[finally] Q&A // PART I // with pictures - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

Q U E S T I O N S & A N S W E R S : K E L S E Y ‘ S W O R L D R A C E

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions! I took time during the last month of my World Race in Kenya to reflect on the past year– and this is what came of it!

I would have loved to get this Q&A out sooner– but for those of you who don’t know, I transitioned into a new job pretty quickly after I got home from the race. For an update, I am now living in Seattle, Washington and I am working for a church called University Presbyterian Church in the University Ministries department! I am the Missions Coordinator for a college student ministry, and I absolutely L O V E this job, my staff, and the students I get to serve. The Lord has blessed me in A B U N D A N C E, as I also am returning to treasured friends (shoutout to the fab 5) and have a pretty incredible living situation in the Green Lake // Phinny Ridge area (shout out to my 6 incredible roommates– yippeee).

Okay– y’all KNOW me. If you’ve been following my past blogs throughout this experience, you know I love to tell stories with all the little details– which means my answers my be a tad longer than what should typically be a Q&A answer. So because of that, I will be posting this update in multiple parts! YAY WE ALL WIN!

P A R T I

1) How hard was it to leave one place and then go to the next?

In the beginning of the race, it wasn’t that hard. But there’s a reason for that. I didn’t let myself get close to the people we were ministering to because I knew I was only going to be there for 3-4 weeks. I put up a wall in the beginning of the race with the people I served. But then I read some great advice from one of my mentors in Seattle, who also happened to do the World Race (shout out to you, Sha’terika!) She wrote something along the lines of how we invest. If we go into something thinking we would only be there for 3 weeks, we’ll invest like we’re only there for 3 weeks. But if we change our mindset when we go into places believing we will be there as long as God calls us there, we will invest deeper. I changed my mindset after Central America, and I’m so glad I did. Asia and Africa have been full of hard goodbyes, but I prefer it that way. God did so much when I let that wall down, and my race changed because of it. So when I started adopting that mentality, it was difficult, at times, to leave. There have definitely been months where I’ve felt ready to leave and go to the next country (shout out to Thailand and Uganda), there have been some months where 3-4 weeks have been the perfect amount of time to stay and leave, and there have been countries where I could have stayed at least 3 more months (shout out to Costa Rica, Guatemala, Malaysia, Rwanda, and Kenya).

2) What is the biggest misconception you had about a country prior to going? How was that misconception challenged once you were there?

I knew absolutely nothing about Malaysia—other than the whole missing planes situation. I’m someone who loves to learn and take time to research anything I can find out about something before I step into it. For some reason, I never researched anything about Malaysia. I assumed it was a mainly Buddhist country, like its surrounding countries. Come to find out, Malaysia is rich in culture, and is made up of three predominant people groups: Malay, Indian, and Chinese. Islam is the predominant religion in Malaysia at 61%, but there is a heavy influence of Hinduism (6.3%) and Buddhism (19%). It is illegal to evangelize to (witness to) Malays in Malaysia– and so a majority of Malaysians have never heard the Gospel!

We arrived at the Kuala Lumpur airport to find that the people there were majority Muslim, and everyone around us were wearing hijabs and niquabs. We came from 4 months in Central America, so I was so excited to step into something new. My team and I lived in Penang that month, and learned a lot about Malaysia while we were there. During the month of February when we were in Penang, we just happened to be there during two of the major holidays: Chinese New Year and Thaipusam. Penang, an island off of Malaysia, goes ALL OUT for holidays. We experienced a lot of spiritual darkness, but the strength of the Christian community there, despite the low numbers, is mighty and fierce.

It was also very interesting to hear about Malaysia’s response to refugees. I’ll bring up a story about this in one of the later questions.

4 months later, we had a layover in Malaysia on our way to Africa, and I honestly felt at home. It was the strangest thing. I really loved that country!

3) What was the hardest part and the best part of the World Race? Why?

Hardest part of the race: Feel free to ask me this question in person. There’s just a lot of context.

