Just figured I would share with you some behavior changes that are becoming my new normal:
-Ice cold showers are the norm.
-There's starting to be just a 'funk' smell ….everywhere.
-Sitting on the floor (not chairs) is routine. (I think I am getting a flat spot on my butt!)
-Lots of the girls have decided to dread their hair (Like 4 girls & 1 guy, so I guess that doesn't really qualify as "lots" — but several more are considering it. It crossed my mind, but my hair is so short right now that I think it would look very strange. Maybe in a few months! hah)
-We have a shower schedule where we are each scheduled to shower every other day (and some people aren't even doing that! eew! lol)
-Wearing the same clothes a few days in a row is completely acceptable.
-60 of us share 2 showers and 3 toilets. So bodily functions and the sounds of those bodily functions are becoming a normal soundtrack every time you step foot in the bathroom. Kinda gross when you are trying to brush your teeth. (eeew! ahaha) But there really is nothing we can do about it. One of the girls brings her iPod and speakers into the restroom every time she goes. That is a nice touch, but that's about the only thing you can do to cover up the noises, besides trying to make conversation….which as you can imagine has it's own ups and downs.
-"Getting seconds" of any meal is major privilege. (Don't worry, Mom, I am eating well!)
-Hair products, perfume, and yummy smelling lotions are becoming luxuries.
-You feel so blessed to feel healthy when you wake up and go to sleep (lots of people's tummies are acting up- but luckily I am doing well, so far 😉
-Everything we used to consider average components of everyday life are now the "comforts" we let behind. Examples include: warm showers, a bed, chairs to sit in, a dishwasher, washer & dryer, internet, clean-smelling clothes (even when you wash them, you have to line dry them and somehow they don't come out smelling so fresh anymore – especially if it rains while they are drying!), and outlets that are readily available…just to name few.
-People break out into spontaneous praise and worship songs at just about any time of day, in any place.
-It's normal for one of your squad mates who you don't know very well yet to walk up to you and, without even asking how you're doing today or what's up, ask you to tell them your 'Testimony'.
Speaking of "testimony" – lots of people hear this word and it means lots of different things. Here on the World Race, your testimony is basically your Life Story. Everything that has brought you to the place where you now are. Not just the spiritual stuff, but the family stuff, the romance stuff, the health stuff — ALL your stuff, the good, the bad, the ugly, all your issues, baggage, junk, and joy that has brought you to where you now are (…Which for us "where we are now" is on this crazy 11 month, self sacrificing, God glorifying, serving others adventure called the World Race. So chances are you've got some interesting issues, reasons, and stories that have landed you here.)
It's been really cool getting to know these 'strangers' that I have embarked on this journey with at that deep level right away (I'm also getting to know them on a lot of other weird, sometimes gross levels- but we already talked about that, hah). But back tot he Life Story thing…it's occurred to me that I haven't really ever heard the Testimonies of a lot of my very best friends. And I'm not sure that they've heard mine. To be honest, I have a lot of friends who I'm not even sure if they know their own story. I mean think about it, how many times have you really tried to sum it all up, package it, and present it to somebody? Probably not so many times. I encourage you — try it out! It's a therapeutic exercise, if nothing else, to try and sum it up in your own head — or on paper. Everything that has brought you to where you are today. It's also a great exercise, because it starts to put into perspective the decisions you are making now — they are becoming a part of your story that you'll one day tell people. Deep, huh? 😉
I will be sure to post My Testimony in the coming weeks — and I hope to hear yours in the future!
Here's to living out a story I'll want to tell….
Cheers!
