Life on the Race is different every day. “How different,” you ask. Well…here’s a look into my life the past 4 months…
In the Dominican Republic, it could be prayer walking. It could be writing English curriculum. Or writing a discipleship curriculum for the women in Cien Fuegos. It could be working with your 2 Logistics partners and planning the lodging for debrief and travel to Haiti. It could be watching a basketball game between the Racers and the locals. It could be accidentally taking too much Benadryl and thinking that you are an alien and your mom is a lightning bug. It could be mandatory team time being running to the vegetable stand. It could be driving 1.5 hours to a church and then getting a Dramamine hangover and having to sleep the rest of the day. It could be staying up late to have important conversations on the trampoline. It could be walking to 3 colmados to clean them out of their marble cake to bless your team. It could be your teammate getting sea urchin needles in her foot and going to the hospital.
In Haiti, it could be going to villages and talking about hygiene and sharing our stories. Or it could be planning a VBS for the kids living in the orphanage on our compound. It could be painting the kitchen while avoiding fire ants that live near the stoves. It could be laying in bed because you’re too sick to get up. It could be picking up trash at another compound. It could be holding the same child all day because he will not let you put him down. It could be riding 2 hours in a canter truck and shucking beans for a woman in the village so she can sell them. It could be spending the best Valentine’s Day ever with the men on your squad spoiling the women; seriously, they raised the bar for how women should be treated.It could be resting in your hammock during some free time. It could be the entire squad painting the inside and outside of 8 houses in one day. It could be watching Lord of the Rings while watercoloring with some of the funniest people in your life. It could be enjoying an off day at a little boutique near your ministry host and eating ice cream. It could be doing an all-squad talent show or standing on a bench and shouting to the squad what chains God has broken in your life.
In Costa Rica, it could be playing volleyball with the elementary school girls at their school. It could be learning to sew via the teaching of some incredibly gifted women. It could be spontaneously teaching these women English. It could be going to a nearby village and picking up trash. It could be painting the entire church with the use of a 3 story scaffold. It could be painting the outside walls of the compound. It could be on the toilet with diarrhea. It could be grocery shopping. It could be going to Zumba at 7am. It could be walking to town with your extra time and picking up a coffee. It could be spending your free time getting a tattoo or watching the sunset on a small mountain in the outskirts of town. It could be traveling on an off-day to San Jose for a free concert. It could be spending another off-day going to a free beach. It also could be weekends spent exploring hot springs and volcanoes. It could be pushing children on the swings. It could be eating dirt/rocks or paint water because you lost a “What are the Odds Game.” It could be helping pre-schoolers paint or use scissors or learning your Spanish numbers and colors with them. It could be trying to make hash browns with your teammate for dinner and completely messing them up. It could be laughing until you cry because of the authentic conversations with your team.
In Honduras, it could be shoveling dirt from one pile to another. It could be holding babies all day. It could be welcoming a 12-hour old abandoned baby into your safe haven ministry house. It could be night duty to feed her every 2 hours. It could be welcoming her 3 year old brother into the house a few days later. It could be learning how to make pork chops. It could be waking up for a sunrise Easter service. It could be having a bonfire worship service. It could be spending an off-day at the mall and enjoying the wi-fi and Cinnabons. It could be walking to the Pulperia after ministry and getting some plantain chips. It could be avoiding taking a shower because a bucket shower is a lot of work.
I’m telling you – every single day on the Race is different. Even if I do the same ministry two days in a row, something unexpected happens that makes it beautiful and, at times, challenging.
God is in this. He has provided so much for me to be here and so much for me to stay here. He has taught me so much about so much and I’m glad for the challenges of each day.
