As I took the 36 hour train ride back up to New Delhi a few days ago, I found myself looking out the window, watching how fast everything passed by and how it seemed a lot like life.  Things passing by like a blur.  I remember the blog I wrote the night before I left for Guatemala.  Mixed emotions; like an internal tug-of-war.  It almost seems silly now.  The things that made me most nervous about coming on this race are now the things that make me most nervous about going home.  11 months away from home, living in community, only being somewhere for a month at a time, living by faith pretty much every day.  Those things are so normal to me now.  But it's over.  I will never be with these 60 other people, traveling the world, bringing Kingdom ever again.  Sure, I will still be involved in missions and continue to share the love of Jesus with others...but it will never be the same as this year, and that makes me feel the same emotions as before I left.  Excited, nervous, anxious and a little freaked out!  I think my symptoms show that I have a slight fear of the unknown.  You see, I don't really know what will happen when I go home.  I had no idea what the Race would be like, but after getting in the groove of travel days, meeting new ministry contacts and learning how to say goodbye without crying my eyes out, it all became familiar.  But what about now that's it's really over?  How am I supposed to say goodbye?  How am I supposed to process what I've seen and been a part of?  How am I supposed to share it with my friends and family?

As I look over this year I realize that I have changed a lot, on the inside and outside.  I also know that my community back home has changed.  People are getting married, having babies, moving away and starting new jobs.  It won't be the same place as when I left, and that's ok, but that's why I feel nervous, anxious and excited.  I know when I see people I will have to cram 11 months of life into a sentence.  "How was the trip?"  "What did you learn?"  "What was your favorite part?"  The answer to those questions have been haunting me for weeks now.  But I'm still ready to come home.  I signed up for 11 months and that time has passed.  In the words of Jesus, "it is finished." 

The end.  

There are so many of you who have followed me in this journey from day one and I appreciate all of your encouragement more than you could ever know.  Even though I was the one who personally got to see and experience God working all over the world, you have been a huge part of it.  Those of you who donated money, prayed and encouraged me will receive the same reward I do.  You are the ones who made it possible for me to go and for that I thank you.  It's been a great year and I feel honored to have shared it with you.

America, here I come!    

Team Frontline at our Squad Banquet

**Stay tuned for my end of the year video I will be posting soon after I get home...it'll be good!

May - Kenya - Deliverance Church

June - Uganda - Ambassadors of Life Church

July - Tanzania - Potter's Temple 

Favorite Country -  My overall favorite country in Africa was Kenya.  The Pastors at Deliverance Church have worked with the World Race for a long time and we immediately felt like family.  We were outside of Nairobi and I loved getting to know my way around the city.  We preached a lot!  In schools, at people's homes, the church, grocery stores and the mall.  I helped out in the church office, volunteered at Mother Teresa's Charity Home, spoke at a worship conference, led worship for the Wednesday night prayer meetings and loved playing with kids in the slums.  We even visited an elephant orphanage!  We were in Kenya the longest out of any country, 6 weeks, but I didn't mind at all.

Breaking Point - By the time we got to Africa my attitude towards being clean, having running water, being comfortable, eating good food, etc., had pretty much gone out the window.  The one thing I had taken for granted was electricity.  Silly but true.  In Africa the power goes out at random times for God only knows how long.  In Uganda it felt like the power was out more than it was on.  So it was sometime in the middle of the month and I was feeling really sick.  I had been up all through the night, there was no water so my toilet had a science experiment going on, all of my electronics were dead and there was no power.  I was sitting underneath my mosquito net, feeling sorry for myself, and had a mini breakdown.  It didn't last long and I'm totally over it now.  Low point.  It made me realize how much I was dependent on my computer, iPod and electricity.

Typical World Race Moment -  Tanzania.  10 people sitting in a living room.  The power is out and the sun is quickly setting.  Since this is a daily occurrence we have candles and matches ready.  As we're sitting there, trying to decide what to do with our evening, I get a genius idea.  There is a coke bottle on the table and matches so I run to the kitchen to boil an egg.  Do you see where this is going?  Sounds a bit like 10th grade chemistry class, doesn't it?  Well, the 10 of us spent the next 30 minutes trying to get this hard boiled egg to fall through the coke bottle.  It never happened but it sure was fun trying.  That's what happens when you have no cable, no internet and no electricity.  Welcome to the World Race! 

