Hey everyone, here’s the question and answer blog that I promised you guys! I got some pretty great questions for this!
Who is someone you’ve impacted by sharing about Jesus with?
In Nepal my team got the chance to meet women that work in cabin restaurants. The women spoke a different language than us, but we spent a few hours with them and got to know them as best as we could. When we shared the gospel with them you could tell they were interested. We got to meet the girls at their own home later on in the month and both of them accepted Christ! As we were leaving we got news that one of the girls had quit her job in the cabin restaurant and got hired at a local coffee shop. We were so thrilled for her! If you want to hear the full story you can read my blog HERE.
Do you have someone who has strongly impacted you on this journey?
Our hosts in South Africa were incredible. They constantly showed us the value of hard work and loved us really well. They invited us into their family, which was super needed at the half way point of the race. We all loved them dearly! It was probably the hardest goodbye for me so far.
What are you looking forward to in the upcoming months?
I’m really looking forward to the parent vision trip coming up! I will get to see my parents for the first time in 6 and a half months and give them a taste of what my life has looked like lately. It’s going to be a blast!
One of the more challenging things has been adjusting to a new language each month. It feels like as soon as you get a few words down you move to the next place. I’m looking forward to South America and the fact that they all speak Spanish there. Four months of the same language will give me time to really get the language down and even put my high school foreign language classes to the test.
What’s one of the most difficult things you’ve done in order to get closer to God?
This might not seem directly related, but I would say the most difficult thing would be learning to be transparent and vulnerable with my team. I quickly learned that anything that you don’t share just stays in darkness, and as soon as you speak it then it’s in the light. It can be really scary to share things with people, but it has helped me grow in confidence of who I really am and who God made me to be.
What are you most looking forward to having/doing when you get back?
I miss being able to just drive somewhere by myself. Really just being able to be alone in general is something I look forward to. Also, I am desperately missing Chipotle and Chic-Fil-A!!
What is one thing you constantly do that you hate? Love?
I absolutely hate having to pack so often. I have quite a skill of being able to make my bag explode in 5 minutes of being in a new location, so this adds to the packing challenge. It’ll be nice to have permanent home for my clothes again one day.
I love being able to explore in so many different places. Moving around a lot means constantly getting to meet new people, hear new stories, and see new things. I feel extremely blessed to get to see the things I’ve experienced.
What is the most beautiful landscape you’ve seen?
Himalaya mountains, hands down. It was insane to be able to go on our roof and see that we were surrounded by mountains. It was incredible!
What have you learned from living with only enough stuff to fit in your backpack and sleeping in a very small space?
Packing for the race was really hard for me. I thought there was no way I could pack what I needed for a year into that small space, but I managed to make it work. It’s funny to see how quickly my mindset changed with all of this. Now I will wear the same shirt like 4 days in a row, and that’s totally normal. I’ve also really learned what is necessary and what is luxury. When you have to carry the weight of your stuff on your back you quickly start to drop things that aren’t really necessary. I’m sure I’ll be overwhelmed when I get home and see the plethora of clothes I’ve thought were necessary.
Have your thoughts on the way Americans eat or spend money changed? If so how?
Well, my team lived off of a dollar a day food budget in Cambodia, and it was totally doable. So that opened my eyes on how living minimally is so possible. I have also realized how food around the world is generally more fresh than it is in America. There’s nothing quite like seeing the animals alive when you leave for ministry and then cut up into chicken legs or whatever when you return haha.
Have you encountered any resistance in any of the ministry you’ve been doing? Or are they used to world racers?
Every ministry I’ve been a part of has been used to racers, so I wouldn’t say I’ve experienced any resistance. When we were in Botswana we were only the second team to stay with that host and it had been over a year since the last group. I could tell that once our ministry fell through they felt bad and weren’t sure what to do with us. But really every host I’ve been with has been so loving and amazing to us.
What are your packing/traveling tips for future racers?
1. If you’re a coffee drinker, I 100% recommend bringing a portable french press or pour over. You can buy coffee grounds in most countries, but the ability to make it is not always provided. If you bring your own the only thing you need is hot water.
2. Get a good portable charger. I use mine every day, not just travel days. If you get a good one it’ll last for at least a week. This has come in handy when we only have access to one outlet for the whole team or I want my electronics to be closer to where my bed is.
3. Bring a hard drive. I have loaded up my hard drive with so many movies from squad mates and even from hosts. Also, when my computer broke in Nepal it wasn’t as big of a deal since I had all my files backed up on the hard drive.
4. Bring your normal pillow instead of the packing size ones. I literally grabbed my pillow off my bed as I left for the race and I don’t regret it at all. It’s comfortable, easy to just carry it in your hand on travel days, and doubles as a place to throw things in when you run out of packing room.
