This month I asked people to send me any questions they had about my World Race Experience. I decided the best way to answer was in blog format. If you have any additional questions that do not get answered here, please feel free to send me a message through Facebook messenger.
What is the worst and weirdest thing you ate?
Scorpion tail was the worst, goat hoof was the weirdest. Bonus: the worst drink was a chunky yogurt milk type mixture in Bulgaria.
What was the scariest moment?
Probably the sketchy Thailand hospital story or this untold story: I was in a group of girls headed the the bathroom when a man came up to us trying to talk to us. We didn’t understand him and told him so and continued to walk. He began following us. To the point where we were speed walking and went into a women’s restroom and he followed us. He continued trying to speak and the local women left the restroom. We decided we didn’t need to go that bad and followed the locals out and ran off to catch our big group of people. He followed us there as well and sat near us. I am pretty sure we tried to tell a staff member at the train station or something, but they didn’t know what we were saying. It ended up being fine. Our group that was being stalked left while he was distracted and the other half of the group ended up losing him on their journey to the train.
How many countries did you get to visit?
14! (Albania, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Lesotho, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.)
What place was your favorite?
I can’t really choose, every place is different and offered new experiences, friendships, views, and ministries. I probably lean more towards Africa and the Caribbean though.
How many people did you get to share with?
Another hard question. I don’t have a number. I was personally able to speak in churches, schools, clinics, hospitals, soup kitchens, orphanages, elderly homes, streets, hostels, and houses about who God is. I can tell you my favorite story though was making friends with a girl where we didn’t share the same language. All month we communicated through very broken English, smiles, gestures, and funny YouTube videos. At the end of the month I was able to show her the Jesus Film in Burmese and pray with her. She didn’t except Jesus with me, but I know that God is working there.
What are you most looking forward to coming home?
Before this month I might have said veggies or Kraft mac n cheese. But on a real note I would say seeing my best friends and family. Even though I am scared they won’t really want to hear as much as I could share.
What will you miss the most?
Probably the fact that I could serve anywhere and not have to worry about paying bills. Oh and traveling by really cheap ubbers and various forms of taxis such as the back of a truck, on a tuk-tuk, in a tap-tap, etc.
What did you learn about the Lord over your time?
I was reminded that He works and moves even when we aren’t working and moving. God was already in the places we were, we don’t control where He is. We only join in to what He is already doing.
Do you feel different from when you left?
Yeah for sure, but all I can put into words is that I know I have become more introverted and more generous.
What was the hardest, most challenging trial God gave you?
Dang that is a big question. I guess I would say overcoming my fear of being left or forgotten. On my final month with my first team I completely tuned out. I realized that was my defense mechanism to avoid getting hurt. I would check out or cause problems when it was time to separate from people so that I didn’t have to get hurt. Kind of dumb, but it was one of those subconscious things. I had a break down that month. It was awkward. I would say though that I had to go through all that to realize that I should only be putting my faith and trust in the Lord and that my sense of belonging should only come from him. And of course I knew these things, I just needed a bit of a refresher.
Would you do the race again?
It was one of the hardest and best years of my life. It taught me a lot and gave me a ton of memorable experiences. If wouldn’t change the fact that I went. A second go around? You never know what the future holds.
If you haven’t heard, we made it to the Dominican Republic. I absolutely loved Haiti and this final month looks pretty promising itself. This month we get to plan and chose our ministries and schedules. So far we have already connected with a couple churches. It’s so crazy to see things move so quickly. Within a couple days we have already gone on prayer walks, visited churches, sang at an elderly care home, spent time at a Home for Special needs children, and have taught crafts at a church kids club where most of the kids were from a boys home. What a great time to be alive in Christ.
Pray for us to make the best of each moment and ministry and to focus where we need.
