Have you ever hung out with your friends after a long time separated and as you hear them tell a story you think, “That’s not how I remember it.” Well that is precisely what will happen months from now when Sweet Aroma talks about our time in Kenya. We all had such a different experience, I’m sure the blogs share this, so here is mine.
Upon arriving to Kenya we immediately saw zebras along the road as we drove away from the airport. So far so good, we already saw exotic animals. We arrived at a Bible college to tent for the night since our group had been split up on two different flights into Kenya. The next morning Sweet Aroma and the Shelias headed up the mountains to our ministries. We dropped the girls off and finally reached the farm we would live on for the next three weeks.
We were invited into the living room, which was a first for the race. We’ve not had the comforts of a home with couches and a tv. We quickly learned that the pastor very much enjoyed taking tea. The next thing I remember he was asking us about the laws on gay marriage in the states and boldly proclaiming his disapproval of it. The next morning’s breakfast conversation again revolved around the issue of gay marriage and I thought, “Is this the only thing we’ll be talking about this month?” It made me very uncomfortable and so when we went to town that day I decided to buy my own Internet stick.
Personally I was thankful I’d spent the money on Internet because nearly everyday it rained for at least a few hours, which left us with nothing to do. Since working in the field was “man’s work” the only thing for us ladies was to peel potatoes and then wash dishes after meals. This was quickly becoming one of those months the alumni racers told us about. The one-month that you never expected ministry to look like this, but it does, and so you just deal with it. My idea of dealing with it was to take up time on the Internet.
There was finally a chance to do some Bible study with the kids since they had a school break. But by then I’d let selfishness set in and take over my attitude. I spent more quiet time on Pinterest than in my Bible. Then the day that we all went for a small safari and lunch I let my selfish behavior take over. I asked if we could go to a restaurant where we each could order our own food, instead of the slab of meat and sheep head soup usual. This really upset our pastor and it caused a lot of cultural disrespect. That night when we apologized it once again began upsetting our pastor and before anyone knew what was happening he was yelling and I was crying.
I’ve never been one to keep my mouth shut, but I was speaking from the flesh and not allowing my words to be spirit led as I explained my point of view.
God has shown me so much in the last 7 months, major life changing things, so how could He possibly have more? I gave myself permission to shut down and just exist. Over debrief I realized that not only is it not fair to my team to have this kind of attitude, but it’s not how I want to finish this race. It’s hard being out here. Learning a new culture, new currency, new terrain, new time zones and so much more every single month. Travel days that last longer than 24 hours leave you exhausted, even if you did manage to fall asleep on the bus or floor or plane. This thing called The World Race is hard! I knew it would be, but you really don’t know until you’re right there in the middle of it all. With the encouragement of this thing they call community, these next three months are going to be amazing.
