Can you recall all the places you wiped out on the World Race and share each story in 15 words or less?
My first wipe out was walking to the beach in India, on a small slope.
Secondly, down stairs with my heavy pack on in India, two sprained ankles, so sad.
Nepal, I laid low, to nurse the ankle sprains.
Cambodia, I did not fall walking, but I did almost get hit riding my bicycle.
In Thailand, I think I walked well.
Malaysia, I fell flat on my face, walking with everyone to morning devotions.
Botswana I did well.
South Africa, I tripped on the beach.
Swaziland, I fell when the children attacked & clung to me.
Dominican Republic, I slipped on a muddy mountain.
Haiti, I didn’t fall yet, but tripped and recovered smoothly when no one was around.
What is the most important thing you have learned on this past year’s journey?
That God is not contained in one place or the other, no people group or region is establishing the Kingdom of God better than anybody else. Globally there are flaws & globally there is beauty & globally there is God. That the grass isn’t greener anywhere, it’s probably a little yellow everywhere on this fallen earth, & the only purely green pasture is a place I can get to in the Lord, not on a map or in status or experience.
Who’s been your best friend since day 1 In India (also your photographer and the coolest person you’ve ever known)?
Erin Tyson.
Who has the most black mail pictures of you?
Definitely, DEFINITELY, Erin Tyson.
What happened to the other half of the spider that you didn’t finish eating in Cambodia?
Erin Tyson found the remains in our room somewhere at the end of the month when we were cleaning & getting ready to go to Thailand. Lol.
Which country made you sweat the most?
Well, I thought I couldn’t sweat more than I did in India. Then I got severely dehydrated the day I forgot my water bottle in Cambodia. I thought I was going to die from the dry heat in Botswana & was privileged to personally experience forearm sweat in Swaziland. And just today at church in Haiti I felt a tickle down at my ankle, I looked down expecting to see some nightmarish beetle, but alas, it was knee pit sweat trickling down my calf. I’d say it’s been a steady tie.
Hotdog or wiener?
A hotdog is comprised of a wiener in a bun, a wiener alone is a wiener.
Who do you miss the most?
My family.
Do you feel like you have a stronger relationship with God?
I think I do, but it’s hard to tell from where I stand. It takes a fool to say he’s wise. I guess I’ll see how the fruit holds up when this tree’s taken from the tropics back to the frostbitten North. We’ll see how it holds up when I’m back in familiar places, with old surroundings & new challenges. But I do think it’s stronger, I think I doubt less. I think the Lord finally convinced me that I’m an okay person, that it’s okay to be okay & that I’m allowed to be confident & happy…I’m allowed to shine, I don’t need anyone’s permission & He has it all under control. I also think he increased my faith a bit, He allowed me to see firsthand a lot of the evils that people use to try & disprove the existence of God & He kept me steadfast through it. If you can see God in the streets of India & the slums of Nepal, & the trenches of Port Au Prince…it takes a measure of strength just to squint hard enough to see Him through all the suffering, so I hope that counts for something.
DO YA GOTTA BOYYFRRIIEENND?!
No, but I was offered many cows paid to my Father as a bridal price in Africa.
If any one WWF wrestler could survive the World Race, who would it be?
I mean probably Macho Man Randy Savage.
Also do you trust anyone to serve you Thai Tea anymore?
Not anyone who’s name rhymes with Brent Danford.
Would you do the Race again?
Nope. Lol. The Lord used this year, as He does every year, & He directed me to come on this Race…but I wouldn’t do this again just for the fun of it, or the experience. It was amazing & eye-opening & educating, it was challenging & it helped me grow, but for everything there is a season, & this season is about to come to a close.
What was your favorite month?
My favorite place was India, my favorite ministry was Rumah Faith children’s home in Malaysia & my favorite month with my team & a place where I just felt joyful was Swaziland.
What was your least favorite month?
The first one that comes to mind is our month in South Africa.
What did you miss most about life in North America?
Honestly, I didn’t expect this, but the thing I miss most I think is cleanliness. I miss having the means to be a clean & hygienic person, & honestly I’m not even really that clean of a person at home, I just miss being an average amount of hygienic. Lol. I just miss the good old days of being parasite-free. Every time I rub my shoulders & chest with my hands I rub off a paste comprised of dirt, dead skin cells & sweat. Washing clothes by hand you’re faced with the reality that your clothes are never really that clean & your dirty laundry water from them is always repulsively dirty. Bucket showers with cold water usually leave grime in your hair or soap scum still on your body, & soap is rarely there when you go to wash your hands after using the washroom. I miss being a clean woman. It’s been kind of unpleasant always having slightly smelly clothes & slightly germy hands, but it’s also been a cool lesson in what we can do without & how little we need to actually manage. And I’ve probably built up my immune system. Lol.
I also miss the luxury of getting alone. Being alone in my room. Not having to worry about being presentable all the time. Crying & not worrying about where you have to be in 5 minutes with your puffy eyes & red cheeks surrounded by a bunch of people who are going to ask you what’s wrong.
What’s the weirdest thing you ate/drank?
Warm, tart, pungent buffalo milk fresh from the teat of a buffalo. My first week in India. Yes, it was worse than the tarantula.
What is your favorite culture?
Indian, for sure. I think it was really the only culture that I was prematurely excited for. I was mostly challenged by Indian culture, & I think that’s what makes it so memorable, because it’s so extreme. But I was also delighted…at the food & the clothes & the way of life, the general vibrancy. It’s just so fascinating to me. Jamaican culture comes in second.
What was your favorite cuisine?
I have to say Thai. Flipping Khao Soi is one of the best dishes I have ever eaten in my life, cheap Pad Thai on the streets is just unreal & nothing will ever be a better beverage than iced Thai Tea. Plus they have a Thai Sweet Chili Sauce dispenser in Thai McDonald’s…I mean come on.
What did your time on the Race reveal about your calling?
I love kids even more than I thought I did, & I’d REALLY love to care for orphans or work in orphan prevention…midwifery has been this reoccurring thing this past year on the field, we’ll see what comes of that.
Which country would you go back to?
India, Malaysia, Swaziland, Dominican Republic, & Jamaica.
What was the most difficult thing to witness?
Probably the street kids high on glue in Cambodia. Or Phillip, a little boy in Malaysia, learning how to swallow solid food because the first time he’d encountered it was at the orphanage at the age of 3. Also really small babies in Swaziland at the care points alone at mealtime. I remember this little girl just sitting in the gravel while the other kids ate, but she was too little to get food, so I took her a plate of Manna Pack food & fed her. She was kind of glazed over & emotionless, just taking in the food. In Haiti too, seeing the kids in such rough shape…sick & hungry. And once we prayed in India for a woman who was clearly dying of ovarian cancer, but her family wouldn’t let her know the diagnosis for some reason, like she wasn’t entitled to know because she was a woman. A lot of stuff, it turns out, was hard to witness.
What was a constant joy?
The unconditional love from children. Smiles & greetings exchanged with strangers.The assurance of knowing one day Jesus will come back & set all things right.
