I can’t believe that I can say that I am coming home in 8 days . In 8 days, I will be able to say hi to my family face to face instead of battling with the wifi signal wherever I am to see them through Facetime. In 8 days, I will get to hug and squeeze my puppy whom I have missed probably more than anything. In 8 days, I will get to choose what I want to eat and cook for myself instead of having others do it for me and not having much choice. I will get to go wherever I want by myself instead of traveling with 46 other people and pretty much never being alone. My life is going to look very different than it has for the past 300+ days and I could not be more excited. But as I come home, I wanted to write a blog with answers to 11 common questions that will probably be asked of me when I arrive home. Not that I don’t want you to ask these questions, I just thought I would get a head start on answering them.
1. What was your favorite country and why?
I think its a tie. My two favorite countries were Philippines (Month 4) and Thailand (Month 8). In the Philippines, we had an incredible location living right across from the beach plus our hosts had a pool at their apartment on the water. We also got to work with one of my favorite ministries, Threads of Hope. Some you may recall that I actually sold Threads on Hope bracelets as a fundraiser for this journey. Well I got to experience first hand what they do and how they do it. The system that they have and the sustainability that is happening because of the organization is incredible. Since I have left, they have opened a birthing center for the village and a school which has brought a lot of kids back to school who had left the education system. I will definitely be going back! My other favorite month was Thailand. We just so happened to be in Thailand during the biggest water festival of the year. So basically for 4 days, if you step foot outside, you are going to get soaked by water. The city of Chiang Mai turned into this all out water war and nobody was safe. In 105 degree weather, it was an awesome week! I also got the opportunity to really get to know Emmi, who is the founder of Lighthouse In Action and Zion Cafe. Emmi is an incredible woman of God. She has loved the least of these, mainly women caught in prostitution, and created a safe haven that these women can escape to when they are ready to leave the bar life. We got to participate in a lot of awesome ministry opportunities as well as have some incredible coffee the entire month from the cafe. I love Thailand. Its a beautiful country full of beautiful people and another country on my list that I will be returning to.
2. What was your least favorite country and why?
I would have to say Vietnam. This was our month 5 so we had just gone through team changes and were put on the task of Unsung Hero (UH). UH is a month that is different from most. You don’t have a host so you live in a hostel all month and then go around trying to find hosts that the World Race could then use to send future racers. It sounds easy but we were in Vietnam, which is a strict communist country. Being missionaries and talking about Christ was strongly frowned upon and that made it quite difficult to find Christian organizations to work with. Also there are more motorbikes in Vietnam than people which makes for a lot of noise. While is was my least favorite country, I loved where we stayed. If you ever make it to Dalat, Vietnam, contact the Wolfpack Hostel. You won’t regret it!
3. What was one of the most influential moments on the race?
While Vietnam was my least favorite, one of the most influential moments happened that month. For the first week, we were battling a lot of things as a team. We were new to each other so trust wasn’t really there. We each were struggling with some major spiritual darkness because of the oppression in Vietnam. By chance, we met this woman Doris at the government run church that we had attended on Sunday. She invited us to a worship the following Monday night. We were confused because we knew that worshiping without the governments permission was against the law. We met her at a coffee shop and then she took us down this ally and into this building, locking the door behind us. She led us upstairs and opened another door. Inside, we found about 10 people gathering to worship. For the next 2 hours, we worshiped in the dark singing our hearts out. It was illegal and everyone knew it but they all agreed that they were the lighthouse for the city and it was their duty to worship the Father. Their dedication to their faith moved me and touched me. It was bold faith that inspired me and I will always remember this moment. I have a lot more moments to share so ask me!
4. What was the oddest thing you ate?
I didn’t really eat too many odd things. We ate some frog legs in Cambodia off the street. I could never quite get the nerve to try a tarantula which is a delicacy in Cambodia. One of the grossest things I have tried was this drink here in Malawi called Thobwa. Its made of water and millet and has a grainy texture but looks like milk. It was served to us in a home we were visiting so it’s quite rude to not drink what is served. It was very bitter and the texture was beyond explanation. I can safely say this is not a drink that I will be bringing home to the states.
