Hey guys! I am officially FINISHED ministry on the race and am heading into debriefing/going back to America very soon! In the beginning of the race, one of my goals was to do or try something new every day, and that would be a lot to write if I shared with you every single thing but I figured I could share a few from each country. Traveling the world to many different cultures, you experience a lot whether you try to or not. It has been fun to experience many different foods, activities, cultural experiences, etc. Some of these are ministry related, some of these are not. But I wanted to preface that I’m sharing this not to boast, because I have nothing to boast about except Christ. I am thankful to have experienced so many things, but it can be a blessing and a curse. I shared this for those interested in doing the race and looking to see a picture of the day-to-day, and to share with my supporters that there are a lot of incredible people, ministries, and God-moments that your money went to this year. Thank you for supporting me through this year, and thank you for trusting me and believing in me. But it is not I who lives, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20)
So here it is! 🙂
GUATEMALA
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Consistently put toilet paper in a trash can instead of a toilet.
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Went to a bilingual church
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Had street food (and didn’t actually get wrecked!)
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Partnered with the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and did soccer camps
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Hiked a volcano (Acetenango – one of the most epic things I have ever experienced)
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Rode in a tuk-tuk!
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Witnessed a healing
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Took an aerial silks class (literally this has been on my bucket list 5EVER)
HONDURAS
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Saw the caribbean sea
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Ate a coffee bean straight off a tree
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Used a handsaw
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Took a sowing class (completely in spanish lol)
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Made banana bread on a skillet
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Led a Beauty for Ashes teaching
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Planted a tree
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Built a chair from scratch – she may not be pretty but she humble and made with heart
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Went without service or wifi for an entire month
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Tent camped for an entire month
COSTA RICA
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Learned how to make Patacones (so good)
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Tried Pejibaye (peach palm fruit)
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Found a sand dollar at the beach
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Mixed cement using a hose and a shovel
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Rode a horse on the beach
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Tried cas juice
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Saw a loro (bird) and it mimicked my laugh!
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Shared my testimony in front of a church completely in spanish!
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Attended a K-Pop dance class
NICARAGUA
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Held a Coati
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Became a fully funded missionary by the grace of God!
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Had a dream fully in Spanish
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Did ministry at a dump site
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Served at a youth feeding program
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Served at a special needs organization and got to partake in equine therapy (A M A Z I N G)
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Rode in a horse drawn carriage
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Made cacao paste
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Did worship in the center of a city square (Granada).
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Read & completed a full book in Spanish
ALBANIA
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Came to Europe
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Experienced a flight that served a full meal (2 of them!!)
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Went into a mosque
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Drove a car internationally
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Tried Byrek (Albanian Pie-like Heaven…best food I tried on the race)
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Spent Christmas away from my family (I never said that all new experiences were happy)
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Tried Raki (iykyk)
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Visited a Castle
TURKEY
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Came to Asia
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Ate pide (it’s like a turkish flat bread pizza thing…so good)
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Saw a whirling dervish
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Took a boat down the Bosphorus strait
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Had a flight that landed before it took off (took off at 9:50, landed at 9:30)
ROMANIA
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Went to a honey bee farm
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Unloaded the back of an 18-wheeler (it took over 900 loads between 26 people)
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Visited a Rroma community and did kids programs for them
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Took a train solo across the country
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Tried Papanasi (10/10 recommend)
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Went snowboarding internationally (shout out to Poiana Mountain for being lit)
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Visited Dracula’s Castle (Bran Castle)
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Saw Hotel Transylvania (the movie and the actual hotel)
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Went canoeing in an underground salt mine
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Served YWAM Cluj
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Rode an electric scooter
SOUTH AFRICA
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Did a full 30 minute yoga routine on a plane (okay seriously though when the travel days get long you gotta do what you gotta do to keep the muscles moving lol)
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Came to Africa
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Went south of the equator
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Ate pap and chakalaka
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Pet a lion (ok yeah it was a baby)
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Pet a penguin
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Saw an impala
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Held an impromptu kids program in the middle of the road for 25 kids
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Tried chicken feet
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Saw a lemur and a toucan
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Saw the 3rd largest canyon in the world and did a bungee swing
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Hiked Lion’s Head (potentially my new favorite hike in the world…or atleast best view)
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Rode in a cable car
ESWATINI
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Finished the whole Bible in 9 months!
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Chopped down a tree
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Saw a green mamba (in our room – yeeeet)
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Went inside a Siswati hut made solely from sticks and mud
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Drove a car with a right-sided steering wheel on the left side of the road (super wack)
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Attended a revival night at a Swazi church
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Hiked Execution Rock – the pic shows the point where we hiked to. This rock is where people who broke the law used to get dragged up the top of this mountain and executed by people poking them with spears all the way to the edge until they fall off the cliff.
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Tented with no rain fly under the stars
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Built a garden from scratch and planted vegetables
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Went white water rafting
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FINISHED THE WORLD RACE!
The World Race is what you make it. I learned that the hard way. It is not always fun, it is not always adventurous, and it is a LOT of repetition. So as I head back to America and continue processing and reflecting, I thought it would be fun to reminisce on some of the cool things God led me to this year. Thanks for following along 🙂