Favorite Food -  Most of the food in Africa was the same.  One of my favorite things that we had in each country was samosas; not girl scout cookies.  They are meat and veggie filled fried dough pockets.  The fruit in Africa is more ripe and juicy than anything you can find in the US and even though the coffee is instant, it's not too bad. (Or maybe my standards have just dropped dramatically)  We found pizza in each country and even though it's no Papa John's it was good enough for me!  There are surprisingly no American-ized restaurants, that we could find, in any of the 3 countries we went to.  All through Asia there were at least McDonald's and even bigger chains like Chili's, Ruby Tuesdays, KFC and Pizza Hut.  Not in Africa.  The closest thing we found was a fast food restaurant in Tanzania called MarryBrown's which was like KFC meets McDonald's.  It's amazing how much food can make you feel closer to home. 

Most Embarassing Moment -  I'm at an all girl's school in Tanzania with about 300 students, Muslim and Christian.  I wasn't planning on speaking but I really felt like I was supposed to share my testimony.  I nudge Angie to let her know that I was going to speak before she did and away I went.  As I was talking the girls seemed really engaged.  They were laughing and responding to different things I was saying.  I got into my high school years and I asked if any of the girls have, or have had, a boyfriend.  Silence.  Ok.  Maybe dating isn't allowed here.  I decided to keep going, talking about "boyfriends."  Well, come to find out, the word boyfriend means something different in Tanzania, but I didn't know until after I was done talking.  It means your having sex outside of marriage with this boy.  A pure, healthy, Christian relationship with a boy is called your sweetheart.  So now all these girls think I'm this promiscuous, crazy person.  Whoops!  Good thing the Pastor clarified everything after I was finished. We all had a laugh but it would have been nice to know beforehand.  Oh Africa!

Best Memory -  I actually have a lot of good memories in Africa but my most favorite would be the adventure Angie and I took to meet her Compassion child of 5 years while we were in Kenya.  The 6 hour journey turned into 9, which turned into 11 hours of bumpy, dusty, crazy driving.  We went through 7 out of the 9 regions of Kenya where we saw giraffes, zebras, tribal people with spears, gazelles, camels, boy shepherds, straw huts; it was like traveling through the Lion King!  When we got to the Compassion Base, kids flooded the car.  Angie was the first sponsor to visit her child so it was kind of a big deal.  A big enough deal for them to kill the village goat and prepare a meal for us.  Being able to see the school, church and home where this precious little girl, Diborah, lived was such an honor.  I took footage to make a video for Angie (when we have strong enough internet it can be uploaded).  Angie bought gifts and groceries to give the family and she was given authentic tribal jewelry.  I even got a bracelet!  We visited the tribe for almost 3 hours and then it was time to head back.  Traveling that much for a short visit was totally worth the joy and experience of meeting Diborah.

Time I Felt Closest to God -  Even though Uganda was not my favorite country to be in, it's definitely where I felt the power of God the strongest.  The church we worked with knows how to pray and worship.  Pastor Joseph is such an anointed, powerful, yet humble man of God.  We experienced a lot of supernatural things including demonic manifestations, prophetic words and healings take place that month.  There was also a lot of time during the day that we had to ourselves since our ministry was more in the late afternoon and evening.  I'm glad I took advantage of that time to really be alone with God and spend time in the Word.   We also visited Prayer Mountain where thousands of Christians go to pray and fast.  I was challenged to take a look at my own life and see areas where I should go to the next level.  

Blogs I Recommend - Welcome to Paradise, Is Jesus Really Enough?, I've Never Felt Love Like This Before

January - The Philippines - Kids International Ministries

February - Thailand - SHE

     March - Malaysia - Methodist Churches

April - Cambodia - World Team

Favorite Country - The Philippines with Thailand not far behind.  I felt like I got to make my month in The Philippines what I wanted.  The ministry there, KIM, has so many options of what to do.  Every day I would wake up and make my own schedule.  Monday at the orphanage, Tuesday helping with the feeding ministry, Wednesday was preaching at the prison, Thursday was free day, Friday back at the orphanage; you get the point.  I even got to meet and work with Russ Ortiz (former pitcher for the Braves) and Brian Hommel (former pitcher for the Brewers).  They were there for a week sponsoring a baseball camp.  Getting to do so many different things was the main reason I loved The Philippines the most.  I also loved being with the Long family, founders of KIM and one of the World Race's favorite contacts.  I felt like I was part of the family going to basketball games, out to eat, etc.  It made me miss my family but also made me feel like I was with family, if that makes sense.  The kids were so cute, most people could speak English, the food was great, I met people from all over the world and we got to go to karaoke multiple times.  Even though I have loved something about every country I've been to, I could actually see myself going back to The Philippines.  

