What experience showed you most clearly that God loves all people and desires a personal relationship with them?
It was probably midway through the Dominican Republic in month 1 that God checked me on this. I was having a pretty tough time loving a lot of the people around me. The men who were constantly making cat calls towards the women on my team. The children who resolved everything through violence and their absentee parents who couldn’t be bothered to teach them right from wrong. The local drug dealing big wig and his buddies who thought they were funny trying to take video and pictures of all of the girls (ours included though we did a lot of intentionally stepping into the middle of things) at a crusade/revival event being held by all of the local churches. I was mad enough one evening to just start slugging some people really, but was hit with the realization that I’m no better than any of them. Not really. They were created by God just like myself and loved as His sons and daughters, just like I’m loved. Not an easy thing to learn or swallow really, but if you want more on that, I wrote a blog HERE. http://samwalter.theworldrace.org/?filename=loving-aint-easy
Besides being sick, what experience on this journey would you rather not have had?
Some of my closest friends on the World Race went home pretty early on. As a result, this year went a lot different than it probably would have otherwise. I think this still resulted in a lot of personal growth and stretching that may not have happened otherwise, but part of me truly wishes that they had been around to experience everything, and not just a few months. Having people that are like family go home early is never a pleasant experience. It takes time to readjust and find your identity as a team or squad once again.
Team Monarch! Brady Bunch style. My first team.
Besides your family and American food, what aspect of American culture did you miss the most and why?
I missed being an “average joe” that doesn’t get a bunch of unnecessary attention. I can walk out the door without being stared down. The worst was India with crowds just gathering to stare. Also, I am not an immediate target for shop keepers and beggars in the States. Being white and/or American is immediately associated with being wealthy and having money which we aren’t and didn’t. Anonymity is a blessing, though it wasn’t always bad. Having crowds of kids following or copying everything you said and did could get pretty fun sometimes.
Have you ever been scared on the trip?
A few times. In Transnistria when I woke up to one of my teammates screaming bloody murder from stomach pain and then having to go to the shadiest hospital with her that I’ve ever seen in my life. Before we could go to the hospital though, we had to stop at the OBGYN first according to law. A woman could have an arrow sticking out of her leg and she’d have to go the OBGYN first to be cleared before being allowed in the hospital. It’s messed up. On top of that, taking a ride in an “ambulance” straight out of M.A.S.H. When we had border issues in Transnistria – not so much for us, but that our contacts potentially could have wound up in a lot of trouble and jeopardized future ministry opportunities. All the joys of communism really for both of these times.
Other times – Several squadmates being in a bad car accident with a drunk driver in Swaziland. They were fine, but the driver of the other vehicle died. Nearly missing our bus from Johannesburg, South Africa to Zimbabwe. Joburg is not exactly the safest place to get stuck in. Anytime I took an auto rickshaw in India. Those are deathtraps on wheels. I was a little nervous for a 160 meter bungee jump too. 🙂
This may have been a little scary too. 220 matches in my beard as we play with a little fire.
If I was trying to debate to do the trip or not, what would you say?
If the debate was focused on the money issue, I’d tell you to not let that be the thing that holds you back. It was pretty evident this year for myself and so many others on my squad, that if God truly has called you to this, then the money will be there. You might sweat it a bit, but it always was for all of us, often times from unlikely places. If you feel that God is calling you to this, then take a leap of faith and go for it. I went with people who left behind school, jobs (myself included), relationships, and other “big” things in life. I doubt any of them would tell you now after this year that, “I wish I’d just stayed in school or I wish I hadn’t put my career on hold.” Because for a lot of people, God has used this year to prepare us all to launch into something greater that He has designed for us. If you feel called to this, than just go for it. If you do and this really isn’t what God has for you, I’m pretty sure that He’ll get you back on the correct path before too long.
Is there one place or country that you spent time in that you wished your family could have been there to experience it with you?
I think Swaziland wins here, but there are a few countries that would be just as good. Where we stayed had an indescribable beauty to it. The ministry was a ton of fun, both the physical labor and the kids. Plus I think it was a set up that the family would’ve been able to handle alright.
Group picture after our 5K Race which we ran the day after flying into the Philippines island of Mindinao.
How long after you left for the race did you come to realize that it was just you and God working together on this journey in your life even though you were on a team?
The idea probably took root to a point where I fully understood it when I was in Moldova/Transnistria. The first 2 months I had the honeymoon period going. At the end of month 2 in Haiti, our first Team Leader left the race suddenly which pushed me up into the position of Team Leader. Month 3 was me just trying to keep everything together as a team until the expected team changes at the end of month 3. However, our team didn’t change and a little over a week and I hit a bit of a wall regarding leadership and was just exhausted. I was worn out trying to fix different things. Our squad leaders were there at the time, and they hit me with the reality that my focus and job is not to fix and hold everything together. They started having me take days off from ministry and team leading once or twice a month, which I usually did begrudgingly. At least at first. It wasn’t about having the day off though. It was about spending the time intimately with God and not being distracted by all of the day to day stuff. Through all of that, I came around to realize that my journey was with God. My journey was not trying to ensure that everyone else’s journey on the team went right, though that was tough to learn.
