obstacles to get to the World Race, now we hear how she’s handled sickness,
leadership, and missing her family. She also shares some advice for future
Racers.
of the roughest times on the Race. In India, her third month, she was “falling
apart,” with eye problems and foot fungus; in Uganda, her seventh month, she
contracted malaria and typhoid.
fifth month, in Kenya, she was a different kind of sick – homesick. She missed
her family and was “ready to get on the plane and go home.” It took lots of
Skype calls with her sister and plenty of prayer to cure the homesickness.
crazy,” said Kendall, but the month in India was the best ministry she engaged
in (at the time of the interview, that is).
“[We] felt like real disciples,” she said. “All we had were
sleeping bags… I bathed once a week.” Each day, her team would spend 10 days in
a village, praying for people. During one night of ministry there were
salvations and healings.
Some more of Kendall’s high-ranking moments of the Race:
- Sharing
her faith with a Muslim man and his wife - Getting
baptized in Kenya - Worshiping
with her squad where she feels free and at home
What challenged Kendall most wasn’t anything she encountered
while doing ministry but the community around her. Even with leadership
experience, filling the role of team leader has been challenging.
“Being a leader, at times you feel like you’re on the
outside,” she said. “I enjoy being a leader, but it looks different.” It’s more
than ministry to the contacts and locals, you help care for the spiritual
health of your team.
Looking onward, she says she’s reached a place of no
expectations. She had looked forward to going to Uganda so much that, Kendall
said, “Uganda was the Race to me.” And being in Uganda was a lot different than
she had expected.
“I didn’t see anything past Uganda!” she said. “I’m ready
for the unknown, ready to see how God will push me,” ready for what’s next.
If given the chance, she would ask alumni about the
difficulty of transitioning from the field to America. “What are you doing
now?” she would ask them.
They probably aren’t eating the peanut butter & honey
sandwiches she ate everyday in Nepal, or fried grasshopper, which Kendall said
tastes like chicken.
What does Kendall most look forward to in her post-Race
life? Seeing family and being in an American church. Of course, she anticipates
figuring out what God wants her to do next.
“God’s been putting different things on my heart,” she said.
There are different options she’s interested in but still praying through,
which she plans to share on her blog.
Her parting advice to those considering going on the Race:
Satan will “try to tell them ‘you’re not qualified, ‘you won’t be able to raise
the funds’.”
“Don’t let Satan beat you up about it.”
Beginning their final month on the World Race, Kendall and
the July 2011 X Squad made their way to the Philippines last week.
