This month we are working with an organization called Desa Amal Jireh. It is a charity home for children 3-21 years old and senior citizens. My team is split up into different areas around the ministry such as the office, bazaar, homeschool, and maintenance around the property.
I want to give y’all a small glimpse into what a day in the life of a World Racer looks like. Listen though, I’m not doing anything super special or crazy. This is normal life, I just happen to be living it in Malaysia. So maybe ministry isn’t really exciting this month, but it matters. It matters as much as I make it matter. Just like whatever you do each day matters as much as you make it matter.
Without further ado, here is what my day looked like on April 16th, 2016 on Month 8 of the World Race in Malaysia.
7:00 AM – Wake up 30 minutes after you turned off your second alarm…oops.
7:05 AM – Check all the internets.
7:30 AM – Make breakfast. Instant oatmeal and 3-in-1 Nescafe instant coffee.
8:00 AM – Keep checking all the internets because for some reason the wifi is really good right now (#takeitwhenyoucangetit).
8:30 AM – Attend prayer and worship with the students. Asked to pray for the day on the spot.
9:00 AM – Head to the office for another morning of labeling envelopes for the ministries bi-yearly newsletter. 22,000 labels in total. And we’ve been working on them for two weeks now.
10:15 AM – Coffee break! Talk about weight loss on the Race, menopause, and the question of do you still have your period if you get your tubes tied (#tmi? #worldracebreakroomchats)
10:30 AM – Back to labeling envelopes. 22,000 envelopes.
12:00 PM – Lunch time! Fried rice with egg and some crunchy green stuff. One of the better meals we’ve had. Definitely went back for seconds.
12:30 PM – Sit outside downloading podcasts for an hour because when you have good enough wifi for something to actually download, you must, and I repeat MUST capitalize on it.
1:30 PM – Go back inside because it is entirely too hot outside and sweat was starting to drip from your back into your butt crack (#tmiagain? #welcometomylife)
2:00 PM – Create your own yoga flow because your lower back has been bothering you. You think it’s time to switch back to Chacos. They have better arch support (#seriouslyhowoldami?).
2:30 PM – Attempt to journal, but quickly realize you’re too tired and take a nap for an hour and a half. There’s no ministry on Saturday afternoons, so you take advantage of that and nap when you can.
4:00 PM – Wake up panicking because you thought you were late for team time. Remember that you’re having it later that day. Journal for real this time. It’s been two days so naturally you journal six pages because JESUS I MISSED YOU AND I HAVE SO MUCH TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT!
5:00 PM – Still not finished journaling, but it’s time for team time. Write encouragement notes for the DAJ Angels while listening to worship music and pouring rain outside.
5:30 PM – Finish journaling while waiting for dinner to arrive.
6:00 PM – Dinner time! BONUS: It’s Ashley’s birthday so we ordered pizza. Happy birthday Ashley!
6:30 PM – Start watching Inception because that’s what Ashley wants to do for her birthday.
7:05 PM – Have to pause Inception to go to nightly devotions with the kids. BTW, that’s a hard movie to pause in the middle..
7:15 PM – Show up at devotion and realize two groups are combined. Improvise on the spot to talk with the girls about trusting the Lord and what that looks like in our lives (#crushedit)
8:15 PM – Continue watching Inception. Have to massage forehead because nothing makes sense so your eyebrows are furrowed for 2.5 hours.
10:15 PM – Finish Inception. Sit around asking all the questions because what? Also, kindly inform your teammates that you WILL wake them if you have crazy dreams in dreams in dreams. Don’t worry, you’ll make sure they’re woken up in every level.
10:30 PM – Color for 5 minutes because your brain literally cannot handle anything else.
10:45 PM – Stay up late writing this blog because it’s been almost a month since you’ve posted one (#reallysorryaboutthat).
So that is a day in the life of a World Racer! Each day on the Race can looks drastically different from the next. This certainly isn’t what I’ve done every day for the last eight months. I hope you enjoyed the glimpse into just one of those days! See, we’re simply doing normal life things.
Just because I’m on a “mission trip” doesn’t mean my life is any more glamorous or spectacular than yours. I have to CHOOSE to make each day matter. I have to CHOOSE to press in and be present even when I don’t want to. I have to CHOOSE to walk in step with the Spirit so that I don’t miss what He has for me that day.
Abundant life is a choice. You can choose in, or you can choose out.
Choose in today.
P.S. Friends and family, do you remember all those times when I made fun of people for using hashtags in real conversations? #nowimthatperson #notsorry #getusedtoit
