Can you believe it? We have officially hit the halfway point on the race! Before I answer some questions you all submitted, here are a few fun facts:
1. We’ve been to eight countries so far (nine if you count Palestine).
2. I’ve slept in 42 different beds up til now.
3. We’ve used five different currencies.
4. The weather has been everything from really hot to way too cold.
5. We’ve been to 41 different cities so far.
6. I’ve been on three different teams.
7. I’ve gotten sick five times.
8. My pack still weighs the same. (20kg on the dot, literally)
9. We’ve been in 4 different time zones.
10. We’ve had one host so far, the other months have been ATL.
Okay, so now for those questions.
1. Do you have a favorite place you’ve been so far?
I really loved Cyprus and Jordan. I could see myself living in Limassol, Cyprus, but working in Amman was a lot of fun too. I’m realizing that I have a heart for people in the Middle East and would someday love to live in that area for a couple years and learn Arabic.
2. How do teams/squads work?
The term “squad” is used to refer to the whole group whereas “team” refers to the smaller groups. There are 23 people on the squad and the squad is then divided into 3-4 teams. We travel from country to country as a squad, but once we get to a new country, the teams usually go in different directions. When we were in Morocco, the teams were each given a different region to go to. From time to time, we have team changes. This happens for different reasons—sometimes based on where one team is going and also sometimes based on personalities and who will be a good fit for one another.
3. What has been your most moving experience so far?
Seeing the persecution against the church last month was moving for me and my whole team. It’s one thing to read about the hardships Christians endure around the world, but it was a whole other thing to see it firsthand. We saw the hurt and pain that the believers experienced, but we also saw the joy and the steadfastness that they held in the midst of it. That experience put a burden in my heart for the persecuted church. I will never forget the price they willingly paid because they knew Jesus was worth it.
4. When have you been the most scared?
A couple moments come to mind—the first one was when we were in Spain. We decided to skip the boring part of the Camino and took a train from Pamplona to Leon. We arrived in Leon pretty late in the evening and we assumed that all the hostels were full. Our original plan was to sleep in the train station, but we got kicked out around midnight. So, somehow we ended up sleeping behind a sketchy tarp. Everyone else pulled out their sleeping bags and sleeping pads and some claimed they slept great that night. I, on the other hand, did not. I didn’t feel safe, so I never pulled out my sleeping pad. I just sat there and prayed all night long. And eventually, morning came and everything was fine. But, that was one of my least favorite nights on the race so far.
Another time I felt a lot of fear was during month three in Morocco. There were a few days when I was afraid that I was going to have to go home. I had strained a ligament in my foot a month earlier and it wasn’t getting better. I couldn’t walk and had to use my crutches to get around. I knew I couldn’t keep up 8 more months on crutches. I felt so down and disappointed—I firmly believed that God had called me on the race and He had faithfully provided all the funds 4 months before launch. I remember just crying thinking that it was all over. But then, my team prayed for my foot and encouraged me to get another opinion from a doctor. I then went to physical therapy in Morocco for about 10 days and things got much better from there.
5. What has surprised you the most?
Several things have really surprised me. When I signed up for the race, I imagined myself living in rustic huts in the middle of nowhere, sleeping on the floor, with no wifi for days. I’ve only slept on my sleeping pad a handful of times and the places we’ve gone have been fairly westernized. Another thing that has surprised me is how hospitable the rest of the world is. Countless times we’ve barely met someone and they’ve immediately invited us into their home for tea. People around the world love having guests in their home and they see it as a treat. I want to take that home with me!
6. What has been the hardest part of living with people you just met?
This is a really good question. Before I left for the race, I remember reading blogs about how hard community life on the race was. I brushed that aside and thought, “Surely, it can’t be that difficult.” Little did I know…
No, I’m just kidding, it hasn’t been that bad, but there have been some challenges from time to time for sure. The hardest part for me has been learning to trust the people around me. I didn’t realize how challenging that would be for me. Two months before coming on the race, my world back home flipped upside down. I came on the race with a lot of pain and feelings of rejection and bitterness. (By the grace of God, I am in a much healthier place now.) There were people that I loved a lot that were no longer a part of my life. Those feelings of rejection that came with it made it really hard for me to trust people again. And so, here I was surrounded by a bunch of new people who had no idea the amount of hurt I had walked through and I didn’t feel like I could trust them enough with my story or my pain. It took awhile for me to be able to let the walls down and let my teammates in. But, eventually they came down and I was able to trust and love the people God had placed in my life.
7. What has been your favorite meal?
I really loved Middle Eastern food. They eat a lot of pita bread with cucumber and tomato salad, hummus, Greek yogurt, and falafel. Some people combine all the ingredients in one and make a sandwich out of it, but my favorite way to eat it is to put the different ingredients on a plate and then dip the bread in them.
8. What have you learned from the believers you’ve met?
The believers I’ve met have taught me that there is a cost to following Jesus, but that cost is always worth it. I met and worked with a believer in Cyprus from the Middle East. After he gave his life to Christ, he had to flee his home country. He barely made it out, but God had a purpose for him and is using his life to bring more people into His Kingdom. I’ve also learned to increase my faith and that God can and will do the impossible. Sometimes you just have to be placed in uncomfortable situations before you actually experience it yourself.
9. What have you learned about ministering to people in other countries?
I’ve learned that we are all people longing for something to make us whole. Sure, we come from different backgrounds and speak different languages, but we all feel pain and loneliness and long for someone or something to fill us up. We are all made by God in His image and when we recognize that, we are overcome with love for others.
10. What have you learned doing logistics for the squad?
Oh boy, I have learned so much. I’ve learned how to find and book cheap housing for the squad and how to find transportation between countries. But more than that, I’ve learned to rely on the Lord. There have been times where I’ve felt discouraged because no doors seemed to be opening up. But lo and behold, God opens a door for us in the nick of time. This happened with housing for debrief in Cyprus and housing in Israel. My faith has grown tremendously through it and we come out with some pretty amazing stories of God’s provision.
