When you think of living a crazy life for the Lord what do you think of? One thing I have learned is to expect the unexpected. Every day. One life lesson of the World Race is flexibility. I feel like I have always been a flexible person, but it has been taken to another level this year. Another lesson of the World Race is flexibility while on the Expedition route. The route I chose may actually be in the Webster’s dictionary for flexibility. We have lived the life of last minute choices on the regular, but it is so fun. Some of those decisions look like transportation to our next location. Sometimes it’s simple like, what are we going to eat? Sometimes it is a decision to pick up and reroute to a completely different country. So, naturally, that is just what we did.
As many of you know we worked a refugee camp in Greece which was not on the original route. If you have not read the blog about that experience, please check it out after this. The same thing just happened again. As a squad, our route included Kazakhstan. We went to Azerbaijan for a squad wide debrief time. After that debrief we hopped on a cargo ship and crossed the Caspian Sea. For all my stargazing lovers out there, it was like a movie or magazine. The stars were visible unlike any other time in my life. There was no light pollution out in the middle of the Caspian, so we took advantage of that time. After three days on the water, we hit Kazakhstan as a squad. Every team but mine went Northeast into the heart of the country. My team, through strong prayer sessions, decided to head into Uzbekistan. This was one of the best decisions of our lives. In Uzbek, God is moving like I’ve never seen before. Maybe it’s me growing, maybe it is God doing some serious work in that country. Let’s be real though, it’s both. Let me go ahead and tell you why.
Example #1: We took a 3 day train ride from Aktau, Kazakhstan to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It is much slower than this picture but a similar route haha.
We booked our place to stay in Uzbek a day or two before we left on the train. We knew that we had to stay proactive with all the logistical necessities because this train did not have WiFi. As soon as we got off the train, we began looking for WiFi to message our hostel. We found a salon. They had WiFi. A message popped up. Disagreement on a price that needed to be paid and a cancellation request. We were now in a new country, knowing no one, not even hello in their language, and we had to figure it out. Well, we thought we did. That is when God showed up. We were a little worried about what to do next, as you can imagine. No one was upset, we just knew it was going to be a “fun” time. A little boy, maybe 7 or 8 years old, approached our friend, Landry. He gave her some flowers he picked and it brightened up everyone’s day. Just as he did that, his mother walked up. She spoke perfect English and knew immediately that we did as well. She asked what we were doing sitting outside of a salon. Well, funny you ask, we have nowhere to go. Just as we said that, she laughed. Let’s just say I was a little confused. She went on to say that she owns properties all over the city and we could go to one, that was in the building behind us, and relax while we look for a place. She even said we could SHOWER! She bought us local food and even bought our team leader a SIM card. Minute one off of the train and we had already run into one of those ‘wild God moments”. Lesson learned. Angels are real. Sometimes they come and disappear in the blink of an eye. Sometimes they come as a normal person who is God sent in a time of need.
Example #2: Airbnb is a mystery sometimes. If you have never heard of Airbnb, its a website and app that allows you to rent apartments, hostels, etc. It is another avenue for people who own properties to make money from people who would like to rent for any amount of time. It’s also a very cheap way to travel. Instead of spending hundreds on a night at a hotel, go on Airbnb and get a really beautiful apartment for half or more of the cost. Travel smart. Sometimes people who own really nice properties struggle to rent them out. We will see a penthouse and try to message the owner our budget and see if they will bite. We take the, do you want $36ish a night or $0? This worked while we were in Georgia and we stayed in an amazing 4 bedroom apartment that was bigger than all the places we have stayed combined. Sometimes it does not work out like this. While we were still in Kazakhstan, I messaged a lady who owned a hostel/home. She lives there with her two sons, but there are multiple rooms so it feels like a hostel. Common kitchen, common bathroom, but a main area with doors in every corner with numbers on them. Each room is like a hotel room with multiple beds. I gave her the “we are traveling on a budget” talk and she laughed. She said that price would just not work and I took no offense. So about a week later, as we were scrambling to find a new place, one of our team members messaged her. We weren’t keeping track of who we had already contacted, we were just going for it. It just so happened, that same lady gave a girl on our team a yes. I had a playful jealousy wondering why I got laughed at but a girl on our team got a yes. At that point we were willing to take anything, so we were just happy to have a place for a week of our time there. Now is the why. Why did she decide to say yes? Was it because a kind hearted girl sent a desperate message to her? Was it because something happened between my message and that point? That is exactly what happened. She had been in a car wreck between the two messages and was in need of the cash to pay for her car. You know how people say God works through the good situations and the bad? Well, I believe God had a huge plan for her car accident. Her and one of her sons ended up coming to know the Lord one night while we were talking in the kitchen. Her family was on the edge of knowing Jesus’ love and we just so happened to be placed into her life at the perfect time. Lesson learned. God is paving a beautiful road no matter what is happening around you. It may seem evil or make no sense, but He is working!
