My journey on the World Race will come to an end in just ten short days. As I sit here gathering photos and recounting some of my favorite memories, I can’t help feeling like I did ten days before I left for the Race. I had too many emotions to count and it was extremely confusing trying to sort through them all. I would cry with anticipation of saying goodbye to my family, then get excited about the months to come traveling the world. Now, I cry with anticipation of saying goodbye to my new family, then get excited about months to come in the US.
Writing this blog feels strange. Because even as I sit in my bunk in Vietnam, it’s like I’m in 11 places at once, still present in every country I’ve visited this year.
As this is a year-in-review, I’ve chosen to include the biggest news headlines for each month I was gone. My goal with this was to provide context. I envision each of you reading these, nodding, and saying “oh so that’s where she was while this was going on,” as you recall where you were when you heard the news about the Paris attacks or other news that broke this year.
The juxtaposition between my photos and these headlines may feel awkward or uneasy, but I ask that you sit in that for just a moment. Because as I walked through this journey, the rest of the world walked through one as well. There is no denying that these past 11 months have been difficult. Some of these headlines are hard to read. They were hard to read the first time they flashed across our news feeds. But far too often, we forget one headline when we’re greeted with another.
So as you take a look back on my year, remember the things that have impacted the world as well. We are all telling a story and they are all connected.
MONTH ONE | SERBIA
The Immigration Crisis Continues
Ah, Serbia. So long ago yet still so fresh on my mind and my heart. Our time here was the perfect introduction to the Race and I am beyond thankful for all the people we met here. Our ministry this month was doing construction around the camp where we stayed to help prepare it for the next season. We had incredible hosts who took care of us like we were their own children, and they introduced us to their good friend Ziza who quickly became our Serbian grandmother. We experienced culture in ways we didn’t think possible, like throwing each other around on rickety swings at a Serbian cabbage festiaval. We made unlikely friends in unlikely places, spent nights watching movies from our hot tub on a terrace, dodged bees all by the name of Gary, and took turns on the camp’s four trampolines. We attended traditional dance classes and were introduced to yummy Serbian cuisine. We ate our weight in gelato and played charades with every waitress in town just to order a burger. We said hello to the Race, and then too quickly had to say goodbye to our first month and first hosts. To this day, they are the only ones who have continued to keep up with us all individually and still send us funny pictures that remind them of us from time to time. Thank you, Karl and Julie. You will forever hold a special place in my heart.
MONTH TWO | LESVOS, GREECE
Multiple Bombings Kill Dozens in Turkey’s Capital 
Month two had a bit of a weird start. We spent about a week in Albania before we were asked to go to Lesvos, Greece to help with the Syrian refugee crisis. I haven’t included photos from Albania because honestly, I don’t have any. We worked on a farm and I’m still trying to block out the memory of sitting in a room by myself crying as the rest of the squad watched our host slaughter a pig right outside. In hopes of lifting my spirits, I thought I’d visit the dogs only to be greeted by them eating the pig’s head. Yeah, this animal lover was not cut out to work on a farm.
Month two was an all squad month and we rotated between teams working at the refugee camp. We sorted and passed out clothing, cooked meals, and gave refugees bus tickets to the other side of the island. We saw thousands of refugees come through our camp every day, sopping wet, freezing cold, and in search for a new life. We bonded with other volunteers, sat through freezing over-night shifts, and star-gazed from the top of the supplies container. At our hotel, we pulled our mattresses onto the balconies to reflect on the hard things we had seen that day while overlooking the Aegean sea and counting shooting stars. And on our off days, we ate waffles. This will forever be one of my favorite months of my entire life. Get ready for story after story from Lesvos, Greece when I get back.
