Patrick Doty has spent the past six months unlocking the person God made him to be (click here to read the beginning of his World Race story). Now we’ll catch up with Patrick again to talk about what he’s learned on the Race, in both the hard times and the good times.
South Africa has been the most challenging month for Patrick. “There is no other time in my life when I have experienced so much spiritual warfare. I had heard that Africa is a land full of spirits. The entire month was one of spiritual unease. It was a month of distraction and confusion. I still don’t completely understand everything that happened, but I do understand the outcome. It was a time of pruning. A time of toughening. Of learning to depend more on God. A time of humility, understanding that I can’t live this life on my own. I need God.”
Even during this challenging time, Patrick connected with a man who lived at a home for intellectually disabled adults, named Alta Du Toit. “There was a young man there named Deione. After being there the first day for about 8 hours, I didn’t even really remember much about Deione. He didn’t stick out to me.”
But Deione remembered Patrick. “After my team returned home, they told me how Deione kept asking about me and saying that he loved me and he missed me. The next day that I was able to go back to Alta Du Toit, I looked for Deione. My eyes finally met him as he was waving and running towards me from across the room, screaming my name. He embraced me with such force, it actually kind of hurt.”
Deione is unable to continue social interactions for more than a few seconds. So every day, Patrick would see Deione, give him a hug, exchange a few words, and watch him run away to hide. “But at the end of the month, on our very last day at Alta Du Toit, the Lord did something special. I spent an entire day hanging out with Deione. He never ran away.”
Patrick’s favorite month so far has been Cambodia. “My team was in a little village in the middle of nowhere, surrounded only by rice fields, stunning mountains, and beautiful people. Lunch and dinner always consisted of rice and the chickens that we killed earlier in the day. Showers came in the form of rainfall. Sleeping came in the form of a hammock under a grass hut. The lifestyle was refreshing, but what made the month was the kids.”
Four orphaned boys lived with Patrick’s team, and around 60 kids from the village joined them to play every day. “I loved seeing the smile on the children’s faces after a simple touch or hug to show them that we loved them. One of the orphaned boys, named Eddie, who was thirteen, liked to sing and play guitar with me.”
Patrick didn’t realize the impact he was making on Eddie’s life until his team was preparing to leave the village. “He ran up to me, gave me a hug and said, ‘Thanks for being my friend.’ I learned that month that the Lord can use us in whatever way he wants. You may think your interaction with someone has been so limited, but it has meant the world to them.”
Patrick has already finished over half his Race, but he’s not done learning, growing, and serving. Keep an eye on Patrick’s blog to stay up to date on his adventures. And don’t forget to subscribe to the World Race Updates blog for more great stories!
