What does a travel day with the world race look like?
Well, it’s a lot about getting where you need to go, without breaking the bank, aka our budget that seems huge but over a year traveling, isnt.
So, team stay salty left Bulowayo, Zimbabwe at 6 am to get on our 7:30am bus to Harare, Zimbabwe with team setablaze.
6 1/2 hours later we arrive in Harare and have to put our big packs on, day packs everything, anything else we have an walk 15 minutes to meet the other teams at the main bus station.
We walked 15 minutes in the pouring rain with all of our things, but is was good because that bus was getting hot. Then we were reunited with the rest of our squad. We sat our things down and 20 minutes or so later we start heading out.
We go out to pile into buses, or commuter vans. 15 person vans, including driver and passenger seat. Usually fitting atleast 20 people in it, that’s how they make their money. So we put 14 people plus their luggage; big bags, day packs, food bags, all of it in one.
We all get very close in these moments.
The whole time the guy reminding us every 3 minutes, “I need my 18 dollars.” So we get there 30-40 minutes later. Are dropped off on the side of the road and it’s a 5 minute walk to the school we’re staying at for leadership development weekend.
Monday arrives and we have to be out of the school by 5 am. We were told by our wonderful logistics crew on the field that because they didn’t know if the full payment got put in on time the bus would either be coming at 11am or 7pm. So we were hanging out at the head master of the school’s house, such a blessing.
We find out around 10:30am that the bus will be coming around 2:30pm, but the email said they expect to leave around 5pm.
That’s how most things are for the world race, you sit and rest in the unknown. And you can either worry about what you don’t know, or just trust that you will get there.
So 2:30 comes and goes…. no bus. So about 5ish we grab all of our stuff and walk 10 minutes to the main road to sit and wait for the bus which kept telling us 10 more minutes… 10 more minutes….
We’d been awake 12 hours at this point.
Rosie, Kelly Anne and I walk across the street while waiting and make friends with some kids. I only remember the youngests name, junior and the nickname we gave the next youngest, BOOM. That boy loved fireworks.
We sat and played and talked with them about an hour. Card games (they hustled us), asking about them, climbing trees, toy cars and fire crackers.
One of the boys told us that earlier that day when we came back from town he was on the bus (van). It just made my heart so warm that he said that. We were both on that bus. He looked so different cause he wasn’t in his school uniform. But then we go across the street to play with him. Such a God thing it’s not even funny. He told us he didn’t want us to leave and that he’d miss us. I don’t know his name, but I miss those kids and waved so hard as we left.
So the 32 hour bus ride began.
It wasn’t a nonstop 32 hours. We chartered the bus, so it was rather nice. Every few hours or so we’d stop and have a rest break, be able to buy food and snacks, use the toilet other than the one on the bus that only allowed #1 and to go through the South Africa border, which only took maybe 1-2 hours instead of the 12 a monto earlier.
About 2pm the next day, lots of hours into our bus ride, we stopped and were told our windshield was cracked and it had to be fixed. So we exited the bus and were hanging out in this cafeteria. We were then told the fixing of the windshield could take anywhere from 1-4 hours. And that the Lesotho border was 6 hours away and closed at 10pm.
At that point we were all just kind of like…. ok. We can’t really do or say any more than that. We switched buses and left at just about 5pm.
On the road again.
We then get to the Lesotho border about 1am. To our surprise it was open and they were letting us through. It didn’t take long. Maybe 30-45 minutes to get all of our stamps and for our bus and all our luggage to go through.
We all pile back on the bus.
Everyone thought that we were driving an hour or so to meet up with our hosts, then break up from there. But then we hear matt and allison’s teams are getting off the bus cause their host is here, at the border. So their teams get off.
Then I get comfy, ready to go.
Then I hear all of the rest of the teams, everybody, is getting off. I had no idea what the heck was happening. It was 2am. I’m cazz by this point. (My tired alter ego).
So off we go. Collecting all of out baggage. I now know that our host from this month had sent someone, Mpho, to come get us. So, we get a ton of taxis, somehow fit all of our things in the back and on seats, took different trips, and head over to an inn. That all took over an hour. It wasn’t as easy as I made it sound.
For whatever reason right by the border is drunk central, we were all completely safe, it’s just annoying getting approached by multiple drunks after 2am.
So we get to the inn and no one is there to let us in…. so we think we’ll be sleeping on the ground. 15 minutes go by and she arrives. We get rooms. 5 to a room. 2 twin beds. HOT SHOWERS (a delicacy). Kind of working wifi. Originally told we were leaving by 9 am, then changed to 12pm. Hallelujah for sleep!
Shower. Sleep. Up. Pack up. Vans here. Put all our packs on this thing attached to the back to carry our bags, roped on. 30 minute drive to the mall where the leaders and treasurers can get Sim cards and money and people can grab lunch. Plan to leave at 2pm. Actually leave closer to 3. Money stuff.
Hour and a half drive to host, but on the way we stopped at the most beautiful overlook! Took some pics then left.
We probably got there around 5:30 – 6pm.
Two days of travel.
And here we are.
Working along side Africa 4 Jesus here in Malealea, Lesotho.
Our team, stay salty is helping teach the preschool and working along side the teachers to give them lift and love on all of them.
The kids don’t know much English, they pee themselves often, but dang they’re cute.
Spiritual warfare is so real and heavy here. It comes a lot at night during sleep. A lot of our team mates are either not sleeping, having night terrors, waking up sleeping, or just not sleeping.
Please pray against this with us.
The views here are amazing and I wish you could all see them.
The stars….. I have never ever seen so many stars. They’re amazing.
Half way through the race and loving it still.