5. We joke that you know you’re a world racer when you put your hand in the pockets of pants you haven’t worn in a while and find spare toilet paper instead of money. But really, anytime you have a chance to stock up on toilet paper do it! Most places, especially in Asia, don’t have toilet paper at the ready so you have to bring your own.
How have you seen yourself change?
Man, I could take this one in so many different directions. One way I’ve changed is that I’m way more comfortable being myself. At the beginning of the race I was running myself ragged trying to keep up with everything that was going happening or what I was missing out on. I found myself putting my attention on what others thought of me instead of who God says I am, and wherever I put my attention is where I put my worth. So I’ve been going through the process of redefining where my worth lies. Some of the ways this has changed me is by learning how to prioritize my free time to be rejuvenated, sharing feedback or hard things with people that help call them to follow Jesus better, and just cutting any performance and allowing me to be myself.
What has been your favorite moment(s) in each country?
India- I loved getting to know the seminary students that lived by us and getting to play volleyball with them everyday. It led to some really cool relationships being built.
Nepal- Having thanksgiving with 3 other teams and figuring out how to cook classic meals when we didn’t have an oven.
Vietnam- All of the rooftop dance parties with the kids at the church.
Cambodia- Riding in the back of the truck with some of the high school students and our hosts daughters. We ate Cambodian food and they taught us songs. It was a blast!
Botswana- Having a braai in the middle of a game reserve with all the CRU staff. We had to guard the food because the monkeys kept trying to steal things. All they got away with was a bag of marshmallows.
South Africa- We had a “fun day” where our host planned activities for us that allowed us to learn about the heart of J Bay. We ended the day by learning to sand board from our hosts.
What has this experience been like and how will this affect you when you get back?
I don’t really know how to sum up this experience. It’s really shown me that God has new things for us everyday and all we have to do is pay attention to that. Back at home it’s easy to get in a rut and look past the opportunities and relationships that could be made, but that is where I’ve seen God’s glory thrive on the race. So when I go home I hope to continue seeking out the individual things God has for me each day and remember to always interact with the “interruptions” instead of just blowing them off.
What’s been the biggest challenge so far; the traveling, the food, the people?
This is a hard one! I love travel days and I’ve really enjoyed trying new food, so I guess I’ll say the people. I haven’t really had big conflict with anyone, but I do miss being able to have alone time. So I would say that the biggest challenge is just finding ways to take breaks from the people you are with ?24/7? and also not feeling like you’re missing out when you take those breaks.
What is similar and what is different about living in the US and the places you’ve been?
Something similar: everyone loves Justin Bieber. Okay, on a serious note…everyone just wants to be heard. A lot of people we meet will stop us just because they want to tell us about their life. I think that’s a strong desire for everyone back home as well, but we don’t always pay attention to it.
Something different: I’ll quote one of my hosts who said, “In America you guys let time rule you, but here we rule over time.” Around the world people tend to be more relational oriented instead of task oriented. This means that a lot of times we will be told to meet at a certain time, but no one will show up to meet us for at least 30 minutes to an hours.
Do you ever run into places/situations where language is a barrier?
Mostly everyone in Africa speaks at least a little bit of English, but in Asia the language barrier was an every day thing. My favorite was that one time in Vietnam I asked a women where the toilet was and she held up six fingers. Needless to say, I think we were on completely different pages.
I had a few questions that were directed to hosts, so I had my lovely friend Tarina answer them for me! She was our host in South Africa and became the 7th member of our team for the month.
How is your ministry affected by hosting world race teams?
You guys have an impact on our ministry because your values and how you see ministry aligns with how UCSA does as well. Having you guys here here was like an extension of us. Your love for Jesus and your servant hearts means that our influence could be much bigger and reach new people.
Do you think that there is more instant fruit or long term fruit from hosting teams?
It really depends on the group. We had a group here last year and they stayed for an entire year. We saw their impact much later after they had been there for a while. With the groups here for a shorter time we see more impact from almost the very start. Both types of groups tend to have a beneficial long term affect on our ministry though.
What is the weirdest things that World race teams do?
Ummm putting peanut butter on everything. Your dancing…that’s not something that we see very often. I guess the rest depends on how comfortable you guys are with each other and how much we get pulled into the comfort zone to see all the weird things you do.
What is something you would like future world race teams to know?
We want you to just come in and join the ministry and be part of the family at UCSA. Don’t come in and try to do all these amazing or great things.
Why do you say that?
Because that’s how we do ministry. It’s not through all of these big things but through all the little things that we do. So we want you to just join what we are doing here and that’s the best ministry you could possibly do for us.
I want to say thanks to everyone that sent me questions and made this blog possible! If you have any other questions leave a comment or message me about it.
Thanks to each of you, I am literally $41 away from being fully funded!! My mind is blown! Thank you all for supporting me through prayers and finances. I couldn’t be here without you!
