Number of countries I stepped foot in: 14 (Including layovers and passing through)
Number of Cities I spent a decent amount of time in: 56
Ministries I participated in: 30
Beds I slept in: 103!
Longest time I went without a shower: 10 days… pretty proud of that one!
I started this journey, the first 3 months,
with these 5 amazing people! Ending the last 8 months with 2 incredible men!
(Liz, Courtney, Jake, Wade, and Jaime) (Thomas and Ryan)
Favorite Country:
–Cambodia: An incredible country with incredible people. It was the month I was most on fire during and grew the most. I would go back there in a heartbeat.
Favorite Ministry:
–Zehandi in Malawi (click here to read about it): We lived how I expected to live for most of the World Race and the ministry was amazing! (Photos below taken by Dan Matundan)
Most Impactful People I met:
–Alex: He was 18 and in my first country, Guatemala. The Lord broke my heart for him. (Click here to learn about my time with Alex and how God used this relationship to teach me a hard lesson on trusting Him). I am hoping to head back to Guatemala to visit him next summer.
–Salinas Family: Pastor Salinas was my team’s contact in Honduras. His family became our family away from home. They loved us and poured into us the entire month.
–James: One of those incredible people from Cambodia… He worked at the fish massage stand (you sit with your feet in the water and tiny fish eat the dead skin off of them). James did not know the Lord, but we spent every free day we had with him and loved him. Jesus us pursuing this man!
–Henry: I spent very little time with Henry, but he touched my heart. I have committed to sponsoring him in school. If you would like to read more about Henry click here… and if you would like to help me in supporting him financially through school… send me a message through the “contact me” link in the upper left.
–Children: The countless children who have brought me joy, broken my heart, and stolen a pice of it.
Foods:
Strangest:
Crickets Balut
My favorites:
What I am going to miss:
–Thomas and Ryan (my coleaders): Love them!
–This Community and People who Understand: This community has a culture of its own and we walk through this experience together. People at home will just not have the same understanding.
My B Squad Family…
–Traveling and cultures: It has been an amazing experience to go so many places around the world!
Most Challenging Things:
–Living in community all the time: You can’t get away from the people you live with. You are with them ALL of the time.
–Walking through being broken by the Lord: He was shaping me to be who He created me to be… not who I have been.
–Since becoming a squad leader, moving every 3-6 days: It is tiring! Was not too bad at the beginning, but it caught up to me over time.
–Not seeing my family and friends: I miss them!
–Gaining weight: Not going to lie… it is hard on the self-esteem. Girls preparing to go on the race, it will probably happen. Most girls on my squad gained weight. The food, lack of exercise, and continuous moving are hard on your body.
What I am Most Excited about Going Home:
–Family and Friends!
–Food!
–What the Lord has for me next: For now, I am planning to finish my Family Services degree in the Spring, and from there… We will just see where the Lord takes me.
–Western Toilets…my bed…a fridge!
What will be strange about being home:
–Understanding all of the conversations going on around me.
–Driving again.
–Prices… everything is so expensive. Especially, smoothies (you can get them for super cheap off the streets in most countries… particularly Asia.
–Living in one place for an extended period of time.
What I Learned:
–How I view God: Being with an interdenominational group and being in so many different cultures, this was a journey of taking God out of the box I have kept Him in my whole life.
–I am Terrible at Taking Care of Sick People: My first team learned this very quickly. When people get sick, I peace out. Sorry girls… That was something I never knew about myself. We did find the root of the problem though… it's because I never get sick. It is hard to know what to do for someone when you don't know what they are going through.
–Confidence: I struggled with confidence in leadership the entire beginning of my Race. It was a long, hard process, but the Lord taught me to be confident in who He created me to be, knowing that with the positions of authority He gives me, He will also give me the wisdom I need.
–Honest Communication: We do this thing called feedback on the World Race. Basically, being really honest with each other and challenging each other to grow. It is not about calling people out for the things they do, but rather calling them UP to who God created them to be.
–Leadership: I was in leadership positions before the Race… But, this experience challenged me in ways that I have never been challenged before. It was the hardest part of the journey, but also the best.
Firsts while on the World Race:
–Going to a wedding reception for someone I didn’t know… and didn’t meet while we were there either. We arrived, enjoyed some entertainment, ate some cake… and left.
–Went to a professional soccer game: I went to the Uganda vs Congo B, World Cup qualifier!
–Leading a worship song by myself in front of the whole squad: Played the guitar and sang. It was really out of my comfort zone.
–Going to the ocean: I have only been to the ocean once, when I was one year old. So, it was cool to see so many oceans this year.
–Preached: Many times.
–Ziplining: In Guatemala!
–Scoring a goal in soccer (thank you kids in Cambodia for passing me the ball even though I usually messed up).
–Using a squatty… I avoided it the entire time I was in Kenya a few years ago. Couldn’t avoid it this time… no other options.
