Many thanks to those of you who submitted questions and many more thanks to those of you who have supported me during this journey!
How did you manage emotionally being gone for 11 months?
I certainly had a lot of ups and downs as anyone does over an 11-month period whether they’re away from home or not. I have lived away from my family for almost 5 years now so I was already used to not seeing them most of the year. The hardest part of it was not seeing them during Christmas because that’s usually the one time during the year I would be with my family. Despite that, God made Christmas day one of the most special days on the Race. We were in Cambodia which is a Buddhist nation that really doesn’t celebrate Christmas and even our Swiss host wasn’t a huge fan of the Holidays. We weren’t expecting much. During the month, our paths crossed with a French-Canadian missionary who invited my team over to her apartment for Christmas Eve and day. She baked us bread, we had a barbecue and she gave us goodie bags. It was a little taste of home away from home. That’s just one example of the many ways that the Lord has blessed me throughout the Race with a little taste of something I’d been missing. Anytime I got a little homesick, God always threw a little gift my way to show His love for me. It wasn’t easy but remembering that I was doing it with someone and because of someone who loves me a whole lot made it more than worth it.
How did your perspective change from day 1 until the end of the Race regarding what is important in life and what is not as important as maybe you thought it once was?
The main thing that changed for me was my perspective on working. For most of my life, I have struggled with thinking that getting things done and getting them done perfectly in the eyes of all men was the most important thing. Turns out that God’s expectations of me and people’s expectations of me are vastly different. Imagine that. The Race has helped me realize that it’s not about what I’m doing or how well I’m doing it. It’s all about who I’m doing it with and where my heart is. Sometimes the right thing in the eyes of humans is not the right thing in the eyes of the Divine. People’s expectations matter a lot less to me now. It’s impossible anyways. Sometimes even different people can’t agree on what they expect of you! When we work, we work not for God but with God and if that’s our heart, we can’t go wrong. God doesn’t need us to do anything for Him but He wants us to do things with Him. All He expects is that our hearts are willing and full of love, nothing more, nothing less. When we rest in that truth, it’s almost like we’re not even working at all because He’s calling the shots and we’re all along for the ride. I cut my hair at the beginning of month 7 in Thailand to signify that I was letting go of the weight other’s expectations of me. Since I started doing everything with God, everything seems to go so much smoother. It’s not that my circumstances or what I’m doing with my life has changed all it took was a little perspective. So, if you’re cleaning toilets, fighting fires, balancing checkbooks or performing CPR, do it with God. Let Him guide your steps and watch everyone else’s opinions of how you’re doing it fly far, far away.
How do you think God will use these experiences for His Glory in your future steps?
How can I count the ways! The biggest way I see God using my experiences this past year is in my classroom. I’m going to start teaching 4th grade in Fall and I am so excited to incorporate my travels into my lesson plans. I am also excited to put into practice all that I have learned about community, communication and culture as I interact with my co-workers, students and students’ parents in this new environment. The Race has taught me how to adapt well to new environments and I know that, in school, things can change in an instant so I feel a lot more prepared to handle those unexpected moments as well. I have met so many people around the world that I’m sure that will open so many doors for me as I start my own organization in the future too.
What was the toughest area for God to grow you in?
Patience. My goodness, I was under the impression that I was a fairly patient person but then I went on the Race. I discovered quickly that I was going to have to learn a whole new level of patience if I was going to continue doing this. I’ve done missions before and I’ve lived in South Florida for long enough that I’m used to people showing up relatively late. It doesn’t bother me all that much until I’m still sitting and twiddling my thumbs hours later. Month 1 in Cote D’ivoire God had to break my pride and remind me that my time is not actually my time, it’s His. That was tough. I did not like that but I am a much more pleasant human because of it. Once I finally got past the pouting like a 3-year-old stage, I started to see the opportunity in waiting. Maybe God wanted me to have a deep conversation with a teammate or maybe God wanted someone new to cross my path who I would never have met if I hadn’t been waiting a little longer. Who knows? I can’t see the big picture, I only see my tiny little corner of it. He knows. He knows that waiting a couple extra hours can make a world of a difference that I’ll never see until I enter His Kingdom.
During the Race, did you have a sense fulfillment or do you still feel there is something more to be done?
Well, I think there will always be more to be done as long as there are humans walking this earth. I can’t let myself be fully satisfied until the day I die. I refuse to be complacent with anything that is not fully focused on the Kingdom of God. Because of what the Bible says, I know that there will be things that aren’t Kingdom-focused in this world until the day Jesus comes to create a New Heaven and a New Earth. Thus, I will continue to ask the Lord to guide me in making His name known wherever I am and in whatever I do.
How can your family help you with the transition?
Family and friends, no matter what you do, do NOT put me on a pedestal by saying things like: “I wish I could do things like that” or “Man, that’s awesome! I wish I had that kind of faith.” Any comment that starts with the words “I wish I…” are a no go because, guess what, YOU CAN. I don’t do the things I do because I have more faith than anyone else, in fact, I struggle just as much as the next guy. The only difference is that God had to do something unique in my life to teach me those lessons because I’m incredibly stubborn. I bet you also learned some AMAZING things during your year too and the cool thing is that you didn’t have to pack up and move around the world to learn them. You could be called overseas later to learn something else but maybe you don’t need that because you allow yourself to be shaped by God right where you are. Either way you are just as capable as I am if you’re doing it with the Lord. I want to hear all about your year too so PLEASE tell me and don’t feel like you need to ask me all these questions and listen to me all the time just because I traveled more than you did. I want to have a conversation with you, not an interrogation. You guys are awesome!
