Well. It’s over. I flew home from South Africa on the 24th of November, landed on the 25th in New Orleans, and now I’ve settled back into small town life here in Milton, Fl. It’s weird to be home. I feel like I left for the Race just a few days ago and flew home yesterday. It is so surreal, as if it all was just a dream.
I am excited though. For the future. For what God has for me. For how He is going to continue using me no matter where I’m at.
I don’t really know what to write here….this will be my last blog post on this blog. I’m not continuing with Adventures in Missions. God isn’t calling me to CGA or squad leading. So I guess this is kind of a farewell? I’ll answer some questions first though, so that if you are curious about my experience, hopefully you can find what you’re looking for in this post. Here we go…
Where did you go? I went to, in order, the Lajas, DR. Haiti. Los Guidos, Costa Rica. Honduras. San Raimundo, Guatemala. Phang Nga, Thailand. Penang, Malaysia. Manila, Philippines. Nsogo, Swaziland. Gaborone, Botswana. Port Elizabeth, South Africa.
What was your favorite country/s? Costa Rica and South Africa, hands down. They are both beautiful countries and I loved the ministries we partnered with. If I had to choose just one, I would choose South Africa, though.
Why? In Costa Rica, I loved the ministry. I loved the slum we lived in. I loved the kids we built relationships with. It was the first ministry where I lived as part of the local community and got to invest on a personal level with the locals. It was the first country where we were immersed in the local culture. In South Africa, I just loved the people. We stayed in a beautiful city called Port Elizabeth that isn’t without its flaws of course, however I loved it all the same. The people we worked with and served were amazing, kind, compassionate people. The beaches are out of this world. The food is cheap and you can get fruit and veg for next to nothing.
What was your favorite ministry and why? Love Story in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The organization is run by a man named Luke and his wife Elaine. They are amazing people with a heart for God and a heart for people. It was the first month where I felt like I was making a difference in the lives of the people during my time there.
What do they do? Their key motive is to find a need and meet it while sharing the gospel and love of Jesus Christ. They provide a hot meal once a day to the homeless at the center of the city. They collect groceries and take them to soup kitchens across the city so that they are able to feed their communities. They also take groceries to creches, or daycares, and to individuals who have a need. They provide care packages for new mothers in the hospital and toy packages for kids who are in the long term wards. The work they are doing is amazing. The Holy Spirit is all over that ministry and you can see the fruits.
Which was your least favorite country and why? My least favorite country was Haiti, but I don’t think my opinion is very fair, although this is why nonetheless. Haiti was the first country I had to get acclimated to relentless heat and sweat, and if you know me, you know I loathe being hot and sweaty. (Don’t worry, I got over it by the time SE Asia arrived….kinda…). I was struggling with God and with bucketloads of shame from my past. I was extremely homesick and experiencing withdrawals from the internet (it’s a thing). I could never get comfortable and I didn’t sleep well at all the entire month. I really didn’t like the ministry we were doing (mostly taking census data of the families in the villages around us). I was lonely and shy and frustrated. So…I think Haiti was my least favorite country because it was hot and I didn’t like the ministry, but mostly because my emotional, mental, and spiritual state of being was incredibly subpar.
What was your favorite part about the Race? The people. I got to know so many amazing, encouraging, supportive people this past year. A lot of those people were on my teams, but a few of them never were. The community is amazing and God uses them to grow you in incredible ways.
What was your least favorite part about the Race? Travel days. Ugh. The first two were exciting (kinda), I think. And maybe the flight from the DR to Costa Rica….but after that, travel days became something I came to dread. Sitting for hours upon hours with nothing to do often hungry and really dehydrated. Everyone is sweaty and smelly and the toilet on the bus ALWAYS begins to smell so bad. Bleh. Let’s just say I won’t be getting on another plane or bus for a LONG time.
Was the World Race all that you expected/thought it would be? Negative, Ghost Rider. It was nothing like I thought it would be, but that was bound to happen. I thought I was prepared because I read all the blogs and watched all the videos, but what they don’t tell you (or if they do tell you, you don’t believe them) is that what you see online, browsing the World Race website….that is MAYBE 10% of what actually happens on the Race. But I have to say, although the Race was nothing like I expected it to be, it has been so much more than I ever could have imagined, and I’m grateful that my expectations weren’t all that the Race was.
What is one lesson God’s taught you through the Race? He has taught me to love others well, and to serve others well. Before coming on the Race, I didn’t know how to do these things, but God used the Race in my life to teach me and instill me with a heart of gratitude, love, and service.
How has the World Race changed you? Well, the World Race didn’t change me. It was a tool God used so that HE could change me. Before the Race I was selfish, lazy, I gossiped, I was bitter, I was stuck in shame, and I judged people incessantly. God used the World Race to transform those qualities, and although I am better now than I was before, I still have a long way to go and will probably have to walk that road until I die. God has transformed my heart through my experiences on the Race. He has softened it. I’ve become more compassionate. God has created me a spirit of servitude. I am kinder, gentler, and look for ways to love people in the way that they feel loved, not just in the ways I show love (check out the 5 Love Languages). I am a LOT more positive than I used to be and I seek the presence of God daily. There is probably so much more He has done in me, but it’s too much to list….
What’s next? Ya know, I wish I knew. Right now I am learning to live day-to-day. I don’t have to make any decisions until January. I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do (move back to South Africa) before I came home, but then I got home, back into my church, back into my community. Since then, God has been reminding me about my passion for my own community, for foster care, and for a local organization here. So right now, I am looking towards that, while planning a short term trip back to Love Story with my mom. But we’ll see what God has for me…
I wanted to say thanks to all of my readers, my prayer warriors, my supporters. Without you guys, I couldn’t have done this thing. I don’t have the words to express my gratitude. You have no idea the impact you have made on my life, and the lives of others. So thank you.
With that, I want to end with a couple of things.
1. As you can see at the top of the blog, I still need around $1,900 to be fully funded. I plan to pay this off when I can after I get a job in February, however I would be so grateful if you would like to help me close the gap. Any amount will help, whether all you have to give is $5 or $500. Thank you so much for your support.
2. I am going to continue to blog at my new blog, Veni Vidi Amavi. The title means “I came. I saw. I loved.” And I couldn’t think of a better title for it. So please subscribe to it so that you can keep in touch with how God continues to work in my life and use me wherever I’m at. Thanks <3
