You got questions, I got answers.
What is the most challenging thing about being on the World Race so far? Also, what’s your favorite memory from the race? -Rashelle N.
So far, the most challenging thing about the race has been staying present where I am in each country. I’ve found that it’s very easy to get caught up in the “what’s next” mentality. “What’s coming in the next country?” “Who’s going to be on my next team?” “What am I going to do after the race?” Those kinds of questions run through my mind a lot and I’m continually telling myself to stay where we are in our current ministry. Especially when we our ministry is something like this month, where we’re painting just about every day and I’m not seeing any fruit from it, yet. In the past, during ministry, it was easier when it yielded tangible results (re-building a church, painting walls, etc) but now on the race, when it’s easy to compare ourselves to other teams, it is so much harder when we aren’t out talking to or sharing the love of Christ with people.
I have two specific favorite memories from the race right now. One is from our ministry last month in Cambodia. One Sunday we had a time set aside to love on the children of the community by offering to wash their hair. I absolutely loved being able to pamper these little girls by making them feel beautiful and loved. I, especially, felt the Lord’s presence there when I was done braiding one little girl’s hair and she turned around with a huge smile on her face, said “thank you” in broken English, and wrapped me in the tightest hug. This is probably where I picked up lice, but honestly, I’d do it over and over again.
My next favorite memory was worshiping on Pub Street in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Worship is one of the ways I connect most with the Lord and getting to experience that with my entire squad in front of people who don’t believe was just beautiful. One of my favorite parts from this night was starting the music off with an Ed Sheeran song. If you don’t know, I’m a little obsessed with Ed, and was over-the-top excited to get to sing his music (shout out to RJ for picking that song out!).
What food has wrecked you the most? – Alli B.
Thanks, Al. Honestly, so far (fingers crossed) I haven’t been sick. Except the time I bought this dang papaya in a grocery store in Siem Reap.
It. Was. Not. A. Good. Time.
0/10 stars Would not recommend.
It was the worrrrrrrst travel day of the race.
In the words of Leslie Knope, “I stand behind my decision to avoid salad and other disgusting things [papaya]”.
What has been your favorite month/country and why? – Jenny K.
My favorite month/country was month 4, Cambodia, for sure. Month 3, in Bolivia, was especially hard for me and my team. But something happened when we got to Asia, (the Lord, ya know?) and we ended up in a really, really good place in Cambodia. And that translated into our ministry. We were teaching English to kids from preschool aged all the way to seventeen years old. Each and every one of them was precious and I’ll never forget the sound of them yelling “Teach-aaa, meeee!”.
What is the most memorable, God moment, from mission days? -Mama
When we first got to Cambodia my teammate, Jaclyn, heard God explicitly tell her “You will not leave this place until you put mud on their eyes.”. This alludes to the story in John 9 where Jesus spits on the ground, makes mud and puts in on a blind man’s eyes, and heals him.
During our stay in the village were privileged to meet a woman named Nai. She was this tiny, little thing who lived in her brother’s house, and every time we visited her she was just hanging out underneath the house (which were all on stilts). Nai was also blind.
We ended up building a beautiful friendship with Nai, which allowed us to ask her if we could put mud on her eyes. This took a huge leap of faith for all of us, including Nai. We put mud on her eyes, prayed for her, worshiped with her, but she wasn’t healed. That was hard for some of us because we fully believed God was going to heal her. But, through our obedience, Nai received salvation that day and now will spend an eternity with our God and we will get to see her again, fully healed.
What is the hardest thing to adapt to or go without? – Cheryl K.
Chick-fil-a, fer shur.
?? Probably the hardest thing to go without is my friends and family. I’m not near as homesick as I thought I would be, but sometimes I get waves of longing to be home. Longing to laugh in the car with my mom so hard we almost pee ourselves. Or sitting on the couch, curled up with my dad. Wishing to hug Luke and Hayden and see them growing up. Or calling up Heather anytime I want to go see some dumb movie and stuffing our faces with popcorn.
How alike or different have your experiences been compared to what you expected? – Donna T.
When I signed up for the race, I expected to be in each country for a full month. So, when I came and found that sometimes we only get two and a half weeks with our ministry, it was hard. But because of travel days (especially getting to Asia) and debriefs, that’s just how it has to be sometimes, and I learned to understand that.
I fully expected to be uncomfortable during the race, and, boy, has that expectation been fulfilled. From telling part of my testimony in front of a church (that only spoke Spanish), to leading my squad in worship on Thanksgiving, to having to give hard feedback to my teammates and friends, it’s been one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. But I’m so, so thankful for it because it’s making me into the woman that I want to be and who the Lord made me to be.
What was the moment when you knew God was calling you to go? Stephanie N.
Honestly, from the first video I saw about the World Race, I knew God was calling me to do this. I felt a peace about applying that I couldn’t explain except that I was supposed to go. I always knew that I wanted to be involved in missions (from the time I started going on mission trips in middle school), so this felt like the next step in that story.
What is one thing you didn’t expect to happen, but did? – Kayeley V.
I didn’t expect to become so close, so fast to my teammates. It’s not particularly easy for me to make close friends, just because I’m slow to open up. But, being on a team and being with each other 24/7….you open up pretty fast. And we heard each other’s stories within the first month of being together. It makes it so much easier to open up and become close to someone when you’re both vulnerable with each other. Our team was a safe space to share and talk about our struggles, victories, hopes, and fears.
Now, being on a new team I can see that we’re already becoming comfortable enough to share and give feedback and we’ve been together less than a month.
What have you been surprised to learn from the people you’re serving/teaching? How are the people different or receptive to you in each country? – Denise O.
I’ve been surprised by the amount of love and hospitality we’ve felt from each host. The way they’ve opened their homes and their hearts to us has been such a joy to experience.
In each country we’ve been to, the people have been incredibly receptive to us. In fact, in Bolivia, we held Vacation Bible School for the children of our village and we ended up having nearly twenty kids the first day and they literally never left. They knew where we lived and would constantly be in our yard, wanting us to play. It was so sweet (though sometimes annoying) but we always had a ministry opportunity with them.
What is the most “World Race” style outfit you’ve worn? -Elise B.
In our village in Cambodia, ALL the women wore these pajamas (that resembled nursing scrubs), so to fit in, my team all bought a pair. We all had different colors and wore them at the same time to our first debrief session with our entire squad. We. Were. A. Dang. Hit.
If you could sum up your experience on the race (so far) and what you’ve learned in ONE word, what would it be? – Heather E.
It would be this:
WUT.
Besides Jen [my first team leader], who’s been your favorite team leader so far? – Bry V.
I feel like I’m being baited into this one, as I’ve only had one other team leader.
So, I mean, probably Bry.
What is one, unexpected thing that made you feel the most at home in any country? – Elise B.
I have a few “expected” things that make me feel at home, like letters that my best friend wrote me for each month and holiday, cards my mom sent with me for special moments on the race, and my brother’s sweatshirt. But one unexpected thing that helps the homesickness is having someone on the squad from my hometown, Tiffany. We haven’t been on the same team, but every time our whole squad gets together for travel or debriefs, it’s literally like coming home. We spent the months leading up to the race hanging out and preparing for launch and became pretty close before the race even started. So, now when we see each other we talk about South Carolina, the things we love about our city, and our families. It’s a sweet thing that the Lord made sure we were on the same squad and that we have each other when we’re feeling homesick.
Thank you all for your questions! I’d love to do another one of these posts, so keep them coming. Much love!