Example #3: We prayed about our time in Uzbek before we even went. For those of you who do not know my future plans yet, I am going to open a coffee shop in Arizona. God has made it VERY VERY clear that this is what I need to do. A long and detailed blog will be following this with everything you need to know about the shop. With this life plan comes a lot of studying, practice and just simply getting to know the industry. During these prayers, before we even left the boat, I kept getting a picture/vision of this coffee shop. I did not know if it was something for on the race or maybe what my shop will look like in the future. It was a shop on the corner of a building with all glass walls and there was a park off to the right. The word volunteer kept popping up as well. I thought, maybe it is for during the race, how cool would that be? Volunteer at a coffee shop and get some experience. Well, guess what God did. One of the first days we were in Tashkent, we went to get some coffee and lunch at a shop. As soon as we walked up my jaw dropped. It was almost exactly what I saw when I prayed. I am not one to make up stories. This is real people. The only difference is there weren’t all glass walls. The shop was on the corner of a building, in a busy area, with a park to the right. Almost identical to every detail I saw. We walked in and I started sharing with a local believer about what had happened. He said, “Is this the place? Are you positive? Because I think I know the perfect place where we could get you in.” I couldn’t stop thinking about how God put this place in my mind. I also couldn’t stop thinking, where are the glass walls? Sure enough, he took me to the other shop to meet the manager and it had all glass walls. Strange, right? This new shop happened to be the top coffee shop in the capital of Tashkent. A coffee shop that has regulars who come in every day for multiple years. Also a coffee shop that attracts the most English speakers in the city. A young generation of English speakers. Why would a manager trust a random foreigner to work as a barista and make coffee for these regulars? One bad coffee and they could be gone. Oh, and I had never touched an espresso machine in my life. One of the regulars happened to be this local believer we know. He is the most well known regular there. He put in a good word and the manager immediately accepted. Why? This man is full of God’s love and trust. It is so evident and do you see what that can do for others? It lifts up trust and the urge to help people in others! She said she couldn’t explain the feeling, but she just knew we were supposed to volunteer there. I pray every day that she eventually learns where that feeling came from. Turns out, I can make some bomb coffee and the locals enjoyed my semi-pro barista skills. I learned so much through that experience. If I was not obedient to what I heard and saw in my prayers it would have never happened. Lesson learned. Continue to listen for guidance. When God shows you something and wants you to jump, just jump. Don’t question it, it will work out. We may not ever understand why it works out the way it does, but He is not asking us to understand. He is asking us to be obedient. Below is the Book Cafe on the corner of the building and also B&B where we ended up volunteering.
These are just a few stories of our time there. I know you all have work, kids, maybe class to go to, so I won’t keep you any longer. Go back and read my refugee camp blog in the hyperlink above if you haven’t yet. Also, check out these links of my teammates who were in Uzbek as well. They have amazing stories to tell and it will give you the full scope of our time. God is so good friends. Keep trusting Him. He doesn’t disappoint.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
“But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” – James 1:6
https://landrypetersen.theworldrace.org/post/uzbekistan-was-never-part-of-the-plan
https://landrypetersen.theworldrace.org/post/hammer-sword
https://danielpeters.theworldrace.org/post/uzbekistan-gods-power-provision-through-prayer-friendship
https://emilyfroehlich.theworldrace.org/post/why-uzbekistan-is-my-favorite-country-so-far
https://shelachan.theworldrace.org/post/central-asia-and-updates
https://brishnahedstrom.theworldrace.org/post/the-uzzie-trail-blazers
