I have been on the field pretty consistently since September 2014 apart from a 6 month intermission after my race/before squad leading the first time. If I’ve done the math correctly, I have been on the missions field with the World Race for 584 days as of October 17th 2016. When I get off the field December 31st, the final count will be at 659 days.
Needless to say, the World Race has been a life changing experience in so many ways. I have walked into my true identity, I have confidence and boldness, I am a leader, I talk with God daily, I love healthy conflict, and the list goes on and on…
But outside of the spiritual revelations and life lessons I’ve acquired on the field, I’ve picked up some quirks as well. So, here is an ongoing list of things that may not seem normal, but are totally expected and even encouraged in day-to-day life while on the World Race:
-Bucket showers.
-Cold bucket showers.
-Why even shower? Use baby wipes.
-Shave your legs with baby wipes.
-Why even shave?
-Dry shampoo for clean hair.
-Baby powder in hair for the appearance of clean hair.
-Braids for days.
-Wearing other peoples clothes more than you wear your own.
-The glory that is … THE FREE TABLE.
-Sleeping pads and sleeping bags.
-Sleeping bag liners and foam mattresses.
-5 fully grown women sleeping on 3 foam mattresses pushed together.
-You and 5 strangers (aka 6 people) crammed together in a row on a bus made to seat 3.
-25 people in a 15 passenger “taxi.”
-For some reason, Peanut Butter becomes equivalent to gold.
-Getting your $4 a day food budget bumped up to $5 a day = rolling in dough.
-Instant coffee instantly becomes better than Starbucks.
-When sending an email takes upwards of 40 minutes.
-For some reason “24hours free wifi” means 24 seconds…
-Poop talk becomes a cultural norm.
-It is expected that you poop your pants at least once while on the field.
-When an interpreter makes a 10 minute sermon 35 minutes long (PRAISE).
-When seat belts are a thing of the past.
-When sitting on the side of the road in the dark waiting for a taxi that should have been there an hour and a half ago doesn’t cause you to stress.
-“I need to pray about it” is an appropriate answer to any question.
-Asking to hold ALL THE BABIES.
-When the pastor calls you up to preach and you for sure didn’t get that memo beforehand.
-You are willing to eat pretty much anything.
-You are willing to eat pretty much anything that fell on the floor.
-Laughing till your co-leader literally wets herself.
-Laughing at anything and everything.
-Crying at anything and everything.
-Your vocabulary extends considerably and includes words like “Feedback”, “Press-in”, “I receive that”, and “Freedom V”.
-Are they cute? Or have I been on the World Race to long?
-Brushing your teeth outside. With a water bottle.
-Long-drops. (A kind of concrete porta-potty… that smell 10x worse.)
-“Can you sniff this shirt for me? Is it ok to wear?”… and you wear it no matter what they say.
-Quick-dry clothes.
-Sporks.
-Oh, sure. We can fit 7 people in a tuk-tuk.
-48 hour bus rides are not rare, but are actually to be expected.
-Your travel day outfit can make or break you.
-Save seats in the front of the bus to avoid motion sickness.
-Dreading team changes. Then loving your new team as much as you loved the first one.
-Having teams that call you out and grow you.
-Having that one kid that steals your heart for the month.
-Having people that make saying goodbye so incredibly difficult.
-Having goodbyes be worth it, because it means you experienced love.
-Growing into a beautiful person you had no idea you could ever become.
-Strengthening and deepening your relationships with others.
-Strengthening and deepening your relationship with the Father.
-Learning what it really means to be loved and love well.
All that being said…
Love well,
Molly Fae