MONTH THREE | THESSALONIKI, GREECE
Three Coordinated Attacks by ISIS Kill Dozens in Paris
After spending three weeks on Lesvos, my team joined with one other to move on to the Eidomeni refugee camp just an hour outside of Thessaloniki, Greece. This was my favorite month on the Race while remaining one of the hardest. The trajectory of our team changed forever after a three hour talk about how to love one another better over yummy Nutella crepes. When the Macedonia border closed three days after we arrived, we began building relationship with those who were stuck in the camp. I gained friends. I gained a brother. We sorted clothing and helped pass out meals, but the majority of our time was spent building relationships with the refugees. We drank coffee at the cafe at the other end of the railroad tracks and ran late each day when it was time to go back home because we were so caught up in conversations or didn’t want to leave our new friends.
Back in the city, we binged on crepes. We cuddled on the couches and had dance parties in the prayer room. Haley, Molly and I found connections with nameless street artists through our mutual love for One Direction. Justin Bieber and 1D were played on repeat. My teammates became my family. That month, I celebrated Growthsgiving, a tradition far better than Thanksgiving in my opinion, with that new family with love in my heart. I think I can recall showering a total of 4 times that month.
MONTH FOUR | SOUTH AFRICA
U.N. Climate Summit Agrees to Global Pact
Going from Greece to South Africa was the most drastic transition of the Race for me. Eastern Europe had such a spirit of depression and heaviness and after working with such heavy hearts for the past two months, Africa greeted us with new life and sunshine. I became friends with my host, something I’ve only seen happen a handful of times. I saw all 5 of the Big 5 at the Kruger National Park, and I fed my first elephant. Hell, I HUGGED my first elephant. I slept in a tent and celebrated Christmas in a tank top. I got my first tattoo. I didn’t step foot in the garden (sorry squad), but got to paint every single day. I found a secret treehouse with my three best friends and the “treehouse gang” was formed. White River, you were a gem.
MONTH FIVE | ZIMBABWE
Boko Haram Burns Nigerian Village
Zimbabwe was hard, but it had it’s golden moments. It started with a team change. Saying goodbye to Kaleo was one of the hardest things I had to do on the Race. They had become my family, and that took a while to grieve. My new team, Stay Salty, bonded over our love for chocolate cake and french fries. We played ultimate with actual ultimate frisbee players. We were blessed with students who had a thirst for Biblical knowledge and even further by the volunteers we got to teach alongside. I faced fears I didn’t know I had in Victoria Falls when I bungee jumped, went white water rafting, and swam in Devil’s Pool. We smuggled coffee from the train one track over when ours broke down. At the end of the month, we said goodbye to a teammate who was sent home and to our Alumni Squad Leaders who returned to America. My first team leader was raised up to be a new Squad Leader and I remember being so proud of him in that moment. Most of Y Squad will joke about how they want Zimbabwe to leave their memories forever, but I wouldn’t trade those tough moments for anything because they came with a whole lotta growth.
MONTH SIX | LESOTHO
Suicide Bombing in Nigerian Refugee Camp Kills Dozens
These photos are Lesotho in a nutshell. We woke up to gorgeous views every morning, cuddled sweet little pre-schoolers, and sipped 50 cent Cokes from the store down the road. Our month started with a hike to the chief’s house to get permission to live and teach in the valley. From then on it was a whirlwind of teaching, giving up electricity, and facing dust and hail storms. Pictured below is Haley kicking back with a Coke after doing all that she could to salvage the things ruined in a flash flood. I connected with a shy little boy named Bakong who barely said a word.
At the end of the month when I asked the teacher to let him know I was leaving, he asked me to come back with chips. He didn’t understand we wouldn’t be coming back. At this point in the blog, he’s been the first to bring me to full tears.
MONTH SEVEN | THE PHILIPPINES
Turkey Agrees to Take Migrants from Greece
Surprise second all-squad month! The Philippines came with a lot of surprises. We didn’t know we would all be together again. We didn’t know there would be a 7-11 down the road where we could get slurpees on the reg. We didn’t know what our schedule was until 5 minutes before we left every day, if that. We didn’t know we’d film Trike Lanes and have one of the best adventures of the Race. We didn’t know we’d be saying goodbye to four more squad mates as they would return back home to the states. We didn’t know we’d spend nights zumba dancing in the square or playing basketball with the locals. Our squad stepped up this month. We came together and we chose each other. We loved with reckless abandon. We ate Buffalo Wild Wings and I cried when I heard the news of a Taco Bell just a bus ride away. We’d surpassed the half way point of the Race and we were ready to take on whatever was next.
