Which Country is Top? – World Race Rankings
So my buddy Brian wrote a
blog ranking all of the countries we visited this year. Being a lover of statistics and
rankings as well (I was an economics major people), I decided to do the
same. Let’s break down how this
game is played…
I decided to rank each
country in eight different categories.
The categories are all equally weighted to remove my biasness. The categories are:
- Location (Aesthetics) –
The natural and man made beauty of the country. NOT the country as a whole…but specifically the location
where I spent time. - Location (Fun) – What
random fun things were available to me in each country? Bonus points for being super unique to
the country. - Local People – Includes
contacts and other locals we met during the month. How fondly will I remember the people in each country? - Ministry – How much did I enjoy what I was “doing” each month?
- Personal Growth – How much
Spiritual growth came about due to the country (interestingly enough, the
countries with the worst rankings in this category were some of my favorite
months. I found those were the
months where I didn’t think about myself very much because I was having so much
fun pouring out). - Food – How did my taste buds handle the local delicacies?
- Desire to Return – How
likely am I to try and return to each place? - Warm and Fuzzies – Which
countries bring the biggest smile to my face based on my overall enjoyment of
them?
I ranked each country from
1 to 11 in every category (with 1 being my favorite and 11 my least
favorite). I then added up the
totals and the country with the lowest score was named the winner!
I’ll tell you what, this
was way more difficult than I anticipated. I loved lots of things
about each country, but someone had to come up last! Anyway, without
further ado…ONTO THE RANKINGS!
New Zealand
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 7 – I was at a kids camp, not too
dissimilar to from the U.S. There
was a stream and the ocean was a 20 minute walk, but I only enjoyed them twice.
LOCATION (Fun) : 4 – Like I said, a kids camp, so plenty to
do. We took a trip to Wellington
for some karaoke, also my birthday included go-karts, zip-line, and a roller
disco dance party…need I say more.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 3 – Kiwi accents are incredible and the people
are super friendly. Loved loved
loved all of our contacts. Special
shout out to Rob, Ruth, Gavin, and Sam!
MINISTRY : 7 – Kids camp was sweet, but the rest of the
time was spent cleaning toilets. I’m
not opposed to it…but it won’t get you high on this list.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 11 – If you read the above, I was having way to much fun. Plus it was month one…cut
me some slack.
FOOD : 4 – Lots of it. And dessert every night. Tea time all the time.
And TimTam slams
DESIRE TO RETURN : 2 – Would LOVE to go back here. People are great and tons of things in NZ
to explore that I didn’t get the chance to see.
WARM AND FUZZIES : 2 – I loved the people, I loved the place, I had
tons of fun. A top month for sure.
Australia
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 3 – I was in Byron Bay a
backpackers paradise. Sun, beach,
green hills, what’s not to love?
LOCATION (Fun) : 1 -Surfing, cliff jumping, and hang
gliding push Aussie to the top.
Add the fact that we basically lived at the beach…and you have yourself
a first place finish.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 10 – We didn’t have a contact and Byron attracts
some WEIRD people
MINISTRY : 6 – No contact meant each day was
different. Lots of fun asking God
what to do each day.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 4 – The beginnings of God unleashing some
serious freedom from performance in my life.
FOOD : 10 – Americanesque food…not cheap either.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 8 – No real desire to go back to Byron, would
love to check out Sydney.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 9 – Not a lot
stemming from the location. Any
good memories comes from the awesome relationships I built with the four other
teams there.
Philippines
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 10 – Outside of Manilla living next
to a slum. The worst pollution I’ve
ever experienced. It almost makes
me forget the waterfall and beach we visited.
LOCATION (Fun) : 5 – The trip to the waterfall included a
top WR moment, the beach day was great, plus movies, Chili’s, and dancing in
Manilla gave us some fun things to do.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 1 – I absolutely love Filipino people. Most warm, joyful, generous people I
met on the race. You need to
meet some Filipinos. Add that to
our contact being incredible…The Philippines get the nod.
MINISTRY : 1 – Worked with an orphanage, a local street
gang, and a prison. Did I mention
that I loved the Filipino people? My
heart aches for this place.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 10 – With three ministries I loved, plus the
entire squad hanging out all of the time, there wasn’t a lot of personal reflection going on.
FOOD : 7 – A lot of food…but not that enjoyable to eat
when you are cooking for 78 people.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 1 – If I don’t make it back I will be extremely
sad.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 1 – I LOVE THE
PHILIPPINES!