Best part of the race: Growing in intimacy with the Lord. During our down time, I chose to spend it refining my walk with the Lord by diving deep into Scripture, reading books, conversing with teammates about our theological questions, listening to podcasts, and spending time with Jesus. I grew in listening to His voice, and asked Him hard, specific questions. I wrestled a lot with Him (especially during Asia), but I grew stronger in my faith in Him because of it. I learned to just “be” with Him, and not work/perform for my relationship with Him. I’ve grown a lot in my spiritual authority because of my confidence in Him. I’ve taken a lot of risks this year, and have obeyed Him and the crazy things He asks me to do or say sometimes. It’s been pretty sweet. Life with Jesus is always exciting!

4) What was the most physically challenging month?

Uganda was the most physically challenging! We walked 6-9 miles a day back and forth between where we were staying, the school, and the children’s home. We walked in the mornings, the afternoons, and in the evening. We served at a children’s home (like an orphanage) that month, and helped them cook meals, wash dishes, sweep, mop, clean the house, and fetch water for them. They didn’t have running water, so we would make 2-3 trips down to the creek to carry ten or so 20-liter water jugs (weighing 44 pounds each!) back and forth from the creek to the house. I learned how to carry a water jug on my head! All the heavy lifting was wearing us out!

5) What was the hardest goodbye?

Ooof—two goodbyes were equally as hard in different ways: Malaysia and Cambodia.

In Malaysia, we taught at a refugee school. I taught high school level math, science, English, and grammar, and I only had two students. The two students were both refugees from Myanmar a part of the Rohingya people group—which is the most persecuted people group in the world (somehow, we don’t get any news coverage about it, but read more about it here). Refugees in Malaysia have ZERO rights—they cannot be educated and if they get caught, they’ll be deported. For safety’s sake, I’ll call the two Muslim, teenage girls that I taught Sadie and Hannah. I was SUPER close with Hannah, and we both cried our eyes out when we had to say goodbye. As we were about to leave, I heard the Lord tell me to go back and pray over her. I asked Hannah if I could pray over her in Jesus’ name, and she said yes with a huge smile on her face. After praying, I looked up to find tears in her eyes with tears on the edge of her smile. She kept thanking me over and over again, and said I was her favorite teacher she has ever had. I told her that she would love the next group of volunteers just as much, but she held my hands and told me sternly that that would not be the case. I tried to hold back my tears as I hugged her goodbye—but I lost it as we exited the building. I cried like a baby the whole way home. Since our goodbye in February, we’ve been emailing back and forth, and I have prayed for her at least once a week since. Her dream was to go to college—but being a refugee and culturally as an 18-year-old Muslim in Malaysia, that’s close to impossible. I looked up refugee scholarships and sent them to the staff, and prayed a TON for her. I got an email from her a couple months ago, and she told me that not only will she be teaching at the refugee school, but that SHE WILL BE GOING TO UNIVERSITY IN THE FALL BECAUSE SHE GOT A SCHOLARSHIP. Y’all. Jesus is the BEST. Prayer works. Sorry for the tangent—I just couldn’t not leave those parts out without doing justice to her story and why it was so difficult for me to say goodbye. Also, I LOVED our ministry hosts that month—so shout out to Jessica and Kelly—miss you both SO much!

Okay, the other hardest goodbye was Cambodia. Ironically, the host family we lived with and worked with every day didn’t speak a lick of English. That whole month was a game of charades! Still, the family served us ABOVE AND BEYOND what they were asked to do. They showed me what true, humble hospitality looks like—truly the ways Jesus would have served us if He were here with us. On the last night we were there, our team felt like we needed to thank them to the gravity that they demonstrated their love to us. We cooked them dinner (aka, #1 USA, as Pastor Eng liked to call it) with the local ingredients [also a miracle that I whipped up garlic/butter/chicken pasta using ant-infested Raman noodles, margarine, garlic, and a literal whole chicken—praise God for His intervention, ya know?!] We used the pastor’s phone to google translate “John 12:1-17” and asked them to read it to their family using their Khmer Standard Version Bible. They read the passage of Jesus washing the disciples’ feet, and we led them outside. We played worship music, washed the family’s feet, and prayed over them. It was beautiful and sacred. The family was crying. We were crying. It was tears of gratitude and joy—by the Lord’s love.

Tbh, I’m in Kenya right now and this has been my favorite month of the race and one of my hardest goodbyes, too. *update: IT WAS*

6) What was the coldest and hottest weather you dealt with?

