17 moments in 2017:
THE WORLD RACE
- Ever since I was a little girl missions have been something I wanted to do. I can remember asking my mom to go on every short-term missions trip my church offered. Finally, the summer before my senior year I got the opportunity to go to Carrefour, Haiti. It was one of the best weeks of my life. I fell in love with the country, culture, people, and missions. So senior year starts, and I’m faced with the usual questions “what are you doing next year?”and “what colleges have you applied for?” so long story short; I’m sitting at home contemplating what I am supposed to do next year, then I see a post on Instagram from a church friend. It’s a picture with a bunch of people I don’t recognize so I do a little creeping, which led me to the world race website. I instantly fell in love. I had to wait in anticipation for many months until the applications for next year’s routes came out
MOVING HOUSES
- My family had been casually looking for houses for a few years now but the beginning of my junior year we became serious. We found a house that was “perfect” for our family. It is honestly a blur now, but we moved in just before winter hit.
SCHOOL DANCES
- Homecoming: my last homecoming dance and football game as a Sauk Centre student. Some of my best friends and I were up for homecoming queen. We got to perform a dance for the school and after went to watch my last homecoming football game. It was bittersweet.
Prom: It was a great night. My friends and I rented a limo and I had a dress with pockets, I couldn’t have asked for more. I danced and smiled till my feet and cheeks hurt.
SPORTS
4. My senior year I played volleyball, hockey, and softball. In volleyball my team was conference champs and I was awarded Academic All State. In hockey our record wasn’t that great but I definitely had the most fun I’ve ever had on a sports team, thanks to my hilarious teammates. oh and I wasn’t even on the top 20 for most penalty minutes this year! For softball I was awarded Most Valuable Player in the conference and made the All State First Team. I also broke the school record for most stolen bases and most homeruns in a season.
LARRY
5. Larry, the baby llama, was born on July 30th. He’s the newest addition to the family (to my knowledge anyway) He got super sick as a baby, so we were forced to bring him inside and bottle feed him every 3 hours. I resorted to sleeping in the living room and cuddling with him to make him feel safe. Sure enough we became attached at the hip. He’s my little baby and I miss him like crazy. I hear he is quiet the mischievous little thing these days.
GRADUATION
6. I graduated with high honors and a few days later celebrated with good food and great people. I had the best hot dog bar that ever was at my grad party!
BOSTON
7. My sister and I played in a week-long recruiting tournament in Boston over the summer; which called for a road trip. My mom and Gabby did most of the driving… along the way we saw Niagara Falls, Times Square, and more. We both got offers to play division one hockey out east… it was a great week of hockey.
SHAUNA’S WEDDING
8. On July 1st my big sister got married to the love of her life. I got the pleasure to be the beautiful bride’s maid of honor, along with my sister Gabby. It was a night I will remember forever!
TRAINING CAMP
9. It is honestly a blur. On July 6th I traveled to Georgia to further prepare for this dream, The World Race, to come true. I spent 10 looonng days there.
MOONDANCE JAM
10. Brielle, my best friend, bought me tickets to a classic rock festival. We drove up together with a tent, some hotdogs, a portable grill, and a lot of water. It was my first ever festival! I got to see Steve Miller Band, Motely Crue, and so many others.
HAITI ROUND 2
11. . I got to once again visit the place that stole my heart. This time with my sister. While there we helped build a house on top of a mountain and entertained tons of kids at VBS. I also got to see Gabby get baptized in the ocean… Haiti will always have my heart. Gabby and I are planning a trip to go back this next summer to stay for a month!
TEACHING ENGLISH
12.My first country on the world race. While living there, my ministry was teaching English as a second language. I got to teach kids ranging in age from 7-14 years. I completely fell in love with New Hope School and everything they stood for. The kids and teachers will forever be in my heart. My time in Cambodia will always be remembered!
THANKSGIVING
13. The first holiday away from home… I spent thanksgiving in Honduras, which isn’t necessarily a holiday here. But our gracious hosts allowed us to celebrate just as if we were in the states. Each team was in charge of cooking a dish for dinner; my team made mashed potatoes. When the kitchen was full we got to chill out on the couch and watch FOOTBALL! We even had some good ole potato chips to snack on… it felt like home at that moment, hearing everyone yell at the screen when there was an interception thrown or a sack.
CHRISTMAS
14. I got to spend it with my new family in Honduras. We exchanged gifts and ate French toast, quiche, watermelon, and drank orange juice, and peppermint hot chocolate. For dinner we had ham, mashed potatoes, mac & cheese, chips and dip, oreo balls, and Christmas cookies!
NEW YEARS
15. New Years was a bit different; instead of watching the ball drop I got to light off fireworks and have a dance party around a bonfire. My hosts family came over and helped us prepare for the day. Scarleth’s mom taught me how to make homemade tamales. In Honduras New Years is the most celebrated holiday, so we went all out!
WRAPPING FABRIC
16. Ministry in Honduras looked a bit different than Cambodia. We were told originally that we would be working at a special needs orphanage. We were supposed to help them paint rooms, plant gardens/ landscaping, and start a choir. Well… instead our job was to wrap fabric, so the residents could use it to make bags and rugs. The work seemed tedious and monotonous, but I pushed through and I learned how to balance fabric rolling with resident interaction. I’ve made incredible friends at the home and will miss each resident dearly. God has showed me what pure, genuine love looks like through the tias and residents.
CRAZY FOODS
17. While on the race I’ve experienced true culture through many ways but one that is always a crowd pleaser is food. I’ve eaten my share of odd delicacies here… in Cambodia I tried dog, snake, partially developed duck embryo, and crickets; in Honduras I tried cow tongue tacos, and pig skin.
well that concludes it. I hope you enjoyed..
I am so excited to make new memories this year, and what better place to start this crazy year than on the race? I’m so incredibly thankful for the opportunity to be here… and to stay I have just over $1,000 left to raise by January 29th.
thank you all for your unconditional support & love. it means the world to me.
xoxo
mikayla
