Well friends, I’m sitting on the other side of my World Race experience now, and I’ve got a lot to tell you. So much that it’s probably going to be overwhelming for me to tell you everything. So, to help bring some simplicity to the process, if you want to know more about my year on the World Race, here’s a summary of each month to get you up to speed…
MONTH 1 – COSTA RICA
City: Desamparados, Costa Rica
Team: Comeback Kids
Dates: October 5 – November 4, 2016
Host(s): June Gallman
Ministry: Painting, ministering at a women’s prison, construction/landscaping at local church.
Living Conditions: Living at host’s house with bunk beds, hot showers, team-cooked meals.
Language: Spanish
Highlights: Hilarious memories and jokes with the team, adventuring to Manuel Antonio Beach and La Paz Waterfall, getting good at communicating in Spanish, exploring downtown San Jose, celebrating Halloween with terrible makeshift costumes, eating amazing food (courtesy of Elizabeth and Julia), making friends with a Costa Rican family.
Lowlights: Early rising, sporadic ministry schedules, adjusting to the language barrier.
Friends Made: Amalia, Abigail, Elbert, Adrian, Claudio.
Lesson Learned: Communicating in another language is FUN; The people I see with my eyes are people that God sees; To pray for those in leadership instead of wishing they could do their job better; To allow God’s love for people conquer your fear of them; There’s always more to a person or a situation than what appears on the surface; To just say “yes” and let the Lord fill in the gaps; That I have an unhealthy addiction to Coca-Cola.
Story to Ask Me About: June’s injury.
MONTH 2 – NICARAGUA
City: Chinandega, Nicaragua (Debrief in Granada, Nicaragua)
Team: Comeback Kids (All-Squad Month)
Dates: November 5 – December 2, 2016
Host(s): Ron Read (Vision Nicaragua)
Ministry: Door to door evangelism in local villages.
Language: Spanish
Highlights: Seeing salvations, doing ministry with the squad, exploring Leon and Granada, riding everywhere in the back of a truck, volcano boarding, visiting old friends (the Loftsgards and Kynasts) and old memories in Managua and Matagalpa, Elizabeth’s hematoma, winning Family Fun Time Go! with my team (at the expense of my dignity).
Lowlights: Riding in the back of a truck with 50+ people down sketchy roads, the afternoon heat, being around 45 people all the time, communication barriers and differing approaches when trying to share the Gospel.
Friends Made: Mario, the kitchen ladies, Carlos, and the ice cream guy (my HERO).
Lesson Learned: That I could find a family in my squad; To listen to the Lord’s voice and trust that what He says will encourage others; To ask God to move instead of complaining that He isn’t; Saying yes to doing things that scare you is worth it; To always take opportunities when the Lord presents them; To always be praying for those I care about; The Lord isn’t out to get me or to make me suffer; In a competition of creativity, comedy beats quality every time.
Story to Ask Me About: The time a man got saved because I sucked at baseball.
MONTH 3 – HONDURAS
Team: Comeback Kids (with Authentic Daughters)
Dates: December 2 – 28, 2016
Host(s): David + Scarleth Jones
Ministry: Serving at a special needs home.
Living Conditions: Living in our host’s home with bunk beds, hot showers, and host-cooked meals.
Language: Spanish
Highlights: Caroling to the special needs resident’s homes, Ada giving me gifts every day, falling in love with the residents, beautiful cool weather, dance parties with the residents, exploring the adorable artisan town, delivering Christmas gifts to kids in the mountains, our host’s dogs, Virginia’s Pupusas and Eden’s Cookie Coffee, having the most amazing Christmas celebration with the team.
Lowlights: Doing yard work in the cold rain, spotty wifi, a rough travel day into the country.
Friends Made: Nino, Francis, Ada, Moises, Lupe, Omar, Guillermina, Milba, Brett.
Lesson Learned: God gives good gifts not because we deserve them, but because He just loves us; To keep a thankful attitude when things are hard; How to make a piñata; How to smoke a cigar; To practice my prophetic giftings by encouraging others; To choose to love people instead of staying comfortable; I actually really enjoy working with special needs people; When the Spirit is moving, I CAN freestyle rap!
Story to Ask Me About: Daniel and the Christmas Rat Costume.
MONTH 4 – GUATEMALA/BELIZE
City: Antigua, Guatemala/Belmopan and Punta Gorda, Belize.
Team: Team Manistry
Dates: December 29, 2016 – January 4, 2017 (Guatemala for LDW); January 5 – 22 (Belize); January 23 – 29 (Guatemala for Debrief).
