1.) What food have you tried that you enjoyed? Have you eaten weird things?
– NOMS: Butter chicken and potato curry in India, Vietnamese pho, some kind of Thai soup our host made us, doner in Albania, gyros in Greece, some kind of spicy sausage sandwich thing in Kosova
– NOT SO NOMS: Cambodian food in general is pretty no bueno in my book. Bugs are a staple, and tarantulas, insects, and snakes are common street food. But we had a couple of meals that were amazing, and our host gave me the recipe for this pepper sauce that is BOMB! Also, durian is a no go. Hard pass. HARD PASS. This fruit stinks up whole city blocks, and is banned on most public transportation.
2.) What country/town/area would you like to return to in the future for ministry or just to visit?
– I would love to go back to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam to the coffeeshop we worked at, and also to explore more of Vietnam in general. I also want to see the rest of the Balkans region of Europe, but I would especially love to return to Prishtina, Kosovo. We had a layover in Rome and got to explore for a few hours, so I would love to go back and see more of the city/country.
3.) Where do you see the Lord has been most at work in you, the team, and the people in the countries around you?
– I think the Lord has been most at work in my freedom journey. He has continuously released deeper freedom in places in my life that I didn’t know could go deeper. With deeper freedom has come boldness, confidence, assurance in my identity, etc. The list goes on and on.
– As far as my current team goes, the Lord has taught us how to fight well for each other, our ministry, our hosts, etc. He has shown us how to choose each other and to love well, even when that’s the last thing our flesh wants to do.
– The Lord has worked in the people of the countries we’ve been to in ways I cannot even begin to fully describe. I’ve seen him bring joy to the hearts of students in Thailand, healing to the life of a bartender he had me meet in Albania, comfort to refugee families in Greece, and redemption to the people and church of Kosova.
4.) What has been the hardest thing about being on the field?
– The hardest thing about being on the field for me is probably a tie between missing out on the lives and big events of the people I love back home, and pressing into the Lord in times when all I want to do is escape World Race life for awhile.
5.) What is the most useful skill you had before the race, and what is the most useful skill you have now? Or is it still the same?
– I would say the most useful skill I had before the race was my ability to go with the flow, and the most useful skill I’ve learned on the race is adaptability with a kind heart instead of annoyance or apprehension.
(Though I’ve picked up some other notable skills along the way, inculding but not limited to: lice picking, cooking for teams of picky eaters with limited groceries, heat sources, and cooking vessels, conflict resolution, sarcasm that defies language barriers, international sign gesturing (ISG for short), making any space into a suitable living area for six, showering in five minutes or less, using a squatty potty and not splashing my shoes, preaching without notice, forming new friendships monthly, neatly packing my life into a backpack each month, etc.)
6.) What things from the race (habits, skills, food, anything really) will you make a point to remain part of your life when you get home?
– I’ve picked up a recipe in each country so far and I plan on making those recipes a regular part of my diet at home. Waking up and spending the first fifteen minutes of each day in silence with the Lord. Plus, many of the skills listed above.
7.) Do you have any travel day horror stories?
– In Nepal we were told we would be going to the jungle for a week. We were all excited as we loaded the bus in anticipation of the detail-less week we had ahead. We traveled 14 hours there and 20 hours back with roadside field stops for potty breaks, sketchy “restaurants” so understaffed we had to go to the kitchen to make our own momos, and bumps in the road so constant and large we had a hard time staying in our seats. When we got back, we googled the distance we traveled and discovered that to go that far traveling an average speed in America would have taken FOUR HOURS! But it was an adventure with my beloved S squad, nonetheless.
8.) How do you feel about leaving Europe to go to Africa and then returning to the states?
– I feel like it will be a whirlwind. I’ll be in southern Africa in about a week and back in the states in 92 days. It blows my mind! But, I think this question is more referring to the extreme cultural changes. I’m not going to lie, I’m nervous about Africa. I know it will be a huge culture shock, and I don’t feel super prepared for that, but I know that if I press into my community and the Lord, I will be just fine. I adapted going from America to Asia, and Asia to Europe, so I think the lessons I learned in those times will come in handy in these next transitions as well.
9.) What is the best clothing item you brought with you?
– DRI-FITS BABY!! I fell in love with dri-fit when I worked at Dick’s Sporting Goods before the race. I used to think that material was just overrated, but now I’m a believer. It’s light to pack and light to wear in the eternal summer in which we live.
10.) What do you most want us to know about how to help you transition home well?
– Be patient. There will be some days when I want to do all the things and spill my guts about the endless Jesus adventures of this year, and there will be other days when I need solitude to process with the Lord. Seek me out and help me figure out where I fit into your life after being gone for so long. There may be times where I break down in tears for seemingly no reason, just be there. Don’t ask me “How was your trip?” This is more than a trip, this is my life, and I will never be able to sum up this year in a nice little package with a perfect bow. As I share about my life, please, please share about yours. Help me understand what happened in your life this year too. I want to know, and I hate missing so much. Step back in and be my people to lean on and press into where my team and squad had been those people during the race. Basically, just be a partner in this whole crazy thing, and let’s figure this out together. I need that. I need you.
I hope this answered your questions well! If you have more, please feel free to comment or message me.
