As I’ve recently just hit the halfway mark of being on the Race [the weekend of January 14th], I decided to change things up a little for this blog post. I’ve asked you guys to ask any questions you’ve had about my first five and a half months on the field. You asked the questions and here are the answers! 🙂
What food have you disliked the most and where was it from? –Karen Pfeiffer
Being the picky eater that I am, I have surprisingly enjoyed almost all of the food that we have been given so far. The first day we were in Ghana, we were trying to figure things out so we were given lunch at the school. They made us rice and tuna but the tuna looked like a piece of rawhide to me. I tried to take a bite to be respectful but the piece I cut off to eat was just a huge thing of fat that reminded me of a picture I’ve seen to show the difference between fat and muscle in your body.
Which country has been your favorite so far and why? –Emily Harting
It’s hard to say which is my favorite but it would have to be between Cambodia and Nepal. I loved Nepal because of the actual country. We were at the foothills of the Himalayas all month and got to see the sun rise and set over the mountains everyday. It was there that I realized that it’s through nature that God speaks the most to me. I loved Cambodia because of the ministry. We worked with and lived at Lighthouse, which is an organization that sponsors students every school year that otherwise don’t have the opportunity to have an education because they live in villages. The students that we lived with became little brothers and sisters to me and every time that I have talked to them since leaving, I tear up because they hold a special place in my heart.
What do tarantulas taste like? –Emily Harting
Well, first of all, they were DELICIOUS! They were deep fried so they were crunchy. The legs tasted like Cheetos without the cheese if you can imagine that. The head and body… they were also crunchy but also shot a squirt a shot of liquid in your mouth that tasted like salty water.
What was your craziest sleeping situation if you’ve had one? –Emily Harting
For the first half of the race, we have been blessed with our sleeping arrangements! For months 1, 2, half of 4, and 6, we have been able to sleep on beds. Months 3 and 5, we’ve used our sleeping pads. If I had to choose the craziest sleeping situation it would have to be on our travel day from India to Cambodia. We had a red eye flight to our layover in Malaysia and so when we arrived at 7am, we were all exhausted. We pulled out our sleeping bags and pads and had to find quiet areas, like underneath the escalator, to be able to sleep for a few hours.
Have you made contacts in the countries you’ve been to that you can reach out to after you’ve left that country? –Emily Harting
Yes! Several people from each country that we’ve been to so far have facebook so I have quite a number of new facebook friends! I’ve been able to keep in contact and see what’s happening after we left through there a lot. The pastors in almost every country have asked for our emails so we can keep in touch that way. To say that I’m grateful for technology in this case would be an understatement.
Have you had a moment where you were like ‘Aha! This is why God called me to this?’ –Heather Yancy
I have not had this moment but I have had plenty of moments where I just sit back and thank God for calling me here to not only be his light to the people in these countries, but also to be able to grow into a deeper relationship with him. Without as many distractions as the states have and having nothing but time and space, the Lord has brought me to a point in our relationship where we have never been before. This time has also allowed me to step back and set up norms and follow through with them so that when I return home and back to normalcy in life, I won’t stray from Him.
Would you do it again? –Pam Chowan
Absolutely! There are definitely some things I would do differently, but overall, I would do the Race again in a heartbeat.
What would you most like us to know about your journey so far? –Cathy Meyer
Well I’m not really sure how to correctly answer this question but I’ll try my best! If I could say one thing is that what I’m doing on the Race does not make me some sort of super Christian or anything. I have received many comments from people since I’ve started this journey like “Oh I wish I could do what you’re doing” or “You are an incredible person for what you’re doing!” Does it really though because I’m just listening to God’s call for my life? It’s as simple as this. The Lord called us all to go therefore we can all be doing what I’m doing. Not necessarily the traveling the world part but by simply being a light to those we meet. One of the most impactful things that has happened to me during my journey has been being able to meet and get to know people who give Jesus their all, no matter what. They don’t care what the government says or that simply saying the word Jesus could cost them their life. They don’t care how much money they have coming in everyday or if it’s going to be enough to put food on the table. They give it all to Him because they know He is worth it all.
So I guess I just want to challenge everyone, including myself for when I come home, to step up and step into a life
What is the biggest reward and biggest challenge you’ve faced? –Theresa Bidleman
Reward: I’ve always had a hard time knowing who I am and what I want to actually do with my life. I hated talking about myself because I knew these questions were going to come up and I never knew what to say. Over the course of the last several months on the race, the Lord has been revealing to me who I am in Him. While it is an ongoing process, I know myself more than I have before. I have also had time to look at my past and see the mistakes I made, realizing what I do and don’t want for my future. So I guess you could say that the biggest reward I’ve received so far has been loving and accepting the new Desiree.
Challenge: The biggest challenge, but at the same time blessing too, has been living in community. Living with my parents for the past 24 years has meant that I have not lived with new people who share different views and have different backgrounds than I do. Being surrounded by these people now means that there’s no escaping them when life gets tough and ugly. Living in community has pushed me to my limits at times, but it has also pushed me to work through things and forced me to go to the Lord first.
What has been the funniest thing that has happened so far? –Kathy Lauinger
I lost my passport again…. Just kidding! Too soon? Haha. There have been countless times where I’ve cried from laughing so hard these past 6 months so it’s hard to chose just one. In Ghana, we got very close to our host family. They would have us over almost every night for dinner and then we would just talk and goof around for the rest of the night. Osofo [our host pastor/dad] was a total goofball. We would do something funny and then ask him to do the same thing. Without fail, he always drew the attention away from him by running out of the room, telling one of his kids to do it, or simply just look at me and say, “Desire…” [which is my new nickname]. One time, he tried to convince us that there are drumming spiders running around his house. He then proceeded to give us a demonstration of what a drumming spider sounds like. That man never failed to make us laugh.
What experience changed you the most? How and why? –Sarah Maynard
I think this past month in Myanmar has changed me the most so far. Funny how that works out as this country wasn’t even on our original route and we weren’t supposed to be here. Before the race, I dreaded being the one to step up and speak in front of people. I always thought, “What if I bore them? What if I mess up? What if I realize I have no idea what I’m talking about?” This month has stretched me so much. We have had the opportunity to lead morning devotionals with the bible students, lead evening devotionals with the orphanage kids, and preach at both the morning and evening Sunday services. This absolutely freaked me out at first but there I found myself volunteering to be the first to step up. During one of my sermons, I was talking about Jeremiah complaining to God that he was too young and didn’t know how to speak. It was then, when I was standing up in front of the church that I realized I was once like Jeremiah. But the Lord tells me not to be afraid for he is always with me and that his words are in my mouth. This month has really allowed me to step out of my comfort zone more than I have before and really let Him shine through me.