Host(s): Guatemala – Craig + Carol Hill; Belize – Lamona Wilkerson (Belmopan), John + Lisa Gotz (Punta Gorda).
Ministry: Unsung Heroes (seeking out future World Race ministry hosts), Ask The Lord.
Living Conditions: Guatemala – Living at Adventures in Missions base house with bunk beds, hot showers, host-cooked meals. Belize – Living at Belize Basecamp in guest cabana with bunk beds, hot showers, team-cooked meals in Belmopan; Living at Machacos Camp (in the jungle!) in summer camp dorm with beds, cold showers, team-cooked meals in Punta Gorda.
Language: Guatemala – Spanish. Belize – English and Creole.
Highlights: Guatemala – seeing a volcano erupt (ash by day, lava by night), exploring charming Antigua, the most incredible fireworks display for New Years in the Antigua square, getting new teams at debrief. Belize – snorkeling in the second largest coral reef in the world, living in the jungle, swimming at Rio Blanco waterfall, finding lots of cool ministry contacts, doing ATL in a beach town, team leading for the first time, being on an all-guys team.
Lowlights: Working through team struggles, not having enough ministry, rough travel days.
Friends Made: Dennis, Miss Rose, Oscar, Prego, Bodie, Oz.
Lesson Learned: Belize is nothing like the rest of Latin America (and where the heck did the Mennonites come from!?); God cares more about my heart for Him than the things I do for Him; Team leading is a lot more challenging than I thought; You can’t force growth on other people; My identity is not based in what others think about me; How to build a campfire with just a flint and items in the forest; To listen to God’s voice, even when it doesn’t make sense; Waterproof Samsung phones are not really waterproof.
Story to Ask Me About: The time God asked me to sit on a dock for ministry.
MONTH 5 – MALAYSIA
City: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (Penang, Malaysia for LDW)
Team: Parkour
Dates: February 1 – March 1, 2017 (LDW March 2-4)
Host(s): None
Ministry: Unsung Heroes (seeking out future World Race ministry hosts), assisting at a Refugee School.
Living Conditions: Living in a luxury high rise apartment with beds, hot showers, A/C, eating meals at the local mall.
Language: English, Malay.
Highlights: Exploring Kuala Lumpur, experiencing Chinese New Year, having an unbelievable living situation with incredible amenities, attending HTBB church, eating lots of amazing cheap food ($1 Auntie Anne’s pretzels!), vacationing in Krabi (Thailand) for a week and finally visiting the beach with long boats I had dreamed of seeing, island hopping in Krabi, experiencing the Alpha Program, celebrating Valentine’s Day with the team, meeting amazing and inspiring Christians, sending off the Alumni Squad Leaders.
Lowlights: Not having a lot of ministry, dealing with some of the apartment’s “quirks”, becoming a human jungle gym at the Refugee school, Maria getting hospitalized on our Thailand trip.
Friends Made: Carlos, Mei, Carweng, Abbas, Rena, Pastor David.
Lesson Learned: Hunger for the Lord comes from eliminating the other things that feed us; Christians can still fearlessly share the Gospel even in a closed country; Just Say Yes to indoor roller coasters!; God loves to give us dreams in order to prove that He can satisfy them; God knows me and knows what brings my heart to life; God can speak to me in different ways than just audibly; Kuala Lumpur is BOUJEE.
Story to Ask Me About: The time I got kicked out of a Malaysian Casino.
MONTH 6 – THAILAND
City: Songkhla, Thailand (Debrief in Bangkok, Thailand).
Team: Parkour
Dates: March 5 – 27, 2017 (Debrief March 29 – April 1)
Host(s): Khwan Kanittha
Ministry: Teaching English at Wisdom Plus Language School, evangelism at local university with Campus Crusade group, construction at local church.
Living Conditions: Living in the back of host’s school/home with floor sleeping mats, hot showers, A/C (fans in bedrooms), self-cooked food.
Language: Thai
Highlights: Seeing three of my students come to Christ, performing the Lifehouse Everything skit in the market, exploring Songkhla with our amazing host, spending a weekend on Lipe Island, teaching really cute kids, fellowship with the local college students, Thai Tea for under $1, witnessing the fearless faith of the college evangelists, climbing a waterfall, watching “The Bachelor” with the team, riding elephants and playing with baby tigers and leopards.
