Community can become a necessary evil on the Race. Some people thrive off of having people around all the time and others cringe at the idea of not ever being alone. Community includes the people you live with, eat with, run with, talk with, and work with. Sharing beds, borrowing clothes, eating each other's food, watching movies together, and doing the majority of your daily activities accompanied by at LEAST one other person (usually more like 5 other people).
Community is fun, there is always someone to talk to or walk to the store with. These people that surround you aren't just people, they are your family. These people love you, listen to you, annoy you, encourage and challenge you. Living in community you cannot just look out for yourself, you need to think about others as well. You want to eat the last couple pieces of pineapple but you can't because so and so is late for dinner and they should get some too. Or you can't Skpe your friend from home because then the internet isn't strong enough for the other people your with to do anything.
Living in community doesn't mean forgetting about yourself, you still need to take care of you. You just need to make sure yourself isn't always your first priority.
I would not have made it to month 9 on the World Race without the continuous love and support I receive from my team mates. People that 100% understand how you feel because they feel it too. When you can't explain why you're having a bad day in words and one look is all that is needed to communicate all your feelings. World Racers need other World Racers to keep them going.
I was talking with some of my awesome team mates and we were saying how there is no way we could keep going with this crazy adventure we are on without other people there to support us.
When you are living in a culture that is different from your own it's easy to feel alone. Being white in Africa kind of makes you stick out so having other Americans around eases some of the discomfort of feeling like you're the only one people are staring at. If ministry is difficult one day you can go home and talk about it with the other people that experienced the same things you did. If you are feeling annoyed by a situation chances are you are not the only one having those feelings.
Living in community you're never alone physically but you are also never alone emotionally. Community is your support system they won't let you struggle alone, but they also won't let you be less than the person you were created to be.
It is inevitable that you will miss friends and family at home after being away for so long but the people you are surrounded with every day make life beautiful. This life changing journey is done best with others- people to laugh, cry, and word vomit all your emotions to. Through the good times and the bad times, I wouldn't trade the community I have for anything.
