Coming back to Africa, I had a lot of reservations. I studied abroad for 4 months in Ghana my sophomore year of college and fell in love with Africa. Their culture, people, and view on life was contagious and the second I left, I wanted to go back. I had been holding onto Africa for dear life throughout the race. When things got hard, I would think about going back to Africa, and whatever I was dealing with at the time wasn’t so bad. I found myself building up Africa so much. When our route changed from Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda to Zambia and Malawi, I was disappointed. That meant half a year in Asia- the region I most dreaded going to for no particular reason. So when Africa finally came, I began to talk it down in my head, telling myself it would never be better than my experience in Ghana. My mom gave me the advice of going into it with an open mind, but knowing that it wouldn’t be the same as my abroad experience. Thank God she did, because I was able to come into Zambia with a realistic expectation of it.
My time studying abroad in college was the biggest adventure I have ever had with myself. Bigger than my whole race. And I think what it comes down to is what I was trying to find. I studied abroad indirectly to find myself. To find who I wanted to be, who I wanted to become. And I found that. I found the true me. I went on the race not to find me again, but to find God. And sure enough, I found that too. Yes, studying abroad was the biggest adventure with myself, but the race was the biggest adventure I’ve had with God. So when I catch myself comparing experiences with Ghana and the race, I have to remind myself how much I needed both to become who I am today.
Our ministry in Zambia was pretty interesting and different than other months. We were paired with a church and pastor for the month to do ministry alongside them.
We usually have a distinct job or mission but last month was very relaxed, which I guess was to be expected in Africa. It turned into mostly pouring into the church leaders who are in their 20’s and 30’s, while seeing a lot of Livingstone. Our teammate Dani got to join the worship band for the month with her amazing singing and guitar skills, while we got to enjoy the beautiful African music. There is nothing quite like African church. Their worship songs and music are beautiful. I was one day brought to tears with how beautiful their songs were.
While we were there, the church held their first soap kitchen. The church members and staff cooked and prepared a wonderful stew, and out team was able to hand out the food to the coming people. Each church member was supposed to bring one person, and sure enough the whole church was filled. It was amazing to see so many people there. They hope to do many soap kitchen dinners in the future.
The staff from church quickly became our brothers and sisters. One day they took us to Victoria Falls and we got to swim in some of the small waterfalls leading to the bottom of the falls called the boiling pot. The falls were magnificent. There is so much water from the falls that it creates its own clouds that rain down. So as we were looking out at the beautiful falls, we were also being poured on. It was simply beautiful.
One of my favorite days in Zambia was when Janet, our pastor, took us to her salon to get pedicures. She then took us to a fancy restaurant on the Zambezi River where we ate beside zebras. That whole day was so fun and I was so glad we got to spend a girls day with her.
Throughout the month, the church members treated us so kindly. We were invited to numerous houses for lunches and dinners, and we appreciated their hospitality so much. Being in Malawi now makes me miss that feeling of family. We truly were blessed with an amazing month. At times I felt like I was back at home.
Staying present in Zambia, however, was really hard. It was hard to know that the race was coming to an end, but still knowing that you had to press in with teammates and ministry. But in just 15 days I’ll be home to the comforts of America. I’m going to miss the race a lot, but man am I ready to be home. There are just so many things that my heart aches for each day. Scott, my own room, my dog, carpet, the easiness of America, friends and family, and most of all freedom to do whatever I want. I have been going and going for more than 300 days. I haven’t spent more than 3 or 4 hours alone in a year and I have found myself going crazy sometimes. Community living is HARD. There are times when I want to just scream and run out of the room and just go for a walk by myself. The funny part is, is that once I’m home, all I’ll want is probably a person to stand next to me as I do everything. What’s the saying? The grass is always greener on the other side? I know that in a few weeks when I’m home, ill start my daily routines, realizing how mundane they are, and remember how much adventure I had each and every day. Wish I could just live in a way that each present moment was good enough and it was never an issue to look into the future. My biggest challenge this year was to stay present. To not look to the next day, the next month, the next country, the next region of the world, the next time I’ll see people from home. When I kept myself busy, this wasn’t that big of an issue, but I have found that in times of complete silence, like in the early morning or the late nights, I find my mind wandering in a million different directions. It’s funny how my biggest challenge this year wasn’t a hard person to get along with, or a bad ministry location, or a hard day of work, but instead my own mind.
Overall Zambia was truly amazing. The red dirt roads, the bright blue skies, the people, and the music was all just perfect. I couldn’t have wished for a better month in Zambia and I will cherish my time spent there.
Our team is currently in Malawi for our last month on the race. We are assigned to Unsung Heroes this month, which means that we are in charge of finding new ministry locations for future World Race teams. We are staying at a hostel and have been meeting a ton of amazing people that run ministries here. Excited to finish my year off with this team. In just a week we head to final debrief on Lake Malawi before heading home! For those who don’t know, ill be touching down in Chicago on May 31st! See you soon America!
