What. A. Year. It has been full of so many experiences and memories that I will cherish forever. I wrote this blog to recap this past year and share about what I’m taking away from the World Race.
1. What countries did you travel to?
This past year, I traveled to France, Spain, Morocco, (layover in the UK), Cyprus, Jordan, Israel (+ Palestine), Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and China with a day-trip to Hong Kong for a total of 16 countries.
2. What was your favorite country?
The easy answer is that I enjoyed different countries for different reasons, but my overall favorite country on the race was Cyprus. I saw God work and provide in some pretty incredible ways and I met some truly amazing people.
Going into Cyprus, we were supposed to have a host and someone that we would work with for the month. This fell through during our layover in London, which meant that we were landing in Cyprus with no where to go and no one to work with. Our first Sunday there, we went to an international church and met an amazing family who opened their home to us for the month. We also got to partner with them in their ministry as they work to bring the gospel to the Middle East.
Additionally, in Cyprus Nathan and I had to find a location to hold our second debrief for the race. About three weeks prior to debrief, we found a great location. Five days before debrief, the host of the house cancelled our reservation without any explanation. This meant that we had to scramble to find a place for the entire squad to stay. It was a stressful time, but through that I watched as God provided for every need along the way. During this month in particular, God increased my faith drastically and I realized that our God is such a good Father who loves to give good gifts to His children.
3. What was the most challenging part of the World Race?
The most challenging part of the race was the constant change. I knew coming into the race that the constant change would get tiring, but even still it really started wearing me down several months in. Additionally, being on expedition, we moved a lot more than traditional squads and sometimes we moved multiple times within one country. When my team was in China, we went to five different cities within two and a half weeks. I’ve loved seeing so many different places and countries and people groups, but I am so, so excited to be in the same place for more than three weeks.
4. What did you enjoy the most?
Hands down, the people were my favorite part of the race. I was never drawn to the race because of all the places I would see; rather, because of all the people I would get to meet along the way. I have made some very deep friendships with people on my squad and I’ve made some amazing friends from all around the world.
5. What has the Lord taught you this year?
Wow, so many things. This past year I learned more about how to hear the Lord’s voice and how to discern His voice from my own and that of the enemy. I learned how to fight for people and live in community. And I learned even more that our God is a good, good Father who cares for our every need. This past year I have been in more situations where my basic needs were not met and every single time I saw God provide.
6. What kinds of transportation did you take? What was your favorite travel day?
Oh my. We took planes, trains, buses, ferries, taxis, tuk-tuks, subways, and sometimes we just walked. We took multiple 30-hour train rides and would travel for several days at a time without beds. At one point, the train tickets in Kazakhstan were sold out for the New Year, so my team of seven girls crammed into the conductor’s closet for 19 hours to get to Almaty. My favorite travel day was the day my team went from Spain to Morocco across the Straight of Gibraltar and then a 6-hour train ride to Fes. The view was beautiful and there were so many good conversations along the way.
7. What was it like doing logistics for the squad the whole year?
Doing logistics was the best thing ever and the worst thing ever, sometimes all in the same day. Having a great partner really helped (you’re the best, Nathan) and we both have stories that the rest of the squad will never know about. In Cyprus, our debrief location cancelled on us five days out from debrief. In Kyrgyzstan, we had to change debrief locations at the last minute because the place we were going to go didn’t have electricity. But every single time, we have seen the Lord come through and it has been amazing. I can now say that Nathan and I have successfully gotten 23 people around the entire world. We are experts at finding trains, buses, housing, and doing border crossings. We even got everyone into (and out of) Israel and China–two of the more difficult countries to enter on our route.
8. What was your favorite ministry?
My favorite ministry was in Cyprus, where I worked with a ministry that makes Christian videos that are broadcasted throughout the Middle East. I got to do a lot of administrative work, like creating newsletters and a website, to help *Aman (name changed for security reasons) make his ministry more effective and influential. It was during this month that the Lord put a desire in my heart to go back to school and study writing with the goal of working for nonprofits as a career.
9. What was your hardest month? Best?
The hardest month for me was Spain because that’s when I strained a ligament in my foot and couldn’t walk, let alone do the Camino. I contemplated coming home after I spent all of debrief hobbling around Mijas on crutches. But thankfully, the Lord had other plans and He helped me get the help I needed to get better. My best month was probably Cyprus or Jordan. We had amazing people and ministries that we worked with and were part of during those two months and I also had a lot more energy then than I had later on.
10. What was your favorite food? Least favorite?
My favorite food was Middle Eastern food. I loved falafel and all the toppings. My least favorite food was Chinese food. By the time I hit China, I was pretty much eating McDonald’s and KFC on the daily. (Yes, I know I’m a dietitian, don’t judge.)
11. Are you glad you did the race?
Yes. There have definitely been moments where I thought otherwise, but I would definitely say that I am glad I did the race. I’ve learned things this year that I probably would not have learned if not for the World Race.
12. What would you tell to someone who is getting ready to go on the race?
I would tell them to embrace every moment and write it all down. The race, while seemingly a long period of time, goes so fast. Also, the race is what you make it. You can choose to stay in and not participate and have a bad attitude. Or, you can choose to jump in, get involved, and make the most of every single day.
13. What did you learn from the race that you want to incorporate into your community at home?
The race fostered a culture that made communication a key component within our teams. We had feedback several times a week where we would discuss the hard things and things like the elephant in the room that no one wanted to discuss. While these conversations weren’t always enjoyable, most of the time they were very fruitful. I learned that harmony is something that is very important to me and I don’t necessarily like talking about hard things, but I saw the outcomes from it and I want to foster a culture of communication in my community at home.
14. Was the race what you expected?
Honestly, I had no idea what to expect. I knew that I would be out of my comfort zone and that it would be challenging, but as far as what the day-to-day would look like, I had no idea. There were times though that I was disappointed with my experiences, but then God would remind me that it’s what I make it. I am a free person and I can choose to let my unmet expectations bring me down or I can do something about it. I eventually learned to do something about it and my outlook and overall experiences improved.
15. What is something you gained in seeing so many different countries?
Perspective. Seeing the world opened my eyes to so many new cultures, people groups, religions, and ways of life. I also learned about conflicts and animosity that exists between different people groups. For example, I learned about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and why they hate each other. I learned about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the conflict with Northern Cyprus that is currently occupied by the Turks.
Through all of this, I also realized that despite all the differences we may hold, people are people and we all seek to be known and cared for and we all need Jesus.
16. What are you looking forward to about coming home?
So many things! I’m looking forward to my own bed and my own room. Having a stable place. Seeing my family and friends again. Worshipping in English and being able to understand the sermon. Having more than $5 a day for food. And we can’t forget Chick-Fil-A and Mexican food.
17. How do you want to share about your experiences once you are home?
I am very excited to share about this year! But, to be honest, it seems a little intimidating because I’m not quite sure how to condense the past 11 months into a few sentences. So, when you ask me questions about my year, please give me grace as I figure out how to talk about it. I’d love to meet up with anyone that wants to hear about my year, but please also know that I haven’t had a job in over a year and have spent quite a bit of personal money on the race, so please invite me to free/inexpensive outings.
18. What are your plans for after the race?
This fall, I will be going back to school to get my Master’s degree in Technical and Professional Writing at Missouri State. I will also be a Teaching Assistant for the Introduction to University class for incoming freshmen.
Lastly, I would just like to say THANK YOU to everyone who prayed for me, supported me, and followed my journey. I couldn’t have done this year without your love, prayers, support, and encouragement. This past year I saw countless lives changed and saw God do incredible things—and you all were part of that. Thanks for journeying with me!