Favorite Cultural Experience - I love Asia, which I was not necessarily expecting.  Out of all the countries we went to I learned the most about Cambodia.  Our ministry that month was way up North in the Preah Vihear Province; the middle of nowhere.  We stayed in a house with 3 Khmer girls, cooked with them, taught English and learned Khmer words.  The contacts were an American family who had lived in Cambodia for a few years and they let us borrow all of their books on the culture, history and language.  The first weekend we were there we traveled back down to Phnom Penh, the capitol.  We saw the King's palace, experienced the city life and also visited the Choeung Ek killing fields.  What Cambodia went through in the late 1970s was horrific.  Being able to not only hear or read about it and actually experience it was something I'll never forget.  At the end of the month we went to Siem Reap which reminded me of Savannah or Charleston.  It was there that I visited Angkor Wat and the other famous temples.  If you've ever seen Laura Croft Tomb Raider, I was there!  So Cambodia was definitely my favorite country to learn about and experience.  

Breaking Point - I had seen a lot, even after only 5 months of being on the race.  A lot of poverty, helplessness, disease, etc. Sometimes it seems like I tried to hold all the feelings and emotions in because we were around it everyday and to react to it all the time would be out of control.  But in Thailand, being surrounded by sin, darkness, lust and addiction every other night took it's toll.  There was a certain part of Bangla Road where you would find the "Lady Boys."  Yes, they were men who dressed and looked like women.  Our motto was, "if she's too hot, then she's not."  It was very hard to do any personal evangelism down this particular part so whenever we walked by we just prayed through the aisles, between the bars and over bar stools. One night I saw parents hand their baby to one of the Lady Boys who was dancing on the bar.  Everyone started laughing, the Lady Boy was making rude and inappropriate gestures to the baby and people were taking pictures.  At that moment I felt like I could have killed someone.  This innocent baby was in the midst of this chaos, late at night and now was part of the sick show.  I immediately burst into tears and just had to walk away.  It was a rough night.  The next time we went I didn't want to walk down that strip but knew that God was calling us to prayer walk.  It was so awesome to see that by the end of the month, that area had quieted down so much!  The main street remained crazy but as we walked down the aisle, most of the bars that had been full at the beginning of the month were now empty.  There were also particular chairs that I had touched every time we walked down that weren't even there the last time we went.  So God is definitely moving on Bangla Road and I can't wait to hear when one day the whole thing shuts down.

Best Memory - We were in Cambodia for Khmer New Year and the hottest month of the year.  Because of that, the people really slow their life down.  Not a lot of work goes on and people just find a mango tree, sit underneath in the shade and hang out.  That's not a joke.  So for Khmer New Year we decided to throw a mango party!  What does that mean?  Well, it means that the American women spent the day baking.  Mango bread, mango cookies, mango crisp, mango jam, mango everything.  The Khmer women prepared the main dish, noodle soup.  That night we invited the entire church and people in the community over. We played games (water balloon toss, volleyball, bobbing for apples, etc.), ate delicious food and ended the evening dancing traditional Khmer style; around a chair.  It was a fun day from start to finish.

Favorite Food - Thai street food is the best.  It's one of the main things I still crave.  One of my favorites was the food stalls where you pick your raw meat kabob and they cook it right there.  It may sound unsanitary but it was so good.  There was also a man who had a coffee stand down the street from where we lived and we went there so much he knew our order and the time to have it ready!  You can never go wrong with Pad Thai or the fresh fruit smoothies.  Mango sticky rice is to die for and if you're ever in Thailand you have to try the hot ham and cheese sandwich from 7-11.  Yes, trust me!  Also, Malaysia was our month of food.  We mostly did door to door and every home we went in, we were offered food, tea/coffee or both.  I ate so much that month!  Most of it was delicious too.

