While in India I went on a short adventure to the city of Bangalore. I went with Angie, one of the gals on my squad to visit her Aunt, Uncle and cousins that she hadn’t seen in years. Her cousin told us Bangalore was pretty Americanized, so we should just dress like we do back home.
Well when on the Race have I ever dressed like I do back home?
I showed up at Angie’s with my long missionary skirt and t-shirt. (In our orientation this month we were told women cannot show their ankles, definitely cannot wear tank tops, and pants can only be worn with a shirt that covers your bottom). Angie laughed and told me I might want to change. Ha, so I did, not really understanding why.
We got on the sleeper bus around 9:45pm with a bed and A/C and hit the road for our eight-hour ride. Around 2 in the morning I really had to pee. I went to ask the bus driver to make a stop, and he told me “there is no bathroom only the side of the road.”
Who needs a real bathroom anymore?
Angie and I got off the bus along with the bus driver in the middle of the night somewhere in India, and it was completely dark except for a small amount of light illuminating from our bus. He told us we couldn’t go out far but could only go right beside the bus, which happened to be right where he was using the bathroom. That’s not awkward at all! Here we were squatting five feet away from our bus driver with the little bus lights on the side shining just enough to make me feel awkward.
We get to Bangalore and her cousin picks us up in his car. HIS CAR. WITH A/C. That was my second time this year to ride in a car with A/C. And instantly I’m thankful I had changed my outfit and made a mental note to leave more clothes behind in India.
Her cousin noticed Angie and I were a bit off from the Americanized world when I freaked out as we passed a McDonalds. It wasn’t too bad until we went into a nice restaurant. I may have been checking out everyone’s plate as we walked to our table. And I didn’t even realize that I was staring down the man’s pizza to my right until her cousin told me that I was embarrassing him. I was very tempted to ask him for his extra two pieces of bread that he apparently wasn’t going to finish when her cousin reminded me that bread comes free with our meal.
I am weird.
What has the Race done to me?
But when I think about it I wouldn’t take back this year and all the weird quarks I've picked up for the world.
I can use the bathroom anywhere without it being a big deal and actually wonder why we don't have squatty potties in America…
I can wash my clothes in a sink….
I’m NOT going to NOT eat my food when I find a hair or bug in it…
I’ve ran in our squad’s weird 5K runs where we had to eat donuts or milk and cookies every mile just to make people throw up…
I’ve eaten cookies crumbs that dropped from my squadmate’s mouth onto the floor without a second thought…
I carry toilet paper with me everywhere I go…
I’m a nurse and I don’t even wash my hands all the time anymore…
I’m a little scared of going home and being able to go anywhere I want ALONE…
But, I’ve seen the love of Jesus touch lives around the world.
I’ve seen God heal people in the churches of El Salvador.
I’ve prayed with men addicted to paint thinner on the streets of Honduras.
I’ve seen the joy the Lord can bring to the most lifeless nursing homes in Nicaragua.
I’ve seen the love of Jesus light up the eyes of prostitutes and ladyboys in the Red Light District of Thailand.
I fell in love with the beautiful people of Cambodia and saw how God is redeeming them from wounds caused by the genocide.
I worshipped and prayed with local believers at the Penang House of Prayer (PenHOP) in Malaysia.
I’ve seen the eyes of Jesus through many orphaned children living in the poorest villages in Rwanda.
I’ve laughed with hundreds of street children whose lives have been radically turned around by the blood of Jesus in Kenya.
I’ve seen the power of God deliver people from demons in the Muslim villages of Tanzania.
I’ve hiked two hours up beautiful mountains in Nepal to fellowship with other believers.
I’ve prayed with believers in India who get persecuted for their faith every single day.
I have a brand new family of believers from all around the states whom I LOVE SO MUCH.
And I fell more in love with Jesus.
The Race has changed me.
Holy Spirit has changed me!
And I don’t want to go back to the way I was before. I want to be a weird missionary girl.
I don’t ever want to forget how God opened up my eyes on the World Race.
And my prayer is that Father God will never stop revealing more of Himself to the world.
