The World Race asked me some questions about my Race so I thought I would share with you all.
How have you grown in intimacy with God?
Truthfully, I went from being someone who didn’t have a personal relationship with God to someone who is deeply in love with her Savior. I knew all about Jesus in my head but not in my heart. Christ has always been there pursuing me and beckoning me into relationship. I just didn’t know how to have a true relationship or what that meant. Now that I know His love, love overflows from me.
What part of the Trinity have you become more familiar with and why?
The church that I attended throughout my first eighteen years of life taught nearly nothing about the Holy Spirit. I was told that when you receive Christ into your life that the Holy Spirit comes into your heart. That was it. That was all I was taught. I had no idea that the Holy Spirit is still alive and healing people, comforting people, and imparting spiritual gifts like prophecy and speaking in tongues. I have experienced the Holy Spirit in various ways this year. He has used me as a tool to prophesy, speak in tongues, see angels and demons, and heal people. The Holy Spirit is doing the same things now as He did in the Bible and if anyone tells you different, they are misleading you.
What do you want to let go of before you go home?
I want to let go of uncertainty about the next
season of my life. I know that staying in South Africa with all of my friends and the amazing community here would be the easier thing to do. However, I know that my mission field for the next season of my life is the women at the University of Arkansas. The Lord will use me as an instrument for Him in Fayetteville and I need to be content with that for this season of my life.
Who do you need to forgive?
I have worked through so many things this year and forgiveness was a major theme in my Race. I have forgiven friends that didn’t love me like I needed them to, family members that had hurt me, and boys that had broken my heart. Forgiveness is a choice that I make daily but it is one that I say yes to because God first chose to forgive me.
What forgiveness do you need?
I need to learn to have more grace for myself. There are days when I won’t make the right decision or say the perfect thing in the moment but neither does anyone else and as long as I am looking for the Lord’s face then I’m on the right path. His strength is made perfect in my weakness.
What was the biggest surprise you discovered about yourself?
The biggest surprise that I discovered about myself is that I’m a true woman of God. I always thought that I would be a lukewarm Christian that could never speak life into others because I needed it myself. I didn’t think that I would be worthy of the title after the things that I had done in my past and the way people perceived me. Thankfully, through Christ constantly pouring His love over me, I have become confident in the strong, gifted, compassionate, graceful, captivating woman that God has made me to be.
What did Jesus ask you to surrender? Did you do it?
Jesus asked me to surrender my attempted control of my future. I have had to really learn to trust that the Lord is good and faithful. I know that He is working things out for my good and will provide for my needs. I also understand that I will go through hardships but He is walking with me. It is a daily choice to not try to control my future and trust in Him but I have decided to let go and let God handle things.
What is the biggest lesson you learned?
I learned that you can have an actual conversation with God! I know this seems elementary but I never knew it was possible. I just thought that you prayed and hoped that God heard you, not that He could and wanted to talk back. I learned that you have to be open to hearing His voice. He can speak through words, visions, gut feelings, songs, books, and anything else that He wants to use. I have spoken to Him every day this year and I will never be the same because of it.
What is the yummiest and grossest thing you ate on the race?
The most delicious things that I have had while on the Race are tandoori chicken and garlic butter naan bread in Malaysia and DeMarco’s chocolate cake in Peru. The grossest things would have to be the cow stomach stew in Colombia and the fish gravy in Bolivia.
What is the funniest thing that happened this year? In a whole year?
Comeon. I can maybe tell you the funniest moment from each month: Jordan Chepke peeing in a bucket in a hollowed out canoe on our way to an indigenous tribe in Bolivia, Pastor Solomon handing me a microphone and making me sing while a Spanish song that I didn’t know played in the background in Peru, Adrienne throwing up outside of a restaurant in Ecuador after tasting their local drink, accidentally dying my hair orange in Colombia, almost kicking Linda in the teeth after I mistook her as a demon when she crawled across the floor in our dark room in Japan, almost being attacked by huge monkeys like every day in Malaysia, putting on a two hour presentation for over 300 elementary students in Thailand that we had not prepared for, watching my college students dance in Cambodia, trying to pee in a sink in Swaziland and peeing all over my pants, having monkeys rip open Adrienne’s tent to steal food and then look at us through the Tupperware in the morning in Botswana, and trying new food combinations like peanut butter and cauliflower with Klaas in South Africa.
Favorite memory? Worst day?
My favorite memory and worst day are the same day; my first day on the World Race. We had landed in La Paz, Bolivia at 5:00 am. I had instant altitude sickness and was saved from vomiting only by Esther dropping peppermint oil down my throat. Fifteen minutes later, a man that spoke no English came into the tiny airport to pick my team of five girls up. He took us to a hostel for breakfast and we tried to make conversation in broken Spanish. We walked the rubble and trash lined roads to get phone cards and cash from the ATM. We rode in a cab that weaved in and out of traffic and perpetually honked. After searching the city for “gringo food” our sweet man named Sanchez bought us fried chicken, French fries, and much needed water. He then proceeded to load us onto a rusty, broken-down, double decker bus that we shared with chickens and lots of people in traditional Bolivian clothing. He sent his 18 year old son, Gonzalo and some fish along with us. We traveled along the deadliest road in the world for 28 hours. We hung off the side of the Andes mountains while it poured rain on the dirt paths we were traveling down. We peed on the side of the road while men laughed. We finally stopped for food on the second day in a small village. We asked Gonzalo to please get us galletas y papas fritas (cookies and French fries). I went to the shack behind the building to go to the restroom while Gonzalo fetched the food. I was overwhelmed with being in a whole new country, not speaking the language, and thinking that my girls were going to die on the second day of me being their team leader. I was about to crack. I smacked my head on a large metal bar leaving the bathroom and then saw a huge wild turkey standing outside the door and shed a few tears. Gonzalo returned with a bag of small fried fish, think minnows, for us to eat after not having food for 24 hours and I completely lost it. We got back on the bus and finally arrived that night after traveling 28 hours on a 200 mile road. It was such a draining and hard experience but the relief I had when we finally arrived was incredible.
What is your biggest prayer request?
That I would be able to be a light to those around me. That I would truly know others and be known. That I would find the Lord’s peace and joy every day.
What do I intend to do better in my next season?
I plan to live every day intentionally. I plan to live in the moment and be content with any situation I am in. I plan to love the Lord with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.
