As you guys should hopefully know by now, I am not currently in the U S of A. In fact, I just finished traveling from Peru to Guatemala yesterday. If you want to know a little more about our insane travel day(s), read my teammate Dan’s blog at https://daniellehernandez.theworldrace.org/post/and-the-time-you-are-g-o-o-d . I’ll just tell you that there were some mistakes made and mercy&grace given to us in an airport in Colombia.
Anyway, in today’s blog I wanted to recount one of the times on my race so far in which it’s hit me that I am definitely not in Kansas anymore. Or Michigan, I guess. These aren’t necessarily super serious stories, just ones that make me amazed and grateful that I’m living a life going where God wants me to go.
The Tuk Tuk Ride
If you’ve never heard of or seen a tuk tuk, it’s basically a motorcycle thing with three tires and a sheltered bench on the back. In Peru they were everywhere. They were also called moto taxis in Peru, but tuk tuks are what they’re called in Asia and that sounds cooler.
So, one night in Peru my team and I were going to meet up with a Peruvian dude who was friends with someone who went on the world race before us and met him. The person who originally met him told us that he was so close to being saved, so my team really wanted to hang out and possibly talk a little about our friend Jesus. In order to get to the boardwalk where we were going to meet him, we needed to take a tuk tuk. I hopped in the backseat with a couple of my teammates, and we started to move. The roads are super rocky in Pacasmayo.
I don’t really know what it was – the bumpy roads, not having quite enough space to fit three people in the back bench but doing it anyway, the many many small tiendas and shops lining the road that were filled with the randomest things, the distinct features in the faces of the Peruvian people walking on the sidewalks, or just the fact that the Pacific was a short ride away – but I just got the overwhelming sense of a kind of “you’re not in Kansas anymore” feeling. Granted, I do know that a lot of people in America live a short ways away from the Pacific, but that is absolutely not the case in Michigan.
The human mind is SO good at adapting to any situation, which explains why I don’t have a daily freak-out session about being thousands of miles and a few countries away from my home. It’s definitely a blessing from God that that isn’t the case. It is good, however, to sometimes take a step back and just have a “woah” moment. Look at how God has gotten you to wherever you are and ask Him why. This doesn’t just apply to people who are on the mission field. It applies to everyone. Take a step back every once in a while, a step out of the in’s and out’s of everyday life, and really contemplate some things. If you’ve made goals for yourself in the past, reevaluate those goals and check your progress in them. Maybe make some new ones. If you step back only to realize you have no true direction you’re headed in, think about that for a little while.
I had to spend some time questioning why I was on the Race and what God was doing with me here this past month. He revealed to me through peers and leaders that He’s inviting me into what He’s already doing here. That kind of made me snap out of a little self-centered attitude I had going on. Sometimes stepping back and having a “woah” moment can highlight some areas of your life or even of yourself that are, for lack of better words, a little “eh”. Not great. And sometimes that’s exactly what we need.
I kind of went on a tangent there, but basically it’s important for us to step outside of ourselves every once in awhile and considers where we’re at and where we’re going. In that 5 minute tuk tuk ride, I had to consider again why I was on the race. God told me it was to do His will while giving up my own desires and plans. Pretty awesome, yeah? Hard at times, but awesome.
I want to thank you in an official blog post for getting me all the way to my financial goal for the Race! You all helped me raise $15,800 dollars in less than 11 months, and that’s crazyyyyy. Because of you I have seen God move in ways I never have before. I have learned things about Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and myself that have shaken up my view of the world for the better! It is such a gift from y’all and from Him to be able to stay on the Race for the rest of the time.
If you are still looking for ways to support God and His kingdom, there are still some people on my squad that are in need of funds by January 15th! My teammate, Selina, is still in the process of fundraising. She is a woman who is deeply in love with the Word of God. She desires to know more about Him each day, and she implements all she learns into her daily life. I have seen her work and grow in incredible ways so far on this trip, and I can’t wait to see more. If you feel led to speak with her, read her blogs, or donate to her fundraising, her blog site is https://selinamorgan.theworldrace.org/ and you can do all of that there. Thank you all again!