MONTH EIGHT | MALAYSIA
Pope Francis Visits Refugees in Greece
It’s strange to look at these photos side by side and remember that they were taken in the same month. We split our time between beaches, temples, and botanical gardens in our off time, teaching Burmese refugee children in the mornings, and hours of intercession at the house of prayer in the evenings. I heard from the Lord more this month than any other month. Just more proof that the more time you spend with someone, even Jesus, the more you learn about them. I learned that I am not a teacher. I found a little piece of Texas in a tropical oasis. I rediscovered my love for riding jet skis on the ocean. Jesus told me I would return to Greece one day and make a proper film about the refugee crisis(!!!). I drank delicious coffee, ate butter chicken, and found meals for a dollar just five minutes down the road. So what if I spent $5 on breakfast? That bagel and cream cheese after months of oatmeal was WORTH IT.
MONTH NINE | THAILAND
ISIS Claims Responsibility for Baghdad Attacks
MY MOM CAME TO VISIT! After 9 months on the mission field, you’d think the homesickness wears off eventually. Some days it does, but never completely, and I can’t tell you how thankful I was to have my mom call my name out her taxi window as I walked back to my hotel one day. We got to do ministry together with my original team and their parents. Being reunited with Kaleo was a dream come true and I’d never felt like more of a family than in that moment. This month, we visited children in a nearby village to play games and lift spirits, we helped Monks practice their English, and we ministered to sex-trafficking victims working in the bars. It was a month of wearing many hats. In the bustling city, I managed to find nature as I climbed a waterfall, visited the hot springs, and interacted with elephants for a second time. This month was one for the books. Also, if you’ve never had Khao Soi, please do something about that after you finish this blog.
MONTH TEN | CAMBODIA
Terror In Istanbul Airport
Unfortunately, Cambodia was my least favorite month of the Race. Everyone has one, and this was mine. But this blog is not for complaining, it’s about recapping what happened. We had an LDW when we arrived and had the opportunity to meet up with a squad who had just finished their month six for a night of worship.Probably my favorite moment of that entire month. I even found a friendly face from Abilene! The Story Leaders from both squads got together over coffee the next day and talked shop. We arrived at our ministry site a few days later. With all the downsides Cambodia has, I will say they have some of the nicest people in the world. My team was cared for and loved deeply. I also ate mac n cheese every single day that month. No joke.
MONTH ELEVEN | VIETNAM
ISIS-Inspired Attacks on the Rise
I couldn’t ask for a better place to spend my last month on the Race. Vietnam is an adventure in and of itself with its constant stream of mopeds and taxis, a dragon bridge that spits fire, and the beauty in the surrounding nature. I spent this month helping locals practice their English while sipping coffee and discussing recent news headlines. I dodged oncoming traffic while riding my bike as moped drivers drove down the wrong side of the street. I spent sleepless nights sending Facebook messages to my best friend who was sound asleep in the bunk next to me.
I sat on the hot, sandy beaches and ran, quite gracefully, through the ocean to dodge jellyfish. I got a tattoo with Kayla to represent everything we’ve been through together over these last 11 months with Christ at the center. I made new friends, ate Pho & pasta like my life depended on it, sang my heart out at karaoke night, and rode through Vietnamese jungle gripping tightly to the back of a moped. I laughed. I cried. I asked God to prepare my heart for the coming adventure.
So here’s to the race. To the brokenness and healing it has brought. To my new relationship with Christ. To my 45 new family members. To the voice I’ve found, and the courage I’ve gained to share it. And here’s to you, for all of the support and love you’ve given over this past year.
See you in ten days.
