The World Race Was…

So
many times since I’ve been back, I’ve been asked, “How was your
year?” Well, it’s really difficult to sum up an entire year in one
answer, but these are a few words to describe what the World Race was
for me…

Amazing

Challenging

Incredible

Life-changing

Difficult

Fun

Freeing

Absolutely
worth it.

Also,
here are a few numbers to give you an idea of what our year on the
race looked like:

(Thanks
to my wonderful friend Katie who compiled most of these numbers!)

321
Days

7
languages

39
Passport Stamps

12
countries visited

5000+
Photos

22
different modes of transportation-including cars,

buses,
planes, tuk tuks, trains,

boats,
motorcycles, and elephants

18
Flights

84
hours in the air (3.5 days)

169
hours on a bus (1 week, 4 hours)

450+
meals that included rice

12
currencies

49
squadmates

5
different teams; 17 different teammates

1
safari

69
beds

4
continents

8
people in one taxi

140
New Facebook Friends

2
parasites

11
months

More
than 44,000 miles

Also,
in many of the conversations I’ve had since I’ve been back, I
have had several questions that come up quite frequently. So I
thought I would go ahead and answer some of those here, since most
people want to know these things, and I haven’t had the chance to see
and talk to all of you personally yet.

Q:
What was your favorite country? And why?

A:
That question is impossible for me to answer with one country–sorry!
I can’t decide on just one. So I’ll go with my top three,
which are the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Cambodia. I fell in
love with each of these countries mostly because of the people we
spent time with in each place. Our contacts, the ministries, the
people we worked with, the children–I just loved it all. And I
know that God was working everywhere we went, but in those three
countries specifically, I could tell story after story of the ways
God moved, which just made our time there so meaningful. And it
doesn’t hurt that each of these places are beautiful and have
incredible beaches:)

The
Dominican Republic

Nicaragua

Q:
Was it warm everywhere you went?

A:
Yes, it was. I feel like I lived in a year of summer. The coolest
places were actually Kenya and Ecuador, and by cool I mean that we
had to wear jeans and jackets sometimes. Other than that, pretty
much everywhere we went was hot–sometimes unbearably hot. And
humid. With the sun blasting down on your face. And I loved every
minute of it:)

Q:
Did you eat anything weird?

A:
Yes, we did. It’s pretty much a given that if you go to a different
country or culture that you’re going to eat things that you’re not
used to eating. Sometimes that turns out great, and you find new
things that you like. Other times, it’s not so great. For example,
in South America, guinea pig is a common food, sort of like chicken
for us. So while we were in Peru, we got treated to a traditional
Peruvian meal, which included guinea pig–bones, teeth, claws, and
all. And if you’re wondering, it tasted kinda like chicken, just a
little greasier and with a few pieces of fur still on it:)

I’m trying
to prepare myself to do it.

Don’t
let the seemingly small size deceive you–a cricket is a cricket.

Q:
Did you ever get sick?

A:
Unfortunately, yes. Quite a few people on our squad got sick
throughout the year with things like malaria, parasites, and worms,
but thankfully none of it was too serious. I was really sick with
some type of parasite in Ecuador, and then I got a parasite and
dysentery in Kenya, from a trip down the Nile in Uganda, which lasted
until I got to Tanzania. If you ever have a chance to white water
raft down the Nile, absolutely do it! Just try to not to swallow too
much of the river–the results are not good:)

Q:
How did you communicate in all these different countries?

A:
We had translators with us pretty much anytime we were doing
ministry. However, on off days, travel days, or just when we were on
our own, it was surprising how well we were able to communicate
without translators. Hand motions and body language can communicate
a lot. And actually everywhere we went, people want to learn
English, so we could usually find someone who spoke English who could
help us out.

Q:
Where did you live in each of the countries?

A:
Each country was different, but in most places, we stayed in a home
with a family. There are so many hospitable people around the world
who were gracious enough and kind enough to open up their homes to us
and give up their beds and rooms for a month. Such a blessing!
Other places we stayed were children’s homes, churches, hostels, and
our tents:)

Our
house in Ecuador

My
bed in Cambodia

Tent
City in Uganda:)

A:
I will be answering that question in an upcoming blog, so be on the
lookout! It’s pretty exciting…