The World Race is by far the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. I mean it makes sense, right? Fresh out of highschool, 18 years old, packing all your belongings into a backpack, leaving the country for the first time, living and traveling with 44 strangers, not staying in one place for more than 2 months, having little to no communication with friends and family back home. I mean that all sounds really hard, right? Well, all of that was actually very easy, in my opinion. I knew with so much confidence that the Lord had called me to the Race, and I knew He would provide for my every need, so I embraced it all, knowing I was doing the work of the Lord.
No, the World Race was the hardest thing I have ever done because I entered with 44 strangers and left with a family.
In the course of 9 months, this eclectic group of 45 strangers walked and lived life with one another in such close proximity that a family was formed. Then the day comes, and you say goodbye, and just like that it’s over. What are you even supposed to do now? How do you even say goodbye to these people, to this family? You just spent 9 months with these people without a break. They are there when you wake up and when you go to sleep. They are with you before, during, and after ministry. You eat every meal with them. They are with you in your struggles and your celebrations. They hold your hand when you grieve and as you praise. They lived life with you. They know you in such a way that you have never been known, and you know them in that way too. They have become your family. And now you have to say goodbye? What do you mean? How are you even supposed to do that? Well, there is a lot of hugging and tears and sweet words. Nobody wants to be the first to leave, but the vans need to get to the airport, and your parents are here to take you home, and now it truly is goodbye.
And that is why the World Race is the hardest thing I have ever done. Because I learned what it’s like to truly live in a Godly community, and then I had to say goodbye. It was the hardest thing I have ever done, but I do not regret it in the slightest. I would do it again. In a heartbeat.
