Hello to all of my friends, supporters, and Concord Kids!! I am so excited to be celebrating my halfway point through this crazy journey called the World Race. I can’t believe it’s halfway over! Some days I am stunned that it has gone so fast, while other days I think “this is taking forever,” haha. I absolutely love all that God is doing in and around me in this season in my life.
In celebration of being halfway through, AND being fully funded (YAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH), I decided to ask my Facebook friends (and Concord Kids) if they had any questions about my journey so far that they would like answered.
So here we go!!! I hope you enjoy!!
1. What has been your most favorite part of the trip so far?
My most favorite part has been the people. I love my squad, they have become my family. I also love the people I have met! They are all so different in culture, but the same in their hearts. Everyone longs for something more, whether it be physical (food, shelter, clothes) or not (love, belonging, attention). I have met some colorful characters as well as some amazing Christians who are pursuing the Lord with their whole hearts, and seeking to expand His kingdom.
2. What has been your least favorite part of the trip so far?
My least favorite part, or my biggest struggle, has been the food. Being a missionary in a foreign country, there are not a lot of options or variety for food. For example, in one country we had noodles, rice, and potatoes everyday for the entire month. While I like all of these things to a certain degree, it was hard on my body to eat this everyday for every meal.
3. What was the funniest language barrier moment?
The funniest language barrier was in India, when my team had to communicate an allergy to our hosts. One of my teammates is severely allergic to peanut dust, and in India they cook almost everything with peanuts. We would try to explain to them with hand motions how important it was, that she would choke and wouldn’t be able to breathe, and we don’t think they ever really understood. We think this because they would always laugh when we told them! We would put our hands around our throats and say “she will die,” just to emphasize the point, but they must have thought we were joking about it. We did the best we could though and always picked out the peanuts. It was just funny how we could try so hard but they still would not understand in some of the villages.
4. What was your most embarrassing moment?
My most embarrassing moment was actually very recently. At the beginning of this month we traveled by bus from Thailand to Cambodia; a 32 hour bus ride for my team and I. I wore my most comfortable Thai pants, which kind of feel like pajama pants, but they wear them all the time in Asia. I realized at the boarder crossing (about halfway into our trip) that I had a HUGE hole in the seat of my pants! So big I could have probably stuck my head through it! I was so suprised and so worried…..how long had it been that way? Had the bus driver seen it?! There’s no telling who all saw it. As soon as I could get to my pack I pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and changed.
5. What was a surprise you really enjoyed?
Qatar. That one word says it all for my squad and I. We had a 22 hour layover in Doha, Qatar between Africa and Asia. The airport put us up in this INSANELY nice hotel. It was basically the Hilton Inn, and it might as well have been a palace to us. They had really comfortable beds and great food……what I wouldn’t give for that now, haha!
6. What’s the worst food you’ve had to eat?
It wasn’t a food, but a drink! I’m not sure what it was called, but it was our first village, our first week in India, and our hosts gave us this drink that I think was warm, sour buffalo milk with chunky stuff in it. It was SOOOO disgusting!! I tried it because I didn’t want to be rude, but I could only take a sip of it before I wanted to gag. I couldn’t though, because our host sat right in front of us, staring at us to see if we liked it…..it got really awkward because we all hated it.
7. Who is the one person (or two or three!) you’ve met that you are aure you’ll never forget?
That’s an impossible question because I have made so many long lasting friends from my hosts and ministry contacts, down to people I have met IN ministry. However, I WILL answer who has made the biggest impact on me! I can think of three women who have made the biggest impact, and each of them were very similar. My host in South Africa, my contact in India, and my host/contact in Thailand. These women were so open and honest with me about their lives that it has changed the way I present myself to others as well. I have become a woman who is open and honest with where I am at, and I can attribute some of this to these women. They showed love to me when sometimes I might not have deserved it or appreciated it. I will take their love with me forever.
8. How awful are the bugs?
It depends on the country and if you are in the city or in the village. In the cities in Asia, it is not so bad. Inside we get small ants and sometimes cochroaches, and on occassion a random mouse will get in (India)! As I’m writing this my teammate just squished a cockroach in the kitchen, haha! In the villages there are big ants and big spiders! I hate spiders. Oh! And there are small lizards everywhere!! They might as well be pets. I’ve gotten so used to them, it will be weird not seeing them inside when I get back home.
I almost forgot! The mosquitoes in India and Nepal were CRAZY!! We would have to get in our tents when the sun would go down at night because the mosquitoes were EVERYWHERE and they would eat us alive!
9. Are there any dangerous animals?
The most dangerous animals I have come across in the wild were jackels, which are wild dogs. Our host in Nepal told us we could not sleep outside or on the roof because they would try and get in our tents. We would see them on occassion during the day, but they usually left us alone.
In Nepal and in Thailand I got to ride elephants in the jungle and pet tigers in captivity! Those were some of my favorite days outside of ministry. I can offically say that I have road on more elephants than I have horses (two in all, haha)!