Lowlights: Adjusting to Thai cuisine, mid-Race fatigue, not being able to communicate, long ministry hours, being scammed in Bangkok, and sleeping in the heat.
Friends Made: Toomtaam, Boi, Fourth, Namwan, Mitch.
Lesson Learned: Jesus is the most loving person that has ever existed; Never underestimate what God can do, even if your work doesn’t feel like “ministry”; I find intimacy with God through adventuring and exploring in nature; Bring someone who speaks the language with you to help you when buying food at the market (so you don’t order Pork Blood soup again…); If the tuktuk ride in Bangkok is too cheap to seem real, there’s definitely a catch.
Story to Ask Me About: The disastrous Bangkok temple tour, or “The One Where Jonathan Accidentally Bows To Buddha”.
MONTH 7 – CAMBODIA
City: Kandal, Cambodia (Awakening Conference in Siem Reap, Cambodia)
Team: Parkour
Dates: April 1 – 25, 2017 (Awakening Conference April 26 – 28)
Host(s): Soriya So (Shalom International Ministries)
Ministry: Teaching English at Shalom International School.
Living Conditions: Living in the school, sleeping on my mattress pad on a desk in an open-air classroom, cold showers, squatty potties, no A/C (for miles), team-cooked meals.
Language: Khmer
Highlights: Teaching adorable kids, water party with the kids in the village, hilarious moments enduring ridiculous elements, celebrating Khmer New Year, our week of rest in Phnom Penh, celebrating Easter with Westerners, unbelievable sunsets, worshiping and doing ministry at the Awakening with three other Race squads from the field, exploring Angkor Wat and the Siem Reap night market, getting to do the Facebook live-stream at the Awakening for the World Race Facebook page.
Lowlights: Enduring crazy heat day and night (110 degree heat index), working through mid-Race burnout, getting an eye infection, fighting off bugs, communication struggles, loud wedding music that played all night.
Friends Made: Rota, Dara, Sina, Chanleap, Pon Ler, Li Chong, Srey Net, Kech Ney.
Lesson Learned: Deep joy comes from knowing there is a greater victory on the other side of the trial; An Eno bug net is not an effective window screen; Pushing through the struggle can actually produce a greater and deeper joy than running to comforts; True joy can be found in the simple things; You can never use too much Raid when trying to keep bugs (or crabs!) away from your bed.
Story to Ask Me About: The time I went for a walk in the village and got randomly invited over to my student’s home.
MONTH 8 – THE PHILIPPINES
City: Antipolo City, Philippines
Team: Guys Night
Dates: April 30 – May 25, 2017
Host(s): Billy + Sharon Wark
Ministry: Discipleship and Outreach at the Children’s Garden (a home for rehabilitated street boys).
Living Conditions: Living in a back room in the boy’s home with bunk beds, cold showers, no A/C (but a very large fan!), host-cooked meals.
Language: English, Tagalog
Highlights: Taking the boys out to see a movie, one-on-one discipleship chats with the boys at 7/11, swimming in waterfalls and exploring caves, spending a couple of adventurous days in Bicol, killing a chicken, doing a night street feeding, taking walks around the neighborhood, movie nights with the boys, helping with VBS, encouraging Bubot in his passion for the arts, our last worship night together.
Lowlights: Being crammed into jeepneys and tricycles, getting an eye infection and needing to switch over to glasses, enduring the heat, team issues, not much space to get away, rugged conditions in Bicol, missing American food.
Friends Made: Joshua, Rafael, Erwin, Dennis, Wendell, John Rod, Bubot, Patrick, Mark, Joi.
Lesson Learned: My purpose in any situation is to bring God glory by serving faithfully and gratefully with whatever I’m given; Using a wet towel as a blanket is a great way to stay cool in a hot place when going to sleep; How to kill and pluck a chicken; That I can fight for my brothers by being a team intercessor; I can disciple boys, and the Lord has given me a lot that I can give to others; Living in a swimsuit for four days without changing is not awesome or charming if it leads to ringworm.
Story to Ask Me About: Our team’s adventurous week in Bicol.
MONTH 9 – RWANDA
City: Kabuga, Rwanda (Debrief in Kigale, Rwanda)
Team: Guys Night
Dates: May 26 – June 22, 2017 (Debrief May 26 – 30)
Host(s): George + Vinny Agaba
Ministry: Door to door evangelism, preaching in church, construction, discipleship, and teaching English.
Living Conditions: Living in the back room of the host’s home, sleeping on small mats on the floor, bucket showers, squatty potties, and host-cooked meals.