Cambodia
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 9 – Middle of nowhere, hot, dusty. The sunset over the river was one nice
thing…
LOCATION (Fun) : 6 – Getting to see Angkor Wat, one of the
8 manmade wonders of the world, single handily lifts Cambodia to six.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 8 – We worked with an incredible youth, and my
fav, a guy named Utry, but this is some tough competition.
MINISTRY : 8 – Working with the youth was lots of fun, but
it was a short month.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 5 – God taught me how to pray in Cambodia. Pretty awesome.
FOOD : 1 – First place for food goes to Cambodia! Our contacts mother cooked us every
meal over a fire. There wasn’t a
ton of variety but it was awesome!
The best – rice, marinated pork, pineapple, and French fries (?!) with
chili sauce of course! Oh and the MANGOS!
Words cannot describe how incredible they were. I might even choose a Cambodian mango
over chocolate…sounds almost blasphemous.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 10 – Cambodia is fine, but just not for me to go
back to.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 8 – Pretty average numbers for Cambodia
leaves me with average warm and fuzzies.
Still a great country…
Thailand
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 2 – The mountainous jungle of
Thailand. The best sunsets every single
night. You MEET God living in this
place.
LOCATION (Fun) : 2 – I rode on the head of an elephant and
played with tiger cubs…are you kidding me?
LOCAL PEOPLE : 6 – We pretty much only interacted with four
locals all month. But our
translator Big and our contact’s wife Pbang were so awesome they pulled
Thailand up to a six.
MINISTRY : 4 – Ministry was technically manual labor from
9-5. But God taught me the value
in investing in relationships, and how ministry doesn’t just mean sharing the
Gospel.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 2 – Lot’s of conversations with God over a
beautiful sunset, plus incredible men to process life. That’s a Danny Stinson formula for
growth right there.
FOOD : 5 – Started off mediocre, but Big picked it up
the last two weeks. Might have
been higher had we had his “A” game the whole month.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 5 – Such a beautiful place, plenty more areas to
explore, and I have some unexplainable attachment to Thailand.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 5 – So many warm and
fuzzies this year pushes Thailand down a bit.
Kenya
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 8 – Nothing special about where we
lived. Some day trips around
revealed some beautiful areas, but the village itself wouldn’t bring anybody back.
LOCATION (Fun) : 7 – A couple trips to the Indian Ocean
were fun, but that was about it.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 2 – Incredible people. I found my African family this month.
MINISTRY : 3 – God blessed me with the opportunity to lead
several people to Christ! What I
had been waiting for all year!
PERSONAL GROWTH : 3 – Learned so much from our contacts, as well
as God teaching me to live in His presence 24 hours a day.
FOOD : 6 – Much to my surprise I actually enjoyed my
first African eating experience.
Fresh fruit and lots of carbs!
DESIRE TO RETURN : 3 – I have to get back to see my family…
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 4 – I miss those
people so much and will continue to pray for them often.
Tanzania
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 5 – Surprisingly beautiful. Mountainous terrain with striking rock
bluffs. We visited a hotel on Lake
Victoria all the time that was pretty as well.
LOCATION (Fun) : 3 – Hotel Tilapia made for fun times, but
it was the Safari in the Serengeti that gives TZ a three.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 11 – Very few English speakers and a disjointed
ministry involving three different contacts. Difficult to develop deep relationships.
MINISTRY : 10 – Not the best translators makes life pretty
difficult when no one speaks a lick of English. Spiritual environment left you feeling uneasy.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 8 – Learned a lot about myself…unfortunately it
wasn’t all that pleasant.
FOOD : 2 – Africa? Number 2 in food?
Shocked me as well, but our contacts made us this chipati and egg dish
that was incredible!
DESIRE TO RETURN : 11 – I’m writing this two days after I scored
the countries and I would probably change this number if I did it again. But only because I would take someone
on a Safari and stay in one of the super cheap but super nice hotels here.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 11 – It’s weird, I
have some great memories in TZ, but have NO warm and fuzzies. See spiritual environment, plus gut
wrenching team change.
Uganda
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 4 – Uganda is beautiful. Few in the U.S. realize that.
LOCATION (Fun) : 11 – We were so far away from civilization
there was practically nothing to do.
A little hiking but that’s it.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 5 – Became boys with some of the orphans at the
secondary (high) school we were working with. Huge smiles and lots of fun. Plus our contacts poured out love all over us.
MINISTRY : 5 – Those boys made this month for me. They hunger for growth and to serve God
with their lives.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 9 – Mildly in a haze after changing teams, most
of my growth was learning to invest and love my new team.
