So it’s been about 6 months since I started this crazy insane journey. It’s gone so fast I can’t believe I’m already in month 6. I couldn’t even imagine what that would look like when I was sitting on a plane flying to India. I want to just break down what the past 6 months have looked like for you.
India was a bit of an eye opener for me, I hadn’t really seen the world or known much about it outside of my American bubble. We were in a excluded remote village, where wifi was almost not real. And they definitely never heard of Walmart or Starbucks or most places we would normally go to on a daily basis.
They walk everywhere they go or maybe take a tuk tuk if they have extra money. They hand wash their clothes with just soap and water and then hang them out to dry in their yard. They burn their trash, they eat chicken with the bone in with every meal. They eat completely different food than I was use too.
One thing I first noticed though was how welcoming they were. They welcomed us with chi tea, that was the most amazing thing I’ve ever had and miss it dearly. They always great you on the stress, they have such a welcoming spirit about them.
Nepal was an interesting month but one of my favorites. We were at the top of Mount Machhapuchhare working on a Yak Ranch that didn’t have Yaks. We did manual labor for the month and we were with another team while we were there. We had the same 3 meals everyday, 20 of us shared one bathroom/shower (they were in the same room) with water that barely came out.
Some nights we would go lay in the field and watch the star and count how many shooting stars we could see. The beauty in the night sky was mesmerizing. Every afternoon I would walk up the hill a little ways and sit and watch the sunset over the mountains, the peace from the sunset was captivating. Just sitting in the beauty that the Lord created for me was magical in a way that words can’t describe.
Vietnam was hands down my hardest month so far on the race. We stayed in an apartment 2 streets away from the beach, and we had wifi and it felt like we were back home again. It was crazy how lost I got in social media and on my phone and in others lives that seemed “cooler” than mine.
It rained everyday we were there and it was kind of miserable. Our ministry was teaching English and our host was always changing times and we never really knew what we were doing. The inconsistency was hard we had no routine and getting lost in wifi and not leaving real room for the Lord to move or speak was tough.
Flooding my life with wifi stuff and feeling like I needed to find consistency first was important to me.
I left Vietnam not ready to go because things weren’t fully put back together. But on the race we don’t get the luxury to stay somewhere more than 3-4 weeks.
Cambodia was a month of refreshment. We worked with street kids which melted my heart. They were rotten little boogers, they were full of life and energy.
I walked into Cambodia with the mindset I was going to thrive this month. I can’t honestly say I was thriving the way I wanted but I was growing and it was noticeable and hard.
We woke up at 5am and did ministry for the time we work up to the time we went to bed. It was extremely long day and it was hot.
Also, Cambodians know how to party! They well start blaring music at 3am and do it for 3 days nonstop, so sleep was limited. Which all of this doesn’t sound refreshing but to my soul working with those kids and my team just refreshed me.
Botswana was very similar to Nepal, which I prayed that the Lord would give me another month like Nepal because I loved it so much.
We were in the bush in the middle of nowhere in a small Village. We did a lot of manual labor again. But I never felt so at home as I did in kumakwane. Our host felt like they were our parents just the way they took care of us. They treats us as if we had been family our whole lives, we had nice beds and hot showers and dessert almost every night with our home cooked meals. It was amazing and hard to leave but also we were ready to move one. Because we’ve gotten so use to just picking up and leave so much now it’s become normal to just leave.
South Africa, I may have only been here a few day but it’s been incredible. Your beauty is breathtaking. I’ve never seen a sunset like the one I saw 2 nights ago. So many color, so bright an vibrant.
We are working with kids in an after-school program. I’ve never met children who pray with such passion and are so eager to know the Lord. I don’t know many adults who pray with such passion and joy as these children do. It’s indescribable. It’s one of those things you just have to be there to understand it, you know?
The World Race is by no means what I thought it would be, the world looks very different but yet the same. It’s a magical thing how everything just fits right together. I’m only halfway done with this journey but I’ve learn and seem more than my brain can even remember.
Thank you for all your support and everything all my supports have done for me.
-TaylorB
