Step 1: Fill a bucket with water.
Step 2: Add dish soap.
Step 3: Add dirty clothes and soak for an hour.
Step 4: Rinse off clothes and hang them on the line to dry.
Step 5: Remove clothes 24 to 48 hours later when finally dry.
This was the process to wash my dirty, sweaty, and stinky clothes during month one of my race and even after they had been washed, they still didn’t seem clean. They still had a slight smell to them even after they soaked in soapy water. They were still stretched out because there was no clothes dryer to put them in so they could shrink back to size. They were crusty when finally dry because of the wind and sun. They had been “washed” but they were not “washed clean”. Our ministry for month two has brought us to a town called Jaco which is along the Pacific ocean side of Costa Rica. Since this town is somewhat touristy I was able to bring my clothes to a laundry mat to get them washed like they would be back home. My clothes now weren’t only washed but they were washed clean.
The first scenario of washing clothes relates to how I had viewed my sin. Just like the clothes my sin was dirty and it needed to be washed so I would give it up to God. However, I have always struggled with the though of true forgiveness so even after I would give my sins to Christ I would feel like I was still dirty just like my clothes were when I washed them in Panama. It took time for me to truly understand the idea of true forgiveness in that I’m not just washed but I’m washed clean. When I give my sin to the Lord I am washed clean like my clothes after taking them to the laundry mat in Costa Rica. I am truly clean and no longer dirty or smelly. Learning this is what lead me to get baptized after arriving in Costa Rica. I was baptized as a child but I never made that choice for myself. I was ready to be truly washed clean in Jesus Christ. I no longer let my mistakes bother or define me because I am clean.
