrong. We spent the next month in a TINY village, surrounded by rice patties for miles and miles and miles. No internet, no communication to the outside world- just teaching English to children and living at a Christian discipleship boys home. We also realize our living situation was ironic due to us being an all girls team. This was also the month I realized I was feeling very tired and drained, so I stepped down from being a team leader for the rest of the Race.
At the school/home with some of the boys. It’s also ironic I’m wearing a jacket as their “winter” was one of the HOTTEST places I’ve ever been in. We sweat like we’ve never sweat before that month.
A mural Sara and I painted, and the boys hanging out with us.
My teammate Susannah and I with the class we taught at the Public School
We were invited to a Cambodian wedding at the neighbor’s, and were expected to wear traditional Cambodian wedding attire.
We would take walks around the rice patties before dusk to break up the time in our internet/communication-less world
My teammate Jordan and I teaching at our private school in grass huts
Almost every morning, a few of my squadmates and I would wake up early to go make Cambodian tapioca with the neighbor to sell.
Another one of my classes with my teammate Sara
In the middle of the day, the village was extremely hot. We would attempt to escape the heat by our covered hammock spot
One of my favorite students in the church with the mangy, flea-ridden dog
- Manilla, Philippines: My parents came for the first week I was in the Philippines. Our ministry was in the bars with Wipe Every Tear, and we worked to get trafficked girls out, much like I did in Thailand.
Picking my parents up at the airport in Manilla, Philippines
My main ministry that month was the most BUSY ministry month I had. Working at a school in Valensuela, we cleaned and cleaned
, did a little marketing for more students, and cleaned some more. Sometimes we taught classes (Thankfully I didn’t, turns out teaching English is NOT my favorite ministry) and got the school back up to country regulations.
The Library when we started cleaning it
More shots of the library
Shannon doing some reading before we head to South Africa
Our contacts took us to the world’s smallest volcano
Philippines scenery
On one of our off days, our contacts took us to the beach
Our motor broke, so we paddled to shore
Exploring on our day at the beach
Jeepneys, the classic source of transportation in the Philippines
Another Jeepney- first used during WWII
The Library, cleaned and ready
Our last day of ministry in the Philippines- goofing off in the library
10. Manzini, Swaziland: Praise God for black people! You don’t realize how much you missed them when you’ve only seen Asians for the last six months. Swaziland was a ton of fun. Paired up with another World Race team, and I worked in Agriculture gardening and husking corn with village ladies. We would go for runs through gorgeous mountains. Swaziland was one of my favorite months.
The daily view from our homestead
Swaziland was one of my favorite months-partly because we got to cook our own food and eat together as a team the whole month
The schools in Swaziland served huge piles of rice for school lunch
Laundry in the morning
Dancing with my squadmate Casey in a cultural festival
On one of our off days, a couple of us hiked to a waterfall
The waterfall near Manzini
Some kids we worked with at the schools
Check out Owen Siebring’s Video on Swaziland
11. Jeffrey’s Baai, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Nelspruit, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa: “The other America” and perfect transition back to the states as our last month on the Race. We were in Jeffery’s Bay, a tiny surfing town and Billabong’s favorite spot to host surfing competitions. We had amazing, supportive contacts and our own apartment! We worked at a camp for kids with Cerebral Palsy, spent time helping out with soup kitchens, attending AA meetings and supporting the community.
Unathi and his Mom as the Cerebral Palsy summer camp
Jeffrey’s Bay
Jeffrey’s Bay
View of Cape Town from hiking up Table Mountain
Shannon (and the rest of us) STRUGGLING up the mountain
Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope with Kevin
Thanks!!!
Thank you to everyone that supported me on this amazing journey. I could not have done it without all of the prayers, encouragement, financial donations and support. It was truly an incredible experience.
Final things:
While you’re here, here is Owen Siebring’s Final Recap Video
Annnnndddd, I realized there are a lot of untold stories from my trip, that I either didn’t have time or wifi to write down. I will continue writing my stories here, and updating on my current life situations: https://gracearray.wordpress.com/