Coldest weather was hand’s down Guatemala. We were in the rural mountains in a town called Chichicastenango during January. We didn’t have warm clothes, and we slept in our tents. The weather was in the 30’s-40’s, and I didn’t have a sleeping bag. Because of the water restrictions, water would only run from 8pm-8am, so we took freezing cold showers mainly at 10pm at night with a wide-open window where the wind was blowing fast. It was C-O-L-D. During the beginning of the month and the end of the month (to ring in the new year) we spent a handful of days in Antigua, which was windy and freezing, as well.

Hottest weather was Cambodia. We would be sitting and have droplets of sweat go down our faces. The humidity was at its peak. The outdoor-home we lived in had a couple of fans, but they weren’t strong. It was very difficult to sleep at night—being on our sleeping pads—because the heat was so real. Not to mention that Cambodia was celebrating Khmer New Year, so they were BLASTING Cambodian music all night long. I remember dreaming of the cold weather in Guatemala, ha!

7) What was it like dealing with sickness and pain? How did God and your teammates help you through that?

In the beginning of the race, we were told a great piece of advice: Don’t be a hero. So often when we get sick, we try to suck it up and go on with our lives as if we’re not sick. But when you’re on the race, the more you try to power through and not take care of your sickness, the sicker you get. 11 months of traveling and constantly switching to different countries with different foods, different environments, different cultures, and different time zones can wear out the body. What might seem like a hurt stomach could actually be a parasite or (if you’re lucky in my case) worms. So, we’re told don’t be a hero; and instead, REST. The great thing about being on a team is that we operate as the body of Christ. Like it talks about in 1 Corinthians 12, when the foot is hurt, the other parts of the body pitch in to do their parts. We help each other out. I was sick in Rwanda from worms (thanks, Philippines), and I also hurt my foot pretty badly in Uganda—but my team was incredible and really stepped up. They allowed me to rest, and do what I could to contribute without making me feel guilty for not being able to help. That’s what serving in love is all about. When your heart is full and you’re serving out of genuine love, you’re not comparing how much you’re doing versus the person next to you. We’re all just joyfully serving the Lord, and I’m thankful to be on a team who does that well. I used to feel guilty whenever I couldn’t contribute, but the Lord has given me so much peace about resting—that it’s better in the long run to take time to rest. I’d rather be operating at 100% and take a few rest days every now and then (mental health breaks are SO needed in ministry), than operate at 50% and keep going going going. It doesn’t do anyone around me well if I just keep wearing myself out. There’s a quote one of my pastors (Albert Tate) in California said and it’s reframed the way I think about rest: “Don’t rest from your work. Work from your rest.” But yes—I’ve paid for a lot of doctor visits on the race! I rarely get sick at home, but I’ve made plenty of visits to the doctor on the race.

8) Favorite month of the race all-around? Least favorite month of the race all-around?

This answer is for my favorite/least favorite month on the race (ministry, country, experience, etc.)– not my favorite/least favorite country.

Favorite month: Kenya

Least favorite month: Thailand

9) What were some cool adventure days you had? What was your favorite adventure day?

My favorite adventure day was when my teammate, Cherish, and I went to Krabi and the Phi Phi Islands at the end of our month in Thailand. It was more beautiful than I imagined it to be! The waters were clear blue and green, and the limestone rock structures were breathtaking. We were able to island hop and go kayaking! It was so refreshing for my soul to sit in the Lord’s Creation and encounter His peace that weekend—worth every penny!

Some other cool adventure days included:
-surfing in Jaco in Costa Rica
-jumping off of platforms into a lake inside a volcano at Laguna De Apoyo in Nicaragua
-volcano boarding in Nicaragua
-a weekend of horseback riding and snorkeling in Roatan in Honduras (thanks Aunt Milesse)
-exploring Mayan ruins and exploring Antigua in Guatemala
-throwing mandarin oranges for Chap Goh Meh to celebrate Chinese New Year in Malaysia
-going to a hot air balloon rave (lol) in Penang in Malaysia
-hanging out with Elephants in Thailand
-exploring Angkor Wat in Cambodia
-going to weddings in Rwanda
-safaris in Rwanda and Kenya
-going on a camel ride in Kenya for my birthday

I was in the bush 10/11 months on the race, so it was fun go travel to explore cities and find beaches! While Penang, Malaysia was the only major city I was in on the race, that whole month seemed like an adventure day because there was so much to do and explore! I loved going out to explore the cultures and try new foods.