For another month of missions I would want to go back to Thailand to do prostitution ministry or to Cambodia to work with our street kids.
For vacation, definitely Thailand.
What 3 foods would you add to someone’s must try in life list? Torpedo Soup, the Indian food from the truck stop we lived at, and green curry from Thailand.
If you could bring one cultural norm back from each continent, what would it be?
Asia: EVERY house has a shoe rack. No one wears shoes inside the house, and then they often have house slippers.
Africa: Afternoon tea!
Europe: The men give up their seats for the women on public transportation…gotta love chivalry.
What was your most awkward moment? When the top of my bathing suit “malfunctioned” while in a sea in Thailand… or maybe when I was sick and pooped my pants. Both were pretty awkward.
If you could do anything differently, what would it be? From the beginning I would have tried to live each day solely for God-not trying to please others, but trying to be obedient to God’s will. I wouldn’t have avoided uncomfortable situations or conflict, but would have approached it truthfully and out of love as best I could in order to love best and be most effective in ministry.
I also would have packed about 15-20lbs less to begin with (my pack was always amongst the heaviest on the squad. Not fun).
What area of your life has God worked on the most? This one is hard to answer-it has definitely been a year of having my character worked on in many different areas (so hard, but so good!). I think the biggest area is not living in the fear of man, similar to what I shared above. He’s revealed to me how much I cared about what other people think, and when I live caring about what other people think above what God wills for my life, I end up disappointed over and over again and not living as He desires me to. Freedom from this has also allowed me to love more genuinely out of the love He has given me and for no other reasons.
How has this 11 month experience changed you the most? (again, similar to the question above, but I’m going to answer it a little bit differently).Before this trip I wanted to love God with all I had. I wanted to share his love. But I also wanted to be “successful.” I also placed high value on things of this world. Now the deepest desire of my heart is to love God and His children. I hope to live a life that is not marked by success, accomplishments, wealth, or an accumulation of nice “stuff,” but one that is marked by a love for every person.
How will your life be different because of this experience? Or will it be the same? I know my life is forever different. I know God’s love and freedom for myself and others in a way I did not before comprehend. I recognize life is not about the things I do, but the way I love. From little things to big things my life will be different. I can’t imagine not going back out to the nations to share God’s love throughout my life. I also know I will be taking more opportunities to share God’s love back here in the US in ways I didn’t think were okay or socially acceptable before. As I realize more and more that it’s not about me, but about God, my life is forever changed. All I have to do is live in love and obedience and the rest is up to God. I can’t save people. I can’t perform miracles. I can’t heal. Only God can. I am merely his vessel (and how blessed I am to be!).
What is the one meal you missed the most? Chrislyn, need you ask? Pho Grand!
How did Big Pig fare in this adventure? She endured a good bit of hardship at the hands of some of my squadmates (shout out to Shannon Mayall, strangler of Big Pig). She got pretty filthy. She’s now taking a little vacation to Indiana with her favorite member of the squad, Bridget McNamara.
What was the most difficult part of the experience? At the beginning of the trip, it was seeing terrible situations people were in and feeling unable to make a big enough difference. As the race went on, I became more and more confident of the ways God is providing. Seeing a hungry child, a hopeless widow, an orphan starved for love never becomes easy or okay, but I saw that God shows up in amazing ways through His people.
The most difficult non-ministry part of the race was definitely living in a community of imperfect humans, including myself. Community is the one of the best and one of the hardest parts of this trip. My heart was wounded pretty deeply a couple times throughout this race in ways I never expected it to be, but it was a reminder that we are all imperfect and even as missionaries (especially as missionaries) are desperately in need of Jesus.
How do you succinctly explain the impact that you’ve made? Is this a trick question, Weston? I don’t know that this is possible for me to succinctly explain the impact I’ve made because I don’t fully know the impact that I’ve made. I know that I showed up, tried to give all the love I had, realized my love isn’t enough, asked God to fill me with his love, poured out His love, succeeded when I relied on God, stumbled when I didn’t (and God’s grace still covered me). Until Heaven I’ll never know how the seeds I planted ended up growing, the butterfly effect they may have had. I know that orphans were loved, the hopeless given hope, the word of God shared, the hungry fed, the lonely given a friend, and so much more (I guess I need to work a bit on this whole “succinct” thing).
During your 11 month adventure did you see one thing that will stay in your mind forever? I mean only one thing (maybe a miracle that you never thought you would experience).
While I did see incredible miracles, I think what will stay in my mind over the physical miracles are the days when we were in India that crowds of people young and old would come to our home, gathering on our porch asking to hear stories about this man Jesus that they were hearing about from their friends and neighbors whom we had gotten to talk with. As we told them stories from the Bible and testimonies and sang songs they sat with a genuine joy and wonder.
It was also amazing the number of people who had never heard about Christianity, but when we began to tell about Jesus would say, “I know him!” and would tell us about the most fantastic dreams where Jesus visited them, though they had never heard of him before.
Have you wiped your butt with your hand? Thanks Tammi. Yes, all of you were right, I did end up wiping my butt with my hand. Twice, actually. I’ve also used receipts, journal pages, pieces of cloth I tore off my wrap skirt, the cardboard cylinder inside of the toilet paper…the list goes on.
What one thing had the biggest impact on you while you were on the World Race? Seeing the way love can change a person, drawing them more into the person God created them to be. At the children’s home in the Philippines I was able to see Hannalyn go from being shy, guarded, and angry nearly every moment to having the biggest smile of anyone: giggling, hugging, and accepting and giving love. This relationship showed me that love is enough and I was able to go confidently into the next 10 months with that knowledge and with the passion to give that same love to everyone I encountered. It broke me of the doubting that one month wasn’t enough time or that what we had to offer was not enough. It was.
What did you miss the most? My Mom and the rest of my family and friends.
What will you miss most about the race? What are you glad is over? I think I will miss being in a group of people passionate about serving God’s people wherever they go, whatever the situation entails. I will miss the spontaneity of the race, the fact that so much is unplanned and unrushed-quite the opposite of the way life is often lived in America.
I’m glad the consistent lack of personal space is over.
What is something you’ve believed to be true for most of your life that you learned through your Race experience to be an invalid belief? How will that realization inform your life going forward?
Wow, great question. I think I believed that to some extent love is earned. I had to do certain things, be a certain person to earn love. Other people had to live up to a certain standard to deserve love. I realize now more than ever that love isn’t deserved. Love isn’t earned. Love is freely given to us by God. He loves me no more now than He would if any area of my life changed. He loves us as we are in this moment just as much as He will 5 or 10 years down the road as He refines our character or 10 years ago when we were more passionately pursuing Him. He loves us deeply always. Just as we freely receive His love, we are called to freely give it. It doesn’t matter how much someone may hurt me or do me wrong. It doesn’t matter the lack of love or grace someone may extend to me. I am still called to shower them with the love God has given me. As I write this it seems so basic, so obvious, but to truly understand this, internalize this, and begin living it as the truth that it is has been one of the most amazing gifts God has given me on this trip.
