1. Do I Look Like Jesus?

In more ways than one that is what I expected from the World Race, some kind of radical transformation. Not that who I was before was bad or anything but part of me just knew, intrinsically or whatever, that there is more to living the Christian life than the way I was living day to day at home.

If you’ve been following my blog or blogs of other racers you might be thinking some of the same thoughts I did before I ever left for the race. I spent around 3 years following the blogs of World Racers, watching the video clips of life on the field, considering the pro’s and the con’s while I replayed the promo videos over and over again. As many of my pre-race blogs stress I’m really not the kind of person to take risks like, for example, travelling through 11 different countries in 11 months. I’m just the girl who dreams about it 24/7.

But here I am. Sitting in a ‘green organic restaurant’, drinking sprite so I can use their WIFI in Kathmandu, Nepal as I finish putting all of my photos on facebook before I leave for South Africa in 2 days. What!?!

To quote Cathy, “Is this real life?”

Things that I entertained only in day dream style thoughts before are now a routine part of my day to day reality. Certain things about me definately have changed but the big question still remains at large: Am I experiencing the elusive ‘transformation’ that helped lure me on the World Race in the first place?

The funny thing that I’ve learned about change is that sometimes the biggest changes sneak up on us. They happen gradually, day to day, almost completely under the radar and then one day you find yourself responding to something as though it’s what you’ve done your whole life and realize how odd that actually is. Like, for example, travelling through different international airports. World Racers bounce on and off planes like ping pong balls (I may or may not be able to quote the whole safety equipment speech that happens before every flight takes off…just saying.)

But that’s not the change I was hoping for when I signed up for this trip. The change I was hoping for is the change Paul urges the church to seek in Ephesians 5:1-2:

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

I think, yet again, it all goes back to love.