One night the mountains burned. As we experienced the worst wind storm since our arrival in Swaziland, we watched in the distance a wildfire descend on a mount in the horizon. The windows continued to rattle, and the rooftops would shake. We then noticed another fire on a much closer mountain. So close that we could see the flames lapping up everything in their path. Though it was still far enough away to not endanger us or our mountain, it was chilling to watch the flames descend to the valley then ascend again along a new path. Through the course of the night, our electricity went out causing us to cook and eat dinner by head lamp. An unwanted visitor also made an appearance – a scorpion who was soon killed. After dinner, we braved the wind as we walked to our chapel which doubled as our home. As we snuggled into our sleeping bags and tents, we fell asleep listening to the pounding of the wind on our tin roof and prayed that our doors would not blow open as they had four times during the last wind storm.
This night was definitely an unconventional one in Swaziland, but it’s a great example of life away from the United States. We normally would not witness four wild fires during an intense wind storm which knocked out our power, but unpleasant circumstances are definitely a reality on the Race. Sometimes the World Race is glamorized into a seemingly dream vacation. I’ve had a lot of great experiences on the Race, but it’s been far from a vacation. I’ve been learning about the world and experiencing realities of it that I would never have come to understand if I had never left the United States.
Most Americans live a life of luxury according to the world’s standards even those considered “lower class.” Things that I once thought of as necessities have become luxuries. On the Race, I’ve learned what it is like to lose electricity for a few hours every day. I’ve learned how to live where the only WiFi must be purchased and is over an hour from where I live. I’ve had to go days without a shower or weeks without doing laundry. And clothes dryers? I’ve only dried my clothes in one a total of four times on the Race. They are essentially non-existent everywhere.
No, the World Race is not a vacation. Sometimes, you don’t get a bed to sleep on for months because that is what’s normal for most of the world. Sometimes you get lice. I played with children in the slums of Phnom Penh, and they gave me lice which lasted a month. Sometimes you eat horse. Or rat sausage. Or fish for breakfast. Or pb and j every day. Sometimes you sleep on three overnight buses and one overnight flight in the same week. Sometimes you have to share a bedroom with 24 people, or your bedroom happens to double as the hallway to the kitchen. You may have to share two showers with 40 friends.
The realities of the world are something most Americans are sheltered from. How many of you have had to carry your own personal toilet paper into the public bathroom that you had to pay for which is actually just a hole in the ground? Probably not many. But that is what most public bathrooms in the world actually entail.
The World Race is not about comfort. It’s about focusing on what’s truly important. It’s about people and meeting them right where they are and being Jesus to them. Sometimes that means living on top of a mountain without internet access for a month or sleeping on a floor of a church. Even though these experiences are far from pleasant, I would never have come to understand the world like I do if I had never left the United States. Most Americans simply do not know what a necessity is truly. I hope all that read this get that opportunity to experience the world. Maybe it’s not through the World Race, but seek out opportunities to push yourself out of your comfort zone. You will be amazed at what you see and how much you actually don’t need.