And many more… these are just some of my favorites.
What has become Normal that really isn’t in the US:
–Moving every 3-5 days.
-Wearing dirty clothes… many times over.
-Things like cattle herders walking their cattle down the beach. Hair in food… still eat it.
Bugs and roaches in your rooms.
-Taking very few showers.
Verses that Impacted me the Most:
–Acts 20:24: Trying to live out what it means to “consider my life worth nothing to me.”
–Galatians 6:9-10: Never give up on the people on my squad. Always continue to do good to them.
–Romans 12: Scripture to live out.
–2 Samuel 22: Encouragement during my hardest time on the Race.
What I did for Holidays:
My Birthday: Went out to a Chinese lunch with my team and our contacts in Honduras. Got flowers and a trece leche cake (A cake that is basically soaked in milk, and for those of you who really know me, I don’t like milk. Haha). So, on another day, my team bought me an oreo/strawberry cake!
Thanksgiving: In Honduras… Had a day of relaxing and watching football. Had a big dinner with our whole squad together. Delicious!
Christmas: Nicaragua… Three teams were together at the same contact. On Christmas Eve we had a service complete with candles and Christmas carols. Also on Christmas Eve, I have the opportunity to bless a family in the village that I loved with food for a Christmas dinner. Probably my favorite part of Christmas this year!
On Christmas, the three teams took turns making Christmas meals. My team made a French toast breakfast. During preparing breakfast, I got to fill in for the guard while he drove someone to the church. My one and only time being a property guard. I bet I was intimidating to anyone wanting to come on the property. Then we had a secret Santa gift exchange where Jake had me and gave me “the world” after a man in LA, before the race, thought he was my boyfriend and asked him if he wanted to buy me the world. I also got to skype with my family!
New Years: On the beach in Nicaragua! Beautiful sky of stars and some fireworks in the distance.
Easter: I was in Malaysia at an Indian church. The team I was with held a children’s Easter celebration the day before and then stayed up late to decorate Easter eggs for the church congregation. Then on Easter, the church had a big potluck lunch of Indian food after the 4 hour long service to celebrate.
4th of July: Tanzania… Had watermelon for breakfast (good old 4th of July food). Planted trees around the church property.
Crazy Adventure:
–Bus to Malawi:
The minibuses from our hostel to the bus that we were taking to Malawi were a couple hours late, causing the large bus to be held up. This stalled our trip enough that we were late getting to the border and it was closed when we arrived. We ended up sleeping on the bus all night, while the bus driver decided to leave us and go get a hotel room. (By the way… our bus was filled with cockroaches and restroom stops were simply pulling over and guys and girls heading to different areas to squat in the fields.)
The next morning, we all woke up and prepared to head across the border. Our driver finally showed up… we crossed the border… got back on the bus… but, ended up sitting there for most of the day. We didn’t leave the border until 3 PM.
As soon as we hit the road, commotion began… people yelling and screaming, as a hug mouse emerged from above the luggage holders that were above our heads. One of the guys came to the rescue, grabbed it, and threw it out the window.
As we continued our drive, we were stopped multiple times by police… sometimes being able to drive on after a quick glance onto the bus… sometimes having to let them check all of our passports… sometimes having to evacuate the bus so they could check it for who knows what.
We arrived to Lilongwe, Malawi in the early hours of the morning, and then had to convince the driver of the bus to take us to our hostel since it was the middle of the night. I finally got to bed around 3:30-4 AM.
This was definitely our craziest travel day. These words cannot even begin to describe how it was haha…
Scariest moment:
-Ryan and I were on a boda boda (motocycle taxi- with 2 passengers) driving through Kampala, Uganda. There are always a few close calls on those rides, but on this one, I saw my life flash before my eyes as we came around a round about and a truck was coming right at us. I have no idea how we made it out without getting hit.
Going home is…
BitterSweet…
Scary, Exciting…
The End, But The Beginning…
Tonight during worship was the first time that reality really hit. It was our squad's last worship session together, and as we sang out last song… I sat down and cried for a moment. Leaving these people is scary. Leaving this lifestyle is scary. The transition ahead is scary. But, it is exciting all at the same time. I am in a mess of emotions right now. I know the season ahead is going to be incredible!
Tomorrow is our last day of final debrief. We are finishing up with a candlelight dinner and special time of reflecting back on our year. Then, on Saturday we head back to Lilongwe… and Sunday we head to the airport. We have some crazy days of travel ahead… lots of flights and long layovers… Malawi – Kenya – Thailand – South Korea – Los Angeles – and then I fly to Indy… Arriving back in Illinois on the 30th.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers, encouragement, and support over the past 11 months. I am truly blessed and thankful. I could not have experienced this journey without your support! It has been lifechanging to say the least. I cannot tell you enough… Thank you!
Please continue to pray for me and my squad as we travel and transition home.
I am looking foward to seeing you all soon! Love Always- Kayla
