This is a very booming and hard thing to write about because the Lord used the Race to change my life in so many ways— it is very difficult to describe all of those things into one blog post (and I don’t think it would ever be possible to fully describe it to it’s entirety) but I will try to give you a little taste of how it has changed me. I spent some time reflecting on how the Lord has shaped me in each month starting from month 1 and all the way until now, month 9. It is crazy that I am here right now typing these words because 9 months ago I thought this time would never come to an end. But the Lord has a funny way of allowing time to fly faster than we could ever imagine. And flown has the time I just can’t thank God enough for all the He has done in these last 9 months, and I hope this gives you a little glimpse of the things that he has changed in my life…
Month 1 – Nsoko, Swaziland: Ripping off the Bandaid
This month was a wack in the face. The transition from America into life on the Race was a difficult one. Learning all the rules of AIM, trying to adjust in a foreign country, living with the same 45 people while also trying to get to know them at the same time, figuring out what rest looked like, seeking the Lord through it all. A lot was going on. We went from having access to all things into access to not much at all! This month the Lord prepared my heart for the next 9 months that were ahead of me. I was ripped away from my comforts and learned how to fully rely on the Lord in all things. I like to call this month “Ripping off the bandaid.” The ripping was needed in order for my healing, it was unexpected pain but necessary for growth. This month the Lord increased my trust in Him, and opened my eyes to the world in a different way. My love for Swaziland and the people increased day by day, and I found a home in a place that was miles and miles away from what I had previously known as home. He showed me that my home was no longer a physical house, but was with the people I surrounded myself with.
Month 2- Nsoko, Swaziland: The Weeding
This month came along with a lot of new challenges and realizations. We had our first debrief in South Africa, and shortly after that I lost my phone. On top of not being able to communicate easily with people back home, my only means of communication was taken away. Looking back, this played a huge role in allowing me to stay present and focused on where the Lord had me. I spent a lot of my time seeking the Lord, and growing my relationship with Him rather than resorting to my phone. My desire for God’s word grew immensely this month, I read through the beginning of the Old Testament and the Lord brought it to life for me. The Lord opened my eyes to a lot of the unhealthy things I was carrying and a lot of the lies I believed and He transformed my view and outlook on those things. A lot of weeding out the old and planting in new. This month was a month of renewal in my walk with the Lord, and the Lord filled me in His truth and love.
Month 3- Nsoko, Swaziland: The Angels Sing
The people of Nsoko became true family. At this point in Swaziland, my relationships with the people there were very close knit. I found comfort in the people I saw each and everyday. I knew peoples stories, their families, their struggles, and their joys. Everyday was very similar to the other in the sense of ministry, but with each day came so many different joys and adventures. The friends I had created in that village had become family so close to my heart. We were there for one another through the hard and the good. One of my favorite memories was sitting in on our Carepoints choir practice in the afternoons. I loved closing my eyes and just listening to their beautiful voices bounce off the the concrete walls of the building. I imagined that was similar to what the angels voices sound like in heaven. The Lord grew me in intimacy with those around me, and allowed me to pour into those people in ways that I hadn’t before. The Lord used the locals to speak into my life and teach me what genuine joy looked like; joy that comes completely from the Lord. I was filled with love and joy from all of those around me.
Month 4- Nsoko, Swaziland -> Kathmandu, Nepal : Culture Shock
Nepal was a 360 turn from Swaziland. The culture, pace of life, ministry, language, religion, people, food, smells, weather was completely opposite to what we experienced in the first 3 months of the race. Our daily life was filled with activities and we were constantly on the move. For the first two weeks in Nepal, I allowed the busyness to overcome my relationship with the Lord. The distractions and fast-paced life style got the best of me. The Lord convicted me of that the second week of Nepal; my relationship with Him should not change if I am in a busy city or a secluded village. He taught me about the importance of self discipline and how putting Him first each day allows me to live out of an overflow of His love. The Lord increased my appreciation for freedom of religion. As I experienced house church and watched people light up at the few times they were able to worship in community, my eyes were opened to the reality that a lot of people around the world face; not being able to openly practice their religion freely. There was a lot of spiritual heaviness in Nepal because of the idol worship everywhere we walked, but the Lord filled me with righteous anger and it spurred me on to proclaim Jesus’ name even more!
Month 4- Chitwan, Nepal -> Manipur, India : YOU THOUGHT
Leaving from Nepal and going into India, I expected similar spiritual heaviness; thinking that we would be surrounded by majority Hindu and Buddhist religion. The Lord was comical in the way of completely stripping every expectation that I had. When we figured out the week before that we would be living in a 100% evangelized Christian village in Northeast India, our squad was taken for a turn of events. I was shown the importance of open hands and being open for change at any time! Quickly upon arrival I saw how the Lord had purposefully placed us in that part of India for a reason. It was a place of renewal; renewal that I didn’t realize our squad needed. In India we grew a second family. They welcomed us into their church and we were encouraged by the persistence and zeal each person had for Christ. We went from living as the minority to living as the majority; religion-wise. Everywhere we went the name of Jesus was being praised. In the first month of India I learned the importance of spreading Jesus’ name to every tribe and tongue. The village we lived in 100 years ago was a village full of head hunters who denied the name of Jesus. The gospel was brought to that village by a 20 year old missionary and ever since then the people of Manipur began to change their ways and devote their lives to Christ. There was a revival in that village. It was amazing getting to live with the second generation Christian’s of that village and hear their stories and passion for the Lord. It opened my eyes to God’s power and how nothing is too big or impossible for Him to achieve.
