So you are planning on going on The World Race? Here are some questions and answers that I hope you find helpful. Let me know if you have any others and I would love to help.
Q: What should I pack?
A: Put down the three drafts of packing lists you have written. Read something other then the 30 packing list blogs. Give your Amazon and REI searches a rest and trust me for a minute. I am not going to give you a list because I don’t really think anything that I brought was incredibly important. The most important thing I brought was my stuffed animal monkey that I accidentally left in Thailand month 6. You really can find everything in other countries. Asia and Europe both have whatever you need and usually for much cheaper prices. Now I am not saying that you shouldn’t be prepared, but I am saying to stop stressing over it. Chances are if you forgot something there is a teammate right beside you who will be happy to share theirs until you can pick one up at the market for super cheep. All you need to worry about bringing is a willing, open, and cheerful heart.
Q: What was the greatest lesson you learned?
A: To be honest I can’t answer this question over a simple blog post. I got home about two weeks ago and still have a lot of processing to do. God has taught me so much. I think most of the things I have learned this year involve relationships. I have learned how to better communicate, how to better love, and how to let others love me more.
Q: What was the hardest part?
A: Many racers will tell you the hardest part is living in community 24/7. Yes, that can be really hard sometimes, but that wasn’t the hardest part for me. That was actually probably my favorite part. Yes I am an extreme extrovert. Things are never boring and you never have an excuse to be lonely. The hardest part for me was leaving twice. I got med evacuated month three and I got to return in time for month five. Then I had to go home two weeks ago because of funding. Those times were horrible for me leaving my new family and this new life of adventure. It is still hard being away. I am still going through the hardest part of the race. I see my squad mates posting pictures of children in Africa. I continue to read their blogs. I see restaurants I know they like or listen to a song that they love and my thoughts go to wondering what they are doing and when I will be able to see them again. To be real with you part of this hard part is trusting AIM as an organization, and ultimately trusting in Gods plan for me with the next steps of my life. I need to remind myself each day to press into what He has for me, and have no doubt in my mind that His plans are so much greater then mine.
Q: What was your favorite country?
A: This question is subjective. I believe what make your favorite places are the experiences you have had there, and the people you shared those experiences with. With that being said I could justify how every country I went to was my favorite, each for a different reason. Every month and every country just got better as the year went on. Nepal and Bulgaria were the most beautiful. Romania, Cambodia and The Philippines were my favorite ministries. Thailand was one of the most fun countries. In all of the countries I met some truly incredible people. I do actually have a top favorite now…but if you want to know that you’re going to have to ask me?
Q: You mean I have to leave my family and friends for almost a whole year?
A: Yes. I am not going to lie about it. You will miss them. You will see and do things that you wish that they could encounter with you. You will meet people that remind you of them. You will want them near you when you are sick, or hurt in a hospital bed in another country. But you can only live through Facebook and Skype conversations for so long. Eventually you realize that they will still be there when you get home, and you embrace your new family with open arms. This family is in no way a replacement but an addition to your ever-growing family in Christ. They will be the ones you experience EVERYTHING with because they will be sitting right next to you on that 20+ hour bus ride, and crammed in that Microvan of 30 people in Nepal. They will be the ones who will be sitting next to you on your hospital bed no matter how bad you smell. They will be your hairstylists no matter how dirty and tangled it is. They will be your support system buying you candy and writing you notes no matter how many fits you have thrown. Your daily conversations will involve talking about bowel movements and trying to figure out who had the lice comb last. You may try to learn Khmer, Bulgarian, Swahili, Romanian, Portuguese and Nepali, but your own WR language will be the only other language you become fluent in. You pick up words and phrases from your team and squad mates and mix in a little AIM lingo and when you get home you wonder why no one understands you. You will fall in love with this new family of yours, and it will be just as hard/maybe even harder leaving them when the time comes.
Q: Was it worth it?
A: I asked this question to a former racer and never got an answer. I think maybe they wanted me to discover the answer for myself because it can be different for everyone. The World Race is what you make of it. If you want it to be worth it it will be. In my life however, I can answer this question with a resounding YES. Every minute was SO SO worth it! The $15,500 doesn’t compare to the 50+ new family members I now have. It doesn’t compete with all the new friends I have made all over the world, or the hundreds of kids I have had the honor to teach. It doesn’t come close to paying for the views I have seen and the cultures I have learned about and lived in. The things that God has taught me, the trials and triumphs I have experienced, the miracles I have seen, seeing God in the people around me, and hugging Gods children and seeing their smiles…Yes. It has been more then worth it! But don’t take my word for any of this. Go out and experience it for yourself. Then when you get back do me a little favor. Let me buy you a meal or sit down to a phone call or Skype conversation with you so you can tell me yourself…was it worth it?
Buckle up racer! Most of these countries don’t have seatbelts but use whatever you can. I promise you it is going to be the wildest ride you have ever been on.