Language: Kinyarwanda, English
Highlights: Going to a Rwandan wedding, helping lead two people to Christ, discipling two boys from the village on our front porch, preaching, visiting the Rwandan Genocide museum, taking long walks through the stunning hillside, spending time with Jesus at a hilltop restaurant, drinking lots of Chai tea, visiting various people’s houses, working through team conflict, spending rest time in Kigale, gorgeous cool weather, lots of peace and quiet.
Lowlights: Team issues, sharing a tiiiiiiny room with another teammate, not a lot of ministry, cultural confusion with the host, homesickness, no cell service.
Friends Made: Deo, Charles, Innocent, Jackie, Joseph, the 106-year-old mzei.
Lesson Learned: God can restore hope to places that once seemed hopeless; Never assume that you know everything before you judge a person, because often times you don’t see the whole picture until you talk with that person; Never wear your giant pack with you when riding on the back of a motorcycle; God can give you opportunities to minister to people at any time if you remain willing; There is such a thing as eating too much, and some Rwandans don’t seem to understand that concept.
Story to Ask Me About: The time I took a picture with the wrong girl at church.
MONTH 10 – UGANDA
City: Rukungiri, Uganda (LDW in Kampala, Uganda)
Team: Guys Night
Dates: June 24 – July 16, 2017 (LDW July 20 – 21)
Host(s): Collin Wenrich + Amanda Johnson
Ministry: Constructing a training center, bringing food to a village in famine, fellowship with moto drivers, school visits, spending weekends at a street boys home, ministering to special needs children.
Living Conditions: Living in our host’s home with beds, hot showers, and host-cooked meals.
Language: Riancole, English
Highlights: Having constant fellowship and fun with Americans, visiting the school kids in Garuka and baptizing one of them, watching the kids chase the drone, movie marathons, incredible American food, the best Fourth of July celebration ever, seeing elephants and hippos on safari, visiting the town I used to live in when I was a baby, eating Rolex basically every day, playing lots of volleyball, hanging with Handsome, whitewater rafting on the Nile River, speaking at LDW.
Lowlights: Daily power outages, lots of car rides on bumpy roads, cultural confusions.
Friends Made: Abby, Caleb, Seth, Kiki, Ryan, Handsome, Patrick, Michael.
Lesson Learned: God can work out the most impossible things, and can fulfill desires of our hearts we didn’t even know we had; Most Africans can’t swim, so it’s best not to throw them into lakes; Love can be a mission, even if you don’t have all the details; Empowering locals to take charge of ministries is the best way to make an impact on the missions field; Constantly being the center of attention as the white person in the African village eventually gets annoying; Minivans are not the best safari vehicles.
Story to Ask Me About: A particular song I learned from a group of evangelists.
MONTH 11 – KENYA
City: Nakuru, Kenya (Debrief in Diani Beach, Kenya)
Team: Guys Night (with Team Chosen)
Dates: July 22 – August 14, 2017 (Debrief August 15 – 19)
Host(s): Joel + Tara Beauchamp
Ministry: Prison ministry, Vacation Bible School at a local church, outreach to the Pokot tribe.
Living Conditions: Living in a guest house on a safari conservancy with beds, hot showers, host-cooked food.
Language: Kiswahili, English
Highlights: Living on a safari conservancy and seeing wild animals (zebras, gazelle, buffalo, baboons, and waterbuck) in our backyard, having an adventurous weekend ministering to the Pokot tribe, performing the Lifehouse Everything skit in the prisons, praying for a paralyzed man and seeing him regain partial mobility, nightly devotions, excellent food, beautiful scenery, being constantly entertained by little Caroline, having final debrief on a gorgeous beach, riding camels, and closing out the Race perfectly.
Lowlights: Kenyan Election drama, lots of long hours in the car, end-of-Race fatigue, fearing being eaten by a lion when trying to go to the bathroom at night.
Friends Made: Caroline, Robert, Martin, Cliff, Andrew.
Lesson Learned: Thankfulness unlocks obedience, because thankfulness gets your eyes off of your own needs and on to those of others; God’s faithfulness is equivalent to His love, and it is never failing; One packet of pudding makes six cups each (not one), and there is such thing as having too many eggs in a cake; The Lord loves to journey with us, and He has grace for us every step of the way; When you think someone is trying to break into your house, hiding in your bed won’t solve anything.
Story to Ask Me About: The time we strapped a goat to the roof of our car.
“I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.” Psalm 9:1