Month 5- Manipur, India: Sacrificial Love
This month consisted of deep rooted relationships and family. People who fight for each other and love one another no matter the circumstance. One of the things I will never forget about the people of Manipur is their constant sacrificial love. They would go out of their way to make you feel loved and cherished. In the village we lived in, every time a person passed away, no matter the time of day, everyone would stop what they were doing and begin mourning for the life that was lost. It didn’t matter if it was in the middle of the night or the middle of a work day; when you heard the drum sound, that was that. We witnessed a number of deaths as we lived in India. Mostly because on the other side of the fence where we lived was a graveyard. We watched as they came together as the church and loved one another even through the hard times.
They loved to make you feel welcome. Anytime you visited someone’s house they would always offer milk tea and some type of biscuit, no question. If you were sitting on the floor they wouldn’t allow it. If you were cold they would lend you their jacket off their back. They wanted to truly know you, and love you. Simple things, but things that were instilled in their culture. Things that were second nature to them. The Lord opened my eyes to the beauty of the way they loved. He taught me the importance of living out love in this way; putting others before yourself in all things.
Month 6- Manipur, India -> Antigua, Guatemala: Dress Alteration
India, dude. Hurt so bad to say goodbye! Part of my heart was left in that village in Manipur, India. As we drove away I waved as we passed homes, stores, restaurants, and schools I had seen everyday. People whom I had gotten the privilege to know; people who had become my family. Each and every person touched my heart in a personal way. Going into Guatemala I was excited for all that the Lord had in store for us there. But it also took me a while to mourn saying goodbye to people that had grown so dear to my heart. In this way, the transition into Guatemala was difficult for me. The Lord brought a lot of comfort to me in this season of transition. He opened my eyes to just how close He is in each and every moment, and how He is always present in the happy and sad moments of our lives. My dependence on the Lord grew immensely; having to rely solely on Him for comfort and encouragement. I titled this month “Dress alteration” because the Lord had to alter things inside of me in order to embrace new things that were in store. I had to alter things within me in order to make my dress more functioning and fashionable and open to new things. The Lord allowed for me to open my heart back again to the beautiful people of Parramos.
Month 7- Parramos, Guatemala: Small World
The transition into Parramos from Antigua went smoothly and I was able to get into a solid routine and adjust fairly quickly. The Lord renewed a lot of excitement for ministry and all of the things He had in store for the next 2 and a half months. My team and I grew in sisterhood in this month; we were now living together in the same room for the first time on the race and we were able to grow closer to one another in ways that real sisters do. It was amazing watching the Lord connect our team to the people of Parramos as well. We began feeling more apart of the community in Parramos, and everywhere we went we saw familiar faces and people we had invested time into. The Lord challenged me in ways I never imagined; I taught English to Spanish-speaking students, grew in my awareness of God’s voice and what He wanted to share to others through me, visited homes throughout the community and got the opportunity to just LOVE people like Jesus did. My heart grew (yet again) for another place and people another culture and language. I’d like to call this month “Small world” because I experienced a small town for the first time in my life. I got to experience the joy of knowing the stories of the majority of people I ran into everyday, and that was something so special and new for me. It allowed me to invest and get to pour into people by actually knowing them!
Month 8- Parramos, Guatemala: Glass Half Full
This month came along with a lot of challenges. I found myself growing tired of the same ministry each week and predictable routine of life at the base. It was all the more challenging for me this month to live in community than it was the entirety of the Race. The Lord taught me a lot of patience in this month— and to continue to love and pour out even when I didn’t necessarily see Him moving in big and miraculous ways. He taught me to trust in Him even if I wasn’t seeing the fruit immediately before my eyes. The Lord increased my desire to learn foreign language. I had to decide to invest in understanding Spanish otherwise it made it very difficult to connect to those around me. He refreshed my memory of Spanish from classes I had taken years ago and I was able to communicate in ways I never thought possible. Although this month had it’s difficulties, the Lord continued to teach me and remind me of His truth through it all. This month is called “Glass Half Full” because I had to choose to see things through God’s positivity and truth. I had a decision to make: I could check out and give up or lean in and invest. And through leaning in and investing the Lord bore so much fruit from seeing the glass half full instead of half empty.
Month 9- Parramos, Guatemala: Lookie here!!!
This month flew by faster than any other. Each week would pass by quicker than the next, but yet the days would go by slowly. The pressure of future plans began to linger more heavily on me this month. It was easy to become impatient with God because all I wanted was to know what the next step was, and it was about time to start thinking about it more seriously. The Lord really taught me about trusting Him even when I can’t see. Even though I didn’t know what came next after the Race, it was something I needed to surrender to the Lord and loosen my tight grip on. He reminded me that He has so much in store for next season all I have to do is continue to trust Him and He will reveal it in His timing. The idea of home started creeping into more conversations and thoughts. It became hard for me to stay present where I was when plans were being made for summer and applications were being placed for fall. Through this the Lord reminded me of my commitment I had made 8 months prior, I did not commit to only 8 months, I committed to 9. Despite all that was tempting me to look further than where I was, the Lord allowed me to stay present where He had me; Parramos, Guatemala not America. One of the things I loved about this month was watching the intentional pursuit I had given towards individuals in the community bearing fruit. The Lord blessed me with growing close to a man named Gilberto in the elderly home I went to every Monday and a young girl named Jencie who I bought tostadas from every day. I was able to grow close to these individuals more than I ever thought, and the Lord blessed those relationships with depth that was solely from Him.
