On Wednesday we hung out with a crop of Malawian kids, some of which were orphans. They were hanging around for a feeding program and some games. I only have two hands, like the next guy, but I was holding hands with at least 7 kids at all times. I fell in love. The kids would not let go. They kept walking with us long after we’d told them “I have to go now. Goodbye!!” It made no difference. My heart was grabbed and I saw Jesus all day.
But not every day is orphans and hugs. In fact, some days on the World Race are perhaps not what you would imagine. Days like today are hilariously random, so for your amusement I’ll recount just one day in the life on the World Race.
Thursday, December 4
4am awake. floor is hard. too early.
6am dave is screaming.
7:40am I’d better get up
7:50am sit down with my Bible.
7:51am kerry’s ready to run!
7:56am running. it’s blazing hot. catcalls. run away from barking dogs. dirt.
8:40am showering. Struggle with the full bucket. Water floods the bathroom and into the hall. whoops.
8:55am put on my Zambian football jersey and jeans. feel really fly. realize my definition of “fly” has drastically changed in the last 6 months. remember there’s a hole in my jeans. too late.
9:07am leave for internet excursion with Christian and Meghan. on foot. don’t know how to get where we’re going.
10:30am arrive at crossroads. Chastised for laughing like an American while in Malawi. confused. continue walking to Hotel.
10:40am hotel is where we buy internet cards. of course.
10:50am sit down in nearby cafe
10:53am internet card not working. order a drink
11:12am send a text to a number that does not exist on a phone that is not mine.
11:15am christian runs out of minutes after a 5 minute phone conversation
11:30am try to download a song from iTunes. impossible. leave cafe.
11:35am buy minutes and two warm Cokes for the team
11:50am get in a minibus. hope it’s going to the right place. who needs side paneling anyway? the “How much are you going to give to God?” stickers
11:51am man on the side of the road is yelling at me and shaking his fist. bus pulls away.
12:07pm get a new footrest in the minibus. Metal poles. exciting.
12:10pm make friends with a 2 year old Malawian girl
12:27pm home.
12:56pm eat a spoonful of peanut butter and drink a glass of milk
1:15pm waiting for Blessings. looking cool with the guitar on my back and chords written on my forearm like Mulan.
1:24pm Blessings is here.
1:26pm “How many hours is your sermon? In Africa we like to be in the church.”
1:49pm still sitting in the house with Blessings. just chatting about mosquitos and what have you.
2:16pm a minibus stops and the driver says, in typical Malawi fashion, “just get in”. once we figure out where it’s going (first things first) we do.
2:20pm bus has stopped by the side of the road. are we out of gas or…? nope. just waiting for some guy.
2:31pm stopping again for gas
2:32pm meg is getting the best ab workout of her life there in the rickety third row without a seat back
2:40pm we’re walking now
2:59pm cheered for by a pack of 10 ish Malawian men as we get in another bus. “what the heck is on my pants?” “no, I already have sunglasses.” cut my leg on some part of the stupid rusty bus. hope that tetanus booster worked.
3:04pm christian braids my hair. vanlyfe.
3:20pm we’re getting out of the van by the side of the road.
3:30pm as we walk, we hear a man shouting in a schoolroom by the side of the road. of course that’s where we’re headed.
3:31pm enter the schoolroom. people are shouting and praying. we stand white and awkward in the corner. waiting.
3:40pm church starts. awesome african worship songs. jammin. the children arrive in droves. praying. open my eyes. children are just staring at me. sorry, I was born looking like this.
4:00pm introduce ourselves
4:02pm kelsey shares her testimony
4:19pm meg shares her testimony
4:27pm we are singing and I am playing the guitar
4:35pm em is “bringing the word”. she develops a great african accent somewhere in the middle. Holy Spirit is out and about.
4:57pm pastor tells us what he learned. it had nothing to do with em’s sermon and everything to do with how softly we praise god. he renames me “simple sister”. schwartzennegger and norris jokes from the malawian pastor.
5:10pm leaving. walking. pretty much the whole church is walking with us to the road
5:40pm changing buses. try not to get backed into by negligent drivers. it’s an adventurous life.
5:42pm wonder if african women are ever startled. and if so, what happens to the stuff on their heads? do the babies ever fall out of the chetenges on the women’s backs?
5:53pm realize that there’s a woman with live chickens in the front seat of the bus. bus driver laughs at me and asks if I’ve ever seen a chicken before. I say no.
6:20pm home. hungry.
6:40pm drinking tea. still hungry.
7:00pm rice isn’t done yet. always waiting on the rice.
7:30pm peter pan is happening on the laptop. i wonder aloud why mr. darling is such a brat and why his wife puts up with it
7:50pm Happiness, the maid, takes a picture of me cooking the rice on her 2001 camera phone. #africanpinterest
8:00pm eating.
8:30pm playing cards with my people. we tell dave that he’s not allowed to throw temper tantrums. works like a charm.
8:50pm reading about song of songs. there’s so much more. heaven now please.
9:00pm giving and receiving feedback. don’t be distracted by the malaria-infested mosquitoes biting you.
10:00pm feels like midnight. going to bed.
11:30pm awakened. kelsey is coming at me with a shoe. cockroaches everywhere, trying to get at me. try to sleep on the couch. it’s too small.
11:59pm sleep in em’s tent to escape the roaches and the mosquitoes.