FOOD : 8 – Still had chipati but nothing else too
special. I think we ran out of
chili sauce often as well.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 4 – I’m sponsoring one of the boys from the
school now, and I have to go back and see him.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 7 – I think being in
that funk my first month with the new team hurt this one, but still a solid
showing.
Romania
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 6 – Targu Mures has some beautiful
history and the village where we lived had some spectacular views.
LOCATION (Fun) : 8 – Saw Dracula’s Castle (a disappointment), a pretty cool citadel, and the city of Brasov. But nothing to crazy.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 7 – I can’t believe I’m putting Romania at
seven. We hung out with some
AWESOME youth in our village, the Gypsies were fun, and I met cool people in the
city. This is probably a mistake.
MINISTRY : 9 – Made up my own ministries this month and
loved it. What was planned…a bit
less excitement for the teams.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 1 – It really had nothing to do with the
country, but God revolutionized how I live my life this month. Studying how to love others might be
worth some of your time…
FOOD : 3 – Mexican nights, cookie dough non-stop, plus we got to enjoy some authentic Hungarian dishes (Yes Hungarian dishes in Romania)…all I can say is
WOW.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 9 – It’s great, but I probably won’t be making
it back anytime soon.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 6 – Namely the
people, specifically the youth, will make me always remember this place
fondly. We miss you Bogi, Bolaz,
Nandy, Alpar, and Tamas!
Croatia
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 1 – Absolutely stunning. Right on the Adriatic Sea, crystal
clear water, mountains…the city was grew from a 3rd century palace…gorgeous.
LOCATION (Fun) : 9 – Beautiful to look at but not much
else. We were there in the
beginning of their winter, so the beaches didn’t bring much value.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 9 – Our contacts were sweet, and we met an amazing English woman named Allison, but the Croatians seemed rather
unimpressed with us.
MINISTRY : 11 – We worked at a cafe which is cool, but
there just weren’t a lot of people to talk to. The score reflects more of my expectations going in. I thought I was going to get to share
the Gospel to interested people all the time. Didn’t quite work out that way.
PERSONAL GROWTH : 7 – Listened to God the whole month. I sat and was quiet, and I
listened. I would encourage
everyone to try it for a few weeks.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 7 – I would come back for vacation or perhaps a
honeymoon, but that’s probably about it.
FOOD : 11 – Some unexpected expenditures left us on an
even tighter budget. Cornflakes,
egg salad sandwiches, and vegetarian pasta (or soup)….everyday. Yumm..
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 10 – Showed me that
beautiful locations really don’t mean much to me. It’s all about relationships.
Ukraine
LOCATION (Aesthetics) : 11 – Really not much to see. That ‘ole Soviet architecture leaves
quite a bit to be desired.
LOCATION (Fun) : 10 – Not only was there not much to see in
Kiev, there was also nothing to do except walk around the city…
MINISTRY : 2 – Worked with a college ministry hanging out
with English students. I was
completely in my element. Making
friends and sharing the Gospel…ahhh what a great month.
LOCAL PEOPLE : 3 – Probably my hardest goodbye. We made such
great friends with those students, and the staff we worked with were
amazing. Miss you guys, much love
Caleb, Pete, Dashula, T-bone, Koko, Inna, Nastya, and Karo!
PERSONAL GROWTH : 6 – A ton of what I learned in Romania became
experientially true this month.
FOOD : 9 – Back to back months of super tight budgets
drops Ukraine low. But the
authentic borscht and vereniki keeps it from the cellar.
DESIRE TO RETURN : 6 – Sure I’d love to go back and see everyone,
but I don’t know how likely that is.
WARM
AND FUZZIES : 3 – Friendships will
always make me remember Ukraine fondly.
Well, that and Ukraine is where I began dating my girlfriend…boo yeah! (don’t worry all you current and future racers, it was after the race was complete : )
her name is Jesse Walsh ; )
And
the winner is…
Thailand!
Thailand was the most
consistent of all the months, the only country without a score over 6. The rest of the rankings went as
such…
1 – Thailand: 32
2 (tie)- Philippines and
Kenya: 36
4 – New Zealand: 40
5 (tie) – Romania and
Ukaine: 50
7 – Uganda: 53
8 (tie)- Australia and
Cambodia: 54
10 – Tanzania: 61
11 – Croatia: 65
So there you have it,
Danny Stinson’s World Race in a wrap.
Hope you enjoyed this trip with me as much as I did!
