So maybe you don’t know, but I’ve lived in 24/7 community with 5 other women since early July. And thanks to the world race buddy system, the serious alone time you get per day is about 0 hours. Last month, I actually lived in community with our entire squad of 45 people! We did life in tents, thunderstorm or shine, for a month. And now I’m living in a small concrete house in the middle of nowhere in Swaziland with . . . yup, 20 women! With bucket showers, huge African bugs, lots of weeds and lots of peanut butter.
So, I’ve got co-mmunity like crazy. And it gets complicated. Let me explain . . . “co” means we choose to live together. “Munity” is like “mutiny” which basically means sometimes we want to kill each other. But we choose not to kill each other. I mean, prison in Swaziland? Um, I’ll pass.
But seriously, community can be sooooo good and so hard at the same time! I mean, you may wake up 2 hours before your alarm to someone snoring happily away . . . but at least you get a random guitar serenade at breakfast. And oatmeal again? Yay! At least it’s cheap and semi-fills up 20 super hungry women! Just add some chopped apples and peanut butter and you’ve gone gourmet. Don’t get crazy, though, you’re going to need that peanut butter again for lunch. Oh and washing 20 bowls and spoons and one sticky oatmeal pot is a breeze when you’ve got a trickle of cold water coming from the tap. At least we have lots of co-mmunity dish soap.
So it’s time to get ready to go play with kids! Your teammate throws on her sweat-stained shirt from yesterday and the skirt that naked kid peed on and you just smile because your clothing isn’t looking or smelling much better. The couple of heaven-sent girls that know how to braid hair make the rounds. You search for your mud-caked sandals among the many other mud-caked shoes – at least it’s dry mud now and you can actually scrape it off! Your ministry contact drives up with the car – the team of 6 piles in, somebody or multiple somebodies are on the floor or on laps of course.
And that’s the beginning of a day.
Co-mmunity is a whole new world of beautiful and ridiculous things. We encourage each other. We make fun of each other. Laughs are too loud and hugs are too tight. The deepest conversations always happen in the garden, weeding. Exercise? We run down red dirt roads and dodge goats and yucky dead things covered with huge ants. Prayers are powerful. Worship is glorious. Body odor is a fact of life.
Who knew? Doing life in co-mmunity may be the best thing that’s ever happened to this crazy group of people. Suddenly it’s not all about me. It’s about US.
And pass the peanut butter over here. I just can’t get enough.
I have NO WIFI at my ministry location this month so I need you to help me fundraise the last $4,000 by Christmas to stay on the world race! Thanks so much! I've seen God do so many amazing things since I left in July and I know He's got this too. <3
