The World Race is great. It really is. ?
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I have an incredible, dynamic team of girls I get to work closely with who can confidently say will be my sisters for life. These 5 girls support me, listen to me and are always encouraging me to be the best woman of God I can be.
Ministry is amazing. Door-to-door evangelism wasn’t as terrifying as I cooked it up to be and I’ve been able to experience The Lord through the people of Lajas as well as my team here at HOPE for the DR.
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Not only is the World Race one of the most spiritually healthy things God has lead me to do, it’s also the utterly most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever experienced; and I’m just getting started in Month 1.
And when I say “uncomfortable,” I’m talking every area of my life: physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
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It’s great sleeping dorm-style in bunk beds with 20 other girls. But what seemingly starts out as a mega sleepover quickly turns into a small, cramped room filled with the smell of mildew/body odor, tripping over everyone’s crap as you’re either trying to get out the door or fighting a mosquito net in an effort to try to get into your slightly damp bed.
When it rains, forget about taking a shower; you’re already in that phase of being in between dry and a little under damp so that you can look forward to a nice cozy middle of “sticky.” I could go on about being physically uncomfortable. I won’t.
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After trying to adjust to your physical discomfort, you quickly transition into mental discomfort, which could cover a wide variety of things. For me, it’s the walls closing in on my psyche as I slowly realize I get practically 0 time alone. And when I say “alone,” I don’t mean hanging in my hammock 30 feet from the next girl. I’m talking I need isolation. Recharge my emotional energy. And that’s where emotional discomfort comes into play (which in general, many people struggle with this anyways, but you can count on that being one of your #1 struggles on the Race).
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Being thousands of miles away from your home-state is one thing; being that far away from your friends, family and especially your boyfriend is something different entirely.
I had a vision of what the Race was going to look like, and crying every day from some new and alien emotion was not what I had in mind.
Missing family weddings, birthdays and important life events are hard and only just now clicking for me. The thought of getting off the Race and not being able to climb into my bed because my house will belong to someone else really hits me hard.
Sometimes my emotional discomfort doesn’t have anything to do with that at all. Sometimes it’s knowing what to do and not to do when one of your teammates is mourning the loss of a friend, and all you can do is cry with them and offer whatever prayers you have.
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I hate emotional discomfort. Let me to you.
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My spiritual discomfort looks like me attempting to now rely on The Lord for everything and figuring out what that looks like (I’ll let you know when(if) I figure it out). It looks like me not wanting to evangelize to the people of Lajas because I’m afraid I’ll do it all wrong. It’s me being worried that God isn’t big enough to lead me in spreading His love (all lies, by the way).
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I don’t necessarily have a moral to the story. I’m not an expert on “spirituality” by any means, but I do love Jesus and my relationship with Him, and I’m slowly realizing that sometimes being uncomfortable is what helps me stay focused on Christ. It might sound backwards, but sometimes when my life is going “just right,” I tend to forget Who helped me with that and why things worked out so well.
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So I appreciate and embrace the Race’s uncomfortableness, because it is helping me lean on and grow in my relationship with my Father.
Sometimes being uncomfortable (in whatever way) is like receiving a reality check from God, and it allows me to humble myself and come to Him with everything I’m struggling with because sometimes the only person you have is God. Whether you have experienced that or not, get ready, because it will happen to you. You don’t have to be on the Race for The Lord to make Himself evident in your life, that’s for sure.
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Despite being uncomfortable, the World Race is amazing. The ministry is life changing and alters your perspective of spreading Christ’s love. My team is incredible and we are all growing in Christ together. The country is beautiful, our hosts are loving and the culture is one of acceptance; there’s definitely nothing like the Dominican Republic.
I got to slide down 7 waterfalls, visit two different beaches, buy pineapples and coco frios (coconut ice cream in a plastic bag) with Dominican pesos, ride in the back of a small pickup down the mountain to Sosua…it’s amazing. And worth it.
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Don’t get me wrong, the Race is far from easy. It and The Lord will challenge you in ways you never knew you could/would be challenged in. But it’s a great reward when you get to see a smiling (or crying) face after praying over a new mother, an old couple, a woman with barely a home and no shoes…all people engrained in my mind and my journal forever. To see The Lord evidently beginning to work in and through their lives is something I would never take back, and God brought me across the ocean so the people of Lajas could change me, too.
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Even though I am unbelievably, indescribably, absolutely uncomfortable in all aspects, I am still giving glory to God for He is using it to grow me and further His kingdom.
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Love,
Maddie
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