When I told people I was going on the World Race, that I would be traveling to 11 different countries (now 13) to spread the Gospel to the nations, I was met with many different reactions. However, the one I was hit with the most was reassurance about how great this opportunity was to travel and see the world. I was told quite often how this is the perfect time in my life to travel and see how people across the world live, the perfect time to “put my life on hold.” I agree with this statement to an extent, but I think that the perception that the World Race is a break from “real life” is inaccurate.
Not every second of every day is spent doing ministry. Our weeks are structured in a way where we use Saturdays as “adventure days” where we can spend time with one another doing something fun and experience the cultures we’re immersed in, while our Sundays are reserved to embrace the rest that the Sabbath brings. Even on the days where we are out doing ministry together, we are still living our normal lives.
It’s funny how our perception of what is normal is structured around the culture we are born and raised in. It’s also funny how quickly we can adapt to a different way of living that soon becomes “normal” to us. I’ve compiled a list of things that my team and I never do at home, but have become our normal way of living over the past months.
- Brushing our teeth with water bottles because the tap water is filled with bacteria and parasites that our western immune systems can’t handle
- Doing laundry outside by hand and finally perfecting the perfect water to soap to clothing ratio
- Taking cold showers because hot water is a luxury that apparently doesn’t exist in a lot of places
- Sleeping in a room with 4-8 other people, often times on mattresses that are on the floor or don’t have sheets
- Partaking in warfare with mosquitoes before we go to bed, because otherwise their incessant buzzing will keep us awake at night
- Eating rice for almost every meal. We’ve been asked what our staple food is in America, because in all of the countries we’ve visited so far, rice is usually served as a main dish for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
- Rotating between wearing the same 4-5 shirts because that’s all you really need
- The loss of personal space and the ability to find creative ways to spend time alone while living with 15-50 other people at any given month
- Walking everywhere because we no longer have our own cars to drive
- Taking public transportation and having to share seats that look like their made for children
All of these things, and many more, have become a part of our daily life. They’ve become so ingrained that I don’t even notice how different they are from the way I live in America. “Normal” has become a relative term to me. Every country we enter, we are forced to adapt to a new normal way of life which has led me to believe that in the grand scheme of things, normal simply doesn’t exist.
Life in Malaysia is already so different than the life we were living in Africa. I get excited every day to see what new “normal” God chooses to throw at our squad. He has given each person on my team a spirit of adaptability and acceptance. Throughout our time in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, we are doing ATL ministry, Ask the Lord. We will be depending 100% on the Spirit to guide us to the people and ministry he wants us to participate in, the cities he wants us to go to, and the places he wants us to live. My team and I have relinquished all fears about this to the Lord and are ready to embrace the challenges he has for us!