10. What are your biggest challenges?
My biggest challenge has been the food. I have always been a very picky eater, which is not good. I should have tried more things so that my tastebuds could get used to them. It took a few months, and it is still a struggle sometimes, but I have begun to love other foods. One of my new favorite foods is from India…..chipotte and potato curry! It is so good, I’m going to have to find an Indian restaurant when I get home to make sure I can have it every once in a while.
11. Are the languages confusing?
Yes, the sure are! It’s especially hard because we only spend one month in the country. For me, it takes a few days just to remember “hello,” or “goodbye.” By the end of the country we have picked up many words and phrases, and then it is time to move to the next country and start all over.
12. Is it scary walking around there?
Sometimes it can be when we have to walk beside the main road (like a highway), or when we are out at night on an empty street headed home. But I know that the Lord will protect His children. I have faith in His protection and so I am not so scared.
13. What kind of houses are there?
Where I was in South Africa, there were houses just like you would see at home, and shacks on the outskirts of town or in random places around neighborhoods.
In Swaziland, around the mountain we were on, there were mud or clay brick houses, and they were very spread out. Sometimes miles between each other.
It’s very interesting because there is hardly a middle class in Asia, so you will see very large houses right beside a shack. In the city there are apartment buildings as well. Last month we stayed in a hostel right above the cafe we worked in. This month we are staying in a girl’s dormitory, which is an apartment building turned into their rooms.
14. Where are you going next?
Next month, July, my squad is headed to Vietnam. We aren’t sure exactly where yet, and even when we know we cannot tell anyone because it is a closed country. This means that are not supposed to talk about Jesus there. Please continue to keep us in your prayers though as we share His love with the people there.
15. Do you remember all the names of the countries you have been to?
We have been to South Africa, Swaziland, India, Nepal, Thailand, and now Cambodia. Next we will go to Vietnam, and then Ireland, Romania, Moldova, and Albania.
16. What is the weather like?
Hot! Very hot. There is not always air conditioner where we are, and so sometimes I will wake up in the morning in a pool of sweat. I will get out of the shower and try to dry off, but it is impossible because I just start sweating again. We love it when it rains because it cools everything down!
I do not like hot weather; my favorite is cold weather, when I can snuggle up in a cozy blanket, haha.
17. Are there tents there?
Well, some people live in tents, but they aren’t the tents like in America. They are usually tarps that are hung up to protect someone sleeping on the street.
If you are asking about US tenting, I have used my tent 2 out of the 6 months so far, in India and Nepal. This was mostly because of the mosquitoes and bugs that were everywhere.
18. Are you helping the children good?
I hope so! Haha. I have worked with children in South Africa, Swaziland, India, and Nepal so far. In Thailand I went a few times to the slums to play soccer with the children, but my ministry was at the cafe and in the bars that month. This month, in Cambodia I am working with university-age students, but we play with the neighborhood kids sometimes around the girl’s dormitory. I love the kids from all over the world that I have gotten to meet, teach, and play with.
19. What is your favorite place you have been?
My favorite place so far, overall, is probably Thailand. I loved the city, the people, and the culture. It also probably reminded me most of home. This is also where we got to go see the tigers, ride elephants, go bamboo rafting, and hangout at a waterfall!
20. Is there plenty of water there?
There is plenty of water, yes, but we have to buy all of our water. The water in foreign countries is not safe for the foreigners to drink.
21. Are you having fun teaching?
I am having SO much fun teaching! I really love it; making lesson plans, seeing the understanding on the students’ faces when the get what I am telling them, even writing the quiz was fun! I’m excited that God is showing my love for teaching, and I’m excited to see where He takes this love during the rest of the Race and when I get home.
22. What are plants like there?
There aren’t as many trees in Cambodia because there are so many rice fields. They have a suprising amount of palm trees, which means coconuts!! You can buy coconuts off the street here, and drink straight out of them. Coconut in a bag, haha! We’ve seen a lot of different kinds of flowers at the markets. Some you see at home, like lillies and roses, others we weren’t sure what they were. They have crazy fruits like mangosteen and rambutan.
23. Poisonous trees?
None that I know of. I asked one of the students and he said that he did not know of any.
24. Favorite culture?
Probably Thailand, because they understand sarcasm, they are very friendly, and quite westernized. However, the Thai people do not express their emotions in public, like crying or hysterical laughter. This was hard for me since I usually wear my emotions on my sleave.
25. What sports do they play?
Just like America is really big on football, the whole rest of the world is obsessed with soccer! So this is a very important time with the World Cup going on. Cambodia has been fun because, unlike some of the other countries we have been to, they play all kinds of sports like basketball and volleyball. They also have this game called “sey,” which is officially one of my favorite games. It is sort of like hackeysack, but you can use both your hands and feet, and it is not a ball but sort of plastic cylinder and feathers sticking out of it. Not neccessarily a sport, but still a fun game to play.
Thanks so much for all the questions! I hope I answered them well. Also, thank you so much for all of your support and prayers! I am excited for this last half of my journey with you all!
Love Always,
Sarah Motes
