Welcome to my very unorganized, scatterbrained, last world race blog, where I am trying to sum up some things that are kind of hard to sum up.
Coming home. The transition has been harder and a lot weirder than I thought it would be. It’s definitely great to be back, but I kind of thought I would just jump right back into “normal” life, the life I lived before leaving. But those things I used to do don’t seem so normal to me anymore. Hopping in the car and going somewhere? I didn’t do that at all this year. Going to the gym? That happened once. I now get nervous going anywhere alone because I haven’t been alone for 11 months (#buddysystem), and I still get excited when someone speaks to me in English. I know the new normal will eventually blend in with the old, I just wasn’t expecting it to feel so strange. Everyone seems to be moving at such a fast pace, and I feel like I’m kind of just standing here for now, watching everyone go around me.
So what did I learn this year? A lot. More than I can even tell you. More than I probably even realize right now. I learned that things can be hard, but still good. I’m more of a homebody than I thought. I am more loved than I can even imagine (you all are). I don’t need to wear makeup to feel beautiful. I am never alone. I don’t need to be perfect or have all of the answers. God is too awesome to be defined. Loving people is hard. I need to keep working on trust. Jesus is freaking amazing. It’s okay to be or not be like everyone else. God is a better planner than I am. Grace. Freedom. The list goes on. It was a year of great times and hard times, learning more about myself and Jesus along the way. And that’s really what I wanted out of this year. I wanted time to spend with Jesus. Making friends and traveling the world was just an added bonus.
The number one question: What am I going to do now? This is a hard one for me, because I hate not having a plan, and I currently don’t have one. But the last week of the race, I was sitting in Costa (Costa Rica for those of you who don’t use abbrevs) thinking about the year and how far I’ve come and just where God has brought me, and thanking him for everything, and I could almost see him looking at me, smiling/kind of laughing, saying “Yes, Molly. It’s been great hasn’t it? You have no idea how proud of you I am. And yes, you have come really far, but guess what? The adventure isn’t over yet! I’m bringing you all the way to heaven!”
So my plan right now is to (try to) be okay with not having a plan. A lot of times the best adventures weren’t planned anyway, right? Or at least didn’t go according to plan. I am going to trust that God will show me the way to go, enjoy the journey, and keep trying to love along the way. So when I’m not freaking out about not having a plan, that’s my plan.
Another popular question: What was my favorite country? I have three answers: Montenegro, Ethiopia, and Thailand. Montenegro was just so dang beautiful, you can’t help but fall in love with it (Kotor especially, if you are looking for a sweet place to go). It was safe, fun, relaxed. A much needed time of rest and love and beauty and exploring.
Ethiopia was also great, primarily because I was not expecting it to be. I was in a rough spot the two months prior in Uganda and Rwanda, so one more month of being in Africa wasn’t the most exciting thing for me at the time. I was expecting the worst, but it ended up being awesome, so it was a nice surprise.
And then of course Thailand. We not only got to do bar ministry which was one of my favorites, but we got to ride elephants, go rafting, bungee jump, and we went to a lantern festival, which is probably one of the coolest things I’ll ever see.
It’s hard to pick an all around favorite because they are all so different, but they were all great in their own unique ways.
What’s the grossest thing I ate? Either a tarantula (by choice, surprisingly), armadillo, or pig intestine soup.
Where was the best food? The food in Albania was really good and really cheap, so that was my favorite I think. Sufflaqe, Greek salads, byrek… So good!
Was I ever scared? There was only one time that I was actually scared (besides bungee jumping), but there was a lot of uncomfortableness, primarily when people (mostly men) would stare and holler at us.
Something I want to keep with me from other cultures? Their hospitality and generosity. The family we stayed with in Rwanda gave us their bedrooms for the month, and they slept under the kitchen table and outside in the shed. I was amazed by that. And then there were just so many times when someone was given something, and instead of taking it all for themselves they shared it with everyone around them. It was a beautiful thing.
So was the year worth it? Definitely. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. Would I recommend it to people? 100%. But am I glad to be home? There’s no place I’d rather be. The challenge now is staying close to Jesus even though everything else is different, and never stop living the adventure. Thanks again to everyone for all of the prayers and support along the way! I couldn’t have done it without you. LOTS OF LOVE!