What country was the most emotional, physical, and spiritually draining on the team as a whole and why?
INDIA. Easily. Don’t take this to mean that this place was the worst. But as far as draining goes on all levels, India takes the cake. There is so much spiritual warfare going on here. It is predominately Hindu, but with influences from all religions. It’s such a spiritual place and the people will grasp onto anything you tell them without ever really getting “it.” As a whole, the people desire to cover all of their bases, so they’ll take Jesus and put him on the shelf right next Muhammad, Buddha, Zeus, and the 28 million other gods that are worshipped there. Everyone wanted prayer. Everyone would say they are a believer in Christ, but their house would be covered in idols. Everyone believed that we had the “special touch,” mainly because of where we are from and the color of our skin. So everyone everywhere wants prayed over and blessed, along with their oil, their buffalo, and other things. It gets to the point where you just run out of things to say in prayer, throw up your hands, and say “God, you know what they are in need of. I don’t anymore, so you do what you need to.” We did lots of speaking and visiting houses. We never knew what to expect. Some nights were normal, others you spent hours in prayer because you visit a house and someone there starts manifesting demons. By the end of the month we were wiped out. On top of that, all of us were sick throughout the month, with myself and 1 other going to the hospital at some point. We were also all fed more food and sprite/coke than we ever wanted. To the point of pain and tears, but “no” doesn’t really work when it comes to food, so throwing it up later in the evening once we were away wasn’t uncommon either. That or if you could be sneaky and hide food in a purse or bag to get rid of later. That sounds bad, but we were desperate. All of that said, India still has a special place in my heart.
Despite all of the food in India, there was still always room for a little coconut milk.
Americans view things and money for security a lot. How different is the security in the lives of people in other countries? What do they value in life and what is their joy and happiness based on?
Security is a pretty big day to day thing for a lot of people in many of the places we visited. Security was found when it was known that there would be food on the table, that themselves or those close to them were healthy, and money for their needs as well. Food, health, and money were the big three things that people usually asked us to pray for when we offered. Family however was usually the source of joy and happiness. It wasn’t uncommon to have 2 or 3 generations of family all living under one roof or right next door to each other.
Holding more babies in one year than in my previous 25. Came to enjoy it. 🙂
Whats your favorite thing about Christmas and favorite Christmas song?
Seeing family. Lots of food. Warm houses usually. Usually the season for snow, though I do tire of it after awhile. As for a favorite Christmas song, I don’t know that I have one. I am a fan of Jingle Cats though.
If you could do it all over again would you knowing what you know now?
For sure. I’d do this again without hesitation. That said, I’ve seen how much more impactful settling down in one place and investing there can be as opposed to always being on the move. My priorities have probably shifted a bit, but I could/would do this again.
Elephants always make going out again an easy decision.
If you were granted one year (expenses paid) to go back to a country to spend more time there in the mission field, doing what you did before, where would it be?
China with the special needs orphanage – Eagles Wings. Runner-up countries would be The Philippines and Swaziland.
What is your answer to people when ask you now, “How was your experience?” Is this answer tough to put into words?
Haha. I have several answers to this question, typically depending on how interested the person asking it really is. Some want it summed up in a few sentences while others want to hear a little more than that. So the short answer to this is that I had an incredible year that was tougher than expected. It stretched me further than I ever expected and really I think it’s set the tone/stage for everything else in life from here on out.
Yeah, it’s pretty tough to put into words. Summing up a year of experiences that most have never had and making that relatable is a big of a tough thing to do.
Team Breathe at our final debrief. My second team on the World Race.
What are your plans now that you are back in the US? Going to Ohio? Iowa? Going on another World Race?
Currently I’m hanging out in Ohio through Christmas. Then 2 weeks in Georgia (the state, not country) to wrap up the final bit of the World Race. Then a trip with some WR friends to Colorado, swinging through Iowa for a bit, and finally back to Ohio by January’s end. As for beyond that, I’m working on/looking into a few things, but nothing set in stone at this point.
Will Ohio State win the AP National Championship?
No chance. The media has had too much fun kicking OSU while they’re down. Even if ND and Alabama both look awful, they’ll give it to the winner. I’m thinking second, but third would not surprise me either.
All work and no play would make us dull Racers, so Gypsy photo shoot for the win!
Will the beard stay or go once your feet hit American soil?
For the moment, I have no obligations or commitments that would require the removal of the beard. I don’t have any sort of deep personal attachment (no pun intended) to it, but I see no rush to remove it either. Ohio is quite cold this time of year. May as well stay bundled as best I can.
