It’s kinda insane—I am now out of Africa and I have entered my 7th month on the Race! People told us back at training camp that on the World Race you will fly through the countries but even though it goes super fast, you still feel like you’ve grown to be 85 years old. This is pure truth. The Race teaches you that the Lord is not bound to time but He sure does have purpose for every second of it.
I am sitting right now 20 feet from the Adriatic Sea in the beautiful country of Montenegro… VERY different from the countryside of Ethiopia where I was last month. I feel like my life is currently out of a book; surrounded by snow-capped mountains and crystal turquoise waters. I wake up each morning and put on all the clothing I have to stay warm and then take a stroll by the sea to get to our little café—where we give out free coffee and muffins to build relationships with the people of Kotor, Montenegro. We’ve been here just a week and we’ve already seen God provide divine appointments with people from all over the world.
Exploring Kotor with a few new Montenegrin friends!
Even though I could go on and on about the locations of where God has taken me these past 7 months and just the beauty of Montenegro alone; I have to discuss one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned while being on the Race. The lesson is that some of the greatest God moments I’ve had on this journey have been ones without any words at all.
I’ve walked hundreds of streets all over the world with different languages chatting around me; languages that I would never be able to understand. But God says, “Lynda, My love is not bound, it’s abounding.”
In Africa, I would walk down dirt roads and with just a few seconds, 15 kids would be giggling and following behind me. With excitement, you see them speed up to my pace so they can reach out and grab my hand. The moment they took my hand, they would glance up with the biggest smile spread across their little dusty faces. I’ve had some of the most precious moments walking with children without saying a word. Love just radiated between us and Jesus was there—it’s all that mattered.
I’ve shaken hands, sent smiles, hugged strangers, and I’ve even had conversations with people as I was speaking my language and they were speaking theirs. It didn’t matter that we didn’t understand each other; we had fun just being with one another.
God doesn’t need me to speak eloquent words to love. He doesn’t need me to know all the right answers and to fix a person. He calls me to hold their hand. In the past he has taught me the importance of words and how powerful they are, but these past couple of months, He has been calling me to see love as a verb, an action.
It’s throwing a child into the air as they scream with joy. It’s sitting with a widow as they do their daily work in gardening. It’s praying for a man’s hurt leg as he sits as an outcast on the streets even though he has no idea what you’re saying.
Love without words. 11 countries also means 11 different languages that I don’t speak. But that doesn’t stop the love of God. This is something I’ve learned. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a lot of talking these past 7th months… but I’ve learned to cherish the memories with no words as well.
Every second is precious on the Race. God does not waste a single moment of my life to pour in His purpose. Even when I feel defeated or like I didn’t do much for a person, He reminds me that His love is always present and takes on many different forms. God speaks to me without words and calls me to speak to others without words too.
