I put a post out on facebook asking for people to ask me anything and everything that they are curious about the race. Here are the questions and their answers in no particular order…
Question Number 1
What are you cooking for supper when you get back? (Asked by my mom)
I’m not! You are taking me out to dinner to a place that doesn’t have rice or noodles even on the menu! Either Mexican food or steak will be appropriate. Lol Love you!
Question Number 2
Will you share with our life group a couple of weeks upon your return? (Asked by T-Byrd)
Of course! Honestly I would love to. This trip has been amazing for so many different reasons and I would love to sit down and get to tell you guys all about it. You all were some of the first people to know that I had a desire to do this trip and prayed for it for years before I even applied. I want to tell you guys about how God answered those prayers and more! Plus I need to see the new Byrd house!
Question Number 3
What would you say is the highlight of the race so far? And why? (Asked by Jess L.)
If we are talking about ministry highlight I would either Christmas Day in Panama or the mural in Malaysia. The mural for so many reasons that I’m not able to really write about (you can ask me about that in person if you are curious), and Panama because that was a moment I felt like we were truly living out the great commission. We put on a Christmas program for a room full of Muslim and Hindu people and shared with them not just the reason for Christmas but we shared the gospel with them. In the weeks following one of the people from that night returned to the church asking questions about how prayer with God worked. We were able to see the seeds that were planted from that day and it is a memory I will always cherish.
If we are talking about favorite highlight in my walk with Christ, I would have to say my time on the beach in Durban, South Africa. It was there that realized and decided to give myself fully to this gift the Lord had given me. I had spent the first 4 months of this very guarded and didn’t open myself up to learn what God was trying to teach me. I had kept people at a distance and tried to control them and everything else around me. The day we changed teams, I was sitting on the beach, looking at the waves crashing into the shore, and I made a decision. I decided that I wasn’t going to let my fear of people keep me from fully grasping this gift. I wanted to make sure that I no longer let the actions of other people determine my race. I was going to run after who the Lord was calling me to be no matter what anyone else beside me was doing. In doing that, it completely changed not only my race but me as a person too.
Question Number 4
Do you want to come over for a bbq when you get back? (Asked by Lauren)
Yaaassss! I’ll bring the wine!!!!
Question Number 5
What’s the story behind the mural? Any special meaning on the character? (Asked by my mom)
To make a long story short, the mural is a visual representation of my testimony. It’s called “Searching for Higher Power” and shows the robot looking for something and ultimately finding it and happiness at the same time. The character came from inspiration from some pictures the owner had of what he had in mind for the space. We decided to do cutesy-cartoon robot meets steampunk. I’m not sure if that’s where it landed but I like it nonetheless.
Question Number 6
How much of the local languages are you picking up? Which has been the most difficult? (Asked by Natasha)
I learn greetings in every language. Things like hello, thank you, excuse me, and sorry are super important to know in every language. My Spanish has probably improved the most. I like to trying to learn at least one song in each language too. I know songs in Spanish, Hindi, siSwati, Afrikaans, Hok Kien, and I’m working on one in Thai.
The hardest language was either Hindi or Sesotho. Hindi was hard because when reading it, the sounds you pronounce didn’t match how they were spelled. It was confusing for my brain at first. Sesotho was hard because they have sounds in their language that we don’t have in English. I don’t worry too much about mispronouncing anything though. The cool thing about languages is that most people give you huge amounts of grace if they see you trying to speak their language. So its easy to want to try and pick up some of the languages.
Question Number 6.5
Which culture has been the most difficult to adapt to? (Also asked by Natasha)
I would have to say Lesotho was pretty difficult. People there live without a filter. They just say whatever is on their minds. It was hard to not be offended sometimes, but it was just the culture there. It was strange to walk down the street and have people yelling, “makhooa” (which means white people) at us. We were constantly having people take pictures of us. Sometimes they were subtle and sometimes they were not. Some people even asked to take pictures with us. (This has happened in Asia too but more often in Lesotho.) It was just a very different culture from anything I had experienced.
Question Number 7
What’s been your favorite meal? Favorite overall cuisine? (Asked by Zac)
My favorite meal was New Years Eve at Bambi’s house. We had traditional Indian style bbq mixed with Panamanian New Years traditions. We started with chips and salsa and then hummus and veggies. Next it was time for the meat. We ate 2 different types of sausage, chicken, beef, and pork. It was some of the best food I’ve had! Then we ate 12 grapes at midnight (a Panamanian tradition) and then were told that it was time for dinner. We still had salad and a whole fish to eat. The whole fish is a Panamanian tradition and the fish must be un-cut when it is cooked. It was so much food, but it was absolutely delicious and I hope to go back and have it again on another New Year’s in the future.
My favorite overall cuisine though would be a toss-up between Indian or the food in Malaysia. I love Indian food so much! I can go to an Indian restaurant and order anything and know I will like it. I will continue the Indian food for Christmas dinner tradition now. I also loved the food in Malaysia. I can’t say it was all Malaysian food because Malaysia is a melting pot of many different cultures and I loved it all. Specifically the street food. The guy we painted the mural for would bring us lunch while we were out there and it was always local food. It usually came from a street vendor and was either a noodle or rice dish. They were always delicious no matter what was in them. Also they came with chrysanthemum tea or Chinese herbal tea which tastes a lot like sweet tea. It made my heart so happy. I miss Texas tea.
Question Number 8
How has this experience changed you the most? (Asked by Sondra)
This experience has changed me in so many ways, but I can confidently say it has change me the most in the way I interact with community. For most of my life I’ve kept people at arms length. I never let people get too close. This experience has shown me the importance of community in my walk with Christ. God calls us to live in community for a reason and a huge part of what the Lord wanted to teach me was how to let other people speak into my life and fully accept it. I was challenged by leadership that when someone gives me a compliment to not just brush it away, thinking I know better than they do about who I am, but to actually listen to what they say. To give the words they say the weight and recognition they deserve. I chose to take on this challenge and, by doing it, was changed me completely. I lived so long in the mentality that I can do it on my own. While independence is good, God calls us into community for a reason. We are stronger when we are together. This race has shown me what healthy community its looks like. It’s a community where everyone chooses to care about one another. I have learned what it looks like to love one another enough to say the hard things. To care enough about my community to call people to walk more like Christ. It has changed the way I communicate with others. I have learned what it looks like to have hard things be said and not immediately met with defensiveness. To be able to not have people shut down but to have difficult conversations knowing that the other person loves and respects you. I learned that you come out the other side of those conversations even stronger. I’ve learned that this type of communication is visible to people outside of our community and that it sets us apart by our love. This is what I believe the Bible was talking about in John 13:35. This kind of love is what I think He calls us to. This experience has changed me the most by learning how to live this out.
So there you go… Here is the answers to all the questions asked. If you have any more questions feel free to leave them at the bottom of this blog and I will continue to answer them as they come in. Thanks for reading! Until next time…