5. What was your favorite adventure?
By far, my favorite adventure of the race was the safari that we took in Zambia. We found this place call Flatdogs Camp in South Luangwa, Zambia and it was incredible. We stayed in this huge tent home called the Crocs nest and went on a night safari and day safari. We saw so many animals including a leopard, elephant, lion, giraffe, hyena, monkeys, hippos, crocs, and so much more. To see these animals in their natural habitat was just insane. We had to have men do a search around our house at night because a pride of lions had come across the river and were on the campgrounds. You fell asleep to the sounds of hippos and lions. It was incredible and I could talk about it for the rest of this blog. Ask me to see pictures when I get home!
6. Which culture were you most enamored with?
I think the Thai culture was something that just fascinated me. We got the opportunity to be educated in Thai culture from our host. We learned about do’s and don’ts as well as a lot about the religion of the culture. We were sent out on a cultural scavenger hunt to find places, temples, and markets around the city. I just fell in love with it. Thai people truly are the land of smiles. The temples are breathtaking. While most of the population is Buddhist, they are still very open to other cultures and learning about them. I enjoyed immersing myself in the culture for the month as well as showing it to my mom.
7. What did you learn about people?
I learned that people are the same. Whether you are black, white, Christian, Arab, Thai, etc. we are the same. We all struggle with sin and we all need Christ. We spend so much time looking at differences to distinguish ourselves from others to make us and our sin look better rather than looking the similarities. We are one people. One human race. One entire group of sinners that are in desperate need for a Savior. If we could remember that when division try to tear us apart, how much different would this world look?
8. How have you changed from 11 months ago?
I really don’t think that I am that much different. I can assure you that I am still the same person that left 11 months ago. I just am more cultured. I have seen more of the world and experienced an incredible amount of different people. I am more awake and alive than I was 11 months ago. I have passion again and I can dream for the future. I have a deep love for the Lord and his kingdom. I feel as though I am more calm, level headed, and less worried about whats to come. I am more of an adventurer and believe that traveling is good for the soul.
9. What did you learn about God that you didn’t know?
Holy cow, what didn’t I learn about God? I learned that he is in a constant pursuit of my heart. I learned that he loves me despite my sin. He is all about love and not about condemnation. I learned how much the Scripture can help me to learn about Him. I learned that He is personal and intimate and that you can have a conversation with Him through your prayers. I learned that He has a grand plan for my life and will slowly reveal it to me in His time. I learned that you can find a bit of God in every day life if you are awake and aware. I learned that He will provide and that He is mightier than I can every imagine. That’s just a small amount of what I have learned. I hope that I never stop learning because thats the beauty of this life that He created. It’s a constant journey into knowing and learning more about my Creator and my Father.
10. What are your plans for after the race?
I have no idea. I know that I am coming home after an incredible year completely broke with no plans and thats ok. I do not want to settle for anything quickly just because of finances. I know that my dream would be to work with youth/children and that it would involve worship as well. I know a lot of people come off the race knowing their calling and whats next but thats not the case here. I am going to take it day by day and really try to pray and listen to God about whats next. Who knows where I will end up but I trust in my sweet Father and know that He is going to provide the perfect career for me.
11. If you could sum up the year in one word, what word would define it?
Love. Love has been my past year. Love has conquered everything. Love has overcome the worst. Love has truly won. In every place I have been, love has been there. From the big cities to the small shack in the bush, love was there. From the schools to the orphanage to the house churches, love was there. Love was there when I held the babies at Sandra Jones Orphanage in Zimbabwe. Love conquered as we went door to door sharing the gospel. Love was there in the bars while talking to women caught in prostitution in Thailand. Love was in the women’s prison in Costa Rica. Love is everywhere. Love binds and heals. Love endures. Love is God in His purest form. Because God is everywhere, then love is everywhere. There is a lot of hurt, heartache, and disaster in this world but I know that love is going to overcome. Love is rooted deep down in each of us. If we all just reached down, grabbed hold of that love from our Father, and poured it out to each other, what would this world look like? That is my prayer.
Well if you made it through this lengthy blog, you should pat yourself on the back! Part 2 will be coming later this week! Thank you for you love, support, and encouragement over the last 11 months. It has been the most incredible, life changing journey. I hope that its not my only big adventure in my life. I will be home in 8 days and will be ready to take on the next adventure that awaits me back home. I cannot wait to see you all!
