Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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What does it take for you to “get by”?
 
This year we have been in some VERY different locations.  The words normal don’t seem to roll off my tongue as easy as they used to.  Words like interesting, different, CRAZY…seem to be more common.  Although I have been experiencing different people, different cultures, and different foods I still notice there are a few things I like to keep constant in my life… to give me a little sense of NORMAL. 
 
Pedicures are NORMAL right?  What about a pedicure given by a FISH?  Ok, maybe not so “normal”, but awesome nonetheless.  Working in the beauty industry, I had read about Fish Pedicures several years ago.  They were offered at that time in places like NY and LA.  Well in Cambodia they are offered for $3 at the night markets.  Emily and I decided to find out what the fuss was all about.  Actually, they were really enjoyable and after our feet were so much smoother.  The way it works is, they wash your feet, then you stick them in this tank and the fish just go to town.  They gather around your feet and eat off all the dead skin.  yeah I know, it sounds gross, but it feels pretty amazing!  Kind of like a prickly sensation that stimulates your circulation. Be sure and drink plenty of water!

So what else do you do to get by while on the World Race?  Hmmm, well  I would say that I am definitely a “smells” person.  I enjoy the smell of fresh flowers, fresh rains, lavender and fresh citrus and of course homemade chocolate chip cookies!  Some smells bring such great memories that make me happy because they remind me of home.  Some make me sad, and some just down right make me sick!  Regardless of what smell a constant thing in my life that I need to feel a little bit of NORMAL is the comfort of a familiar smell.  Soaps, lotions and perfumes are sometimes a very hard thing to come by in some remote locations.  Because of this you kinda have to stock up when you can. 

My team often makes fun of my backpack because I seem to have an endless supply of randomness in it.   They call it my Mary Poppins bag.  They think it is bottomless.  No matter what one of my team mates might need, I most likely have it in my bag.  Not ALWAYS, but most times.  Some of the randomness I carry in it are little things that make me feel normal or just remind me of home.  Little things like bath soaps, lotions, pedicure lotions and supplies , pliers, a lamp that goes on the top of my water bottle(that we used last month for our bathroom shower light), bungee cords and probably any first aid item or vitamin you could need.  One of my favorite of those  random supplies are my “thumb thongs”.  I bought them at  The Bath Shop in Australia for like $3.  They are the cutest little things that go on your thumbs and when you give yourself a pedicure you can massage your own feet and pretend you are at a spa, and someone else is doing it.  But remember, these are the things you do to “get by”.  Crazy, but true!

 

So, speaking of pretending, Emily and I had to pretend we were going to have a “Spa Day”.  By pretend I mean PRETEND.  We called our spa day….Spa Chaos.  The reason we named it that was because we had just arrived in Phenom Penh from our ministry site in Ampul, Cambodia.  We were there for our overnight stay and needed to pack and leave the next day to go to Thailand.  Emily and I felt like we needed some time just for us.  Travel days can be especially hectic.  Even more so if you have traveled from one place to another just to pack and then travel some more.  This DEFINITELY called for a Spa Day if ever there was one!

So while getting snacks for the next bus ride, we decided to pick up some facial masks, because honestly what girl doesn’t need a little pampering and rejuvenation?   We got our masks, got our snacks then headed home.  We then turned on our Zen Spa Music (a must have on your ipod) and laid back in the midst of all of our clothes and chaos, aka OUR ROOM, and had a relaxing 30 min. spa day.  We laughed the whole time, thinking honestly can you believe us.  While others may have been running around stressing about when and how to pack, we were just acting as if we had not a care in the world.  Who says Denial can’t be your friend.  We finished up feeling quite refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of our packing so we could then catch our next bus at 12 a.m. for Thailand.

 

 

So as silly as our Spa Chaos sounded, it did it’s job.  It brought us just a little sense of “normal” that we longed for and gave us a good laugh to be enjoyed for the days ahead.  Remember God commands us to love others as we love ourselves.   I hope you are making sure to practice giving to the giver, so that you have it to give!