So I asked you all to comment with questions you would like me to answer so here are some of the responses, the second part will come Wednesday so keep a look out 🙂
Kate asked
What’s the funniest food encounter I’ve had? What food have I enjoyed the most so far? And do I have any crazy monkey stories?
Ok I can’t actually think of a time at all where something happened in relation to food, but I definitely have eaten some peculiar things. I did miss an opportunity to eat liver whilst in Nicaragua, kinda thankful I did, I think I had pizza that day :D. The food I have definitely enjoyed the most is the Thai food, oh my goodness it is amazing, i really enjoy spicy, aromatic food and in Thailand that’s what most traditional foods are about. At home I loved to cook Thai curries so being able to actually have an authentic experience has been amazing!
lol I personally don’t have any monkey stories because I haven’t seen any monkeys 😀 we did see one hanging on the back of a pick up truck on our way to Thailand that was full of fruit and he was very happy to sit and eat the fruit on the way 🙂 – thank you Kate!
Jordan asked me the 5 things I packed that I could not live without?
Not in any particular order but the five would be: lipstick because every now and then you want to feel pretty and girlie and if you know me well enough you’ll know I enjoy my ‘out there’ ‘bold colours’. So when I started the race I had four, and off the top of my head I think I have 8 now woo!
Next would be my music, I love my music, any kind pretty much, it is such a cool thing to be able to listen to any kind and actually pick up new music in different countries I think some of my favourite new music had been from Swaziland or eswatini as it is now called and Lesotho – both places are in Africa 🙂
Next my bible, this book! Man it has been a huge source of comfort and encouragement in times when I have needed it the most, it is a gift from the Lord to be used to reach others and it has been so clear the fruit of that from being in the different countries, a lot of people have never seen an English bible so that’s been pretty cool. I actually bought a Sesotho bible and got a lesson on how to pronounce the words.
Next I brought some photos of friends and family and letters from the same. These are just really sweet memories I get to take around the world with me, my team mates at some point have seen them all and I love sharing memories with them and what was happening in photos. They were just a really cool way that if I missed home at points or felt isolated I could look at letters and photos and realise I am loved beyond measure.
Lastly my journal – oh man I would be lost without this, whilst I haven’t always been an avid journalist, it’s been really important to me to document my experiences whilst being on the race. It is easy to forget where you have been and what you have walked through but journaling and looking back helps you stay thankful and present. – thanks Jordan!
My team mate Jessica asked me a bunch lol, Favorite adventure day, Favourite ministry, Favourite “God moment”! The hardest part of the Race for you, the biggest lessons you’ve learned so far, the weirdest thing you’ve eaten, songs that will always remind you of the Race, favorite article of clothing you’ve bought, some impactful people you’ve met.
Ok so, favourite adventure day probably if I’m really honest has to be the bungee jumping in South Africa. It was probably one of the craziest things I have done but I am so glad I did it – such a rush! But would never do it again lol! Favourite ministry is hard because there’s little snippets of all of them I have enjoyed. Going to tribal villages in Panama and Lesotho, all of Swaziland – the girls home and being around the staff. Manual labour in Panama and South Africa, painting murals in Guatemala and Malaysia, gardening for grandma in Thailand.
Favourite God moment and one of the biggest lessons I learned would be when I became fully funded in January whilst in Lesotho. I can’t explain all the details but up until that point on the race my journey with the Lord had been learning to trust and lean on my father as the ultimate provider. I knew that I trusted the Lord with all things, but walking it out and having to rely on Him was not easy. The Lord told me he wanted to surprise me in ways I couldn’t even imagine and show me how abundant he really could be if I learned to walk the narrow road and surrender all my thoughts and assumptions to Him, especially in the area of finances. When I became fully funded it came as a total shock, the Lord did something I was not expecting just so he could prove to me His love was and is abundant. He has such a sense of humour, I almost think he laughed and told me ‘you weren’t expecting that!?’ I have learned from that, that I can be generous because the Lord IS generous and fulfils my every need so I’ve been learning to walk that out the rest of my race.
Weird things I’ve eaten – tripe, chicken feet, plantains (they are so good!). Favourite item of clothing has to be the dresses I own (surprise surprise) again if you know me at all I love nothing more than to wear a dress and feel all girlie so yeah, I brought 2 with me and now have 3 but I have definitely had more throughout the race :). Songs that will remind me of the race: reckless love, titanium, ABBA’ Chiquita are the ones I can remember.
The hardest part of the race has probably been saying goodbyes every month, you don’t realise the impact people have on you and vice verse until it’s time to leave. We go into months with passion and desire to build kingdom relationships and at the end of the month it’s hard to walk away from them, I’ve left little pieces of my heart all over the world and maybe that’s the Lord planting seeds too, so that others that come after me can water and grow.
Which leads into this last question from Jess of impactful people I have met. Firstly my squad, the girls that I get to do this adventure with have impacted my life in so many ways I couldn’t even begin to list them all. They have taught me a lot about myself and have helped and supported me in so many ways and I am so thankful for that. A few other people that have impacted me, Mary Kate, BB, the staff and girls at our ministry in Swaziland in February. Where do I even start? They are just simply an amazing group of people who have been through a lot and seen God move in such powerful ways, when we arrived to them we had just gone through team changes and didn’t really know what to expect but man! The Lord did some incredible things and I think it’s safe to say we lifted each other up in ways we didn’t think possible and we LOVE them so much for that! Lastly the team at our previous location in Thailand, the ministry was called share the love and WOW did they do that. P’Yui, P’Jaime and their volunteers showered us with such kindness and fun and an amazing heart for the Lord, we were only with them for a week but the left a lasting impression on me. – Thank you Jess that was good for me 🙂
Part 3 coming Wednesday