Funniest Moment -  Imagine being on a bus for 10 hours and being dropped off at a bus station in a new place.  Then imagine a van pulling up, a small man sticking his head out the window and calling to you, "I am Pastor!"  (Insert Indian accent here)  This was our first of many contacts in Malaysia, Pastor Yesudason.  After his interesting greeting he gets out of the car to help us load our bags.  We knew ahead of time that we would spend a good amount of time driving.  Knowing that small detail we all looked around nervously at each other when the next thing he tells us is that he is blind in one eye and his other eye is lazy. Yikes!   Also the van felt like it would break down at any moment and there was no AC.  We nicknamed it the Sweat Box.  The week we spent with Pastor Yesu was probably the week I have laughed the most on the race.  I wish I could portray him properly, he was just so full of joy!  Random animal noises and jokes that didn't really make sense.  Whenever he would hear any of us laugh in the back of the van he would say, "are we laughing?" and then join in with ridiculous sounding laughs.  It was great.  One night we went to the land his church had bought to build a new building on.  After we worshipped and prayed he wanted us to lay on the blanket and look at the stars; what else would we do at 1am in Kelantan?  He then proceeds to tell us this joke about bananas, only we didn't know it was a joke until he told the punchline.  We didn't know it was the punchline until he started to die laughing, so naturally we joined in.  Even as I type, I feel like I cannot express with words how much joy this man had.  It was a breath of fresh air to be around him for the week.

Time I Felt Closest to God - I loved spending the afternoons at the orphanage in The Philippines.  I went there one day to see the new toddler that arrived the day before.  His mother had abandoned him at the hospital so he lived there the first six months of his life.  A Filipino couple adopted him but after a about a year they got pregnant and decided they didn't want him anymore.  So Jacob was dropped off at the orphanage, abandoned twice in his short two years of life.  I had heard he hadn't stopped crying and needed 100% attention, so I wanted to help in any way I could.  When I got there it was a little chaotic.  Only two workers were there and three of the kids had gotten into the markers so Jacob had been put in the play pen and was weeping uncontrollably.  I gently picked him up and calmed him down.  After that I held him...for 4 hours.  We just sat and rocked.  At one point he turned and looked up at me, put his little hand on my cheek and smiled this huge grin.  It melted my heart.  At that moment I felt closest to God than I had in a long time.  I wasn't building a house or preaching on the street or praying for healing.  I was simply holding a two year old that needed to feel loved, accepted and safe at that moment and it was beautiful.  

Blogs I Recommend - Chocolate or Poop?, Bar Hopping for Jesus, The Not so Glamorous Side of Life, Where Were You?

October - Guatemala - Mi Reto

November - Nicaragua - CICRIN Orphanage

December - Costa Rica - 6:8 Ministries

Favorite Country - It would have to be Costa Rica.  We were right outside the city, San Jose, and our ministry was great.  We did feedings to the homeless, helped with construction at a 4 Square Church, Operation Christmas Child, and more.  I really loved feeling like I had a life there; friends, a church, knowing my way around town, etc.  Being away from home at Christmas was definitely weird but we made some great memories with authentic New Orleans gumbo for Christmas Eve, bon fires and Christmas carols, cookie decorating, Secret Santa and an amazing Christmas dinner complete with pork tenderloin, green bean casserole, cranberries and mashed potatoes.

Best Memory - We really connected with one particular family (Carlos, Miriam, Carlos Jr, Abraham and Isai) in Guatemala and our main ministry that month was helping to build their house.  It was near the end of our month and Miriam wanted to have us over for dinner.  So that day Angie and I went with her and the 3 kids on a shopping extravaganza!  The whole team chipped in some money and each boy got to pick out an outfit and new shoes, they went crazy.  Then we bought food for that night and went back to their house to cook.  It is not easy to prepare a meal for 15-20 people without a full out kitchen like I'm used to.  4 hours later we were finally all around the table, which we had to put outside since the house was too small for us all to fit in.  We ate, sang some songs and we tried to communicate the best we could.  It was just a great day from start to finish.

Breaking Point - Right before we headed to ministry one day in Costa Rica, I happened to get on facebook only to find out that my grandfather had passed away earlier that morning.  I had a decision to make.  I could either let myself get down, fly home and be with family or I could trust God.  I know He called me to this trip and He knew what would happen.  I believe He had a reason for me not being there.  I would have to grieve my grandfather's death whether I was at home or in Costa Rica and I decided to stay.  My team rallied around me, my family supported my decision and I believe it was the right one.  But it still hurt; it was a wake up call for me.  Knowing that I made a commitment to 11 months whether it got hard, dirty, ugly or not, life was still going on at home, but I was exactly where I needed to be.

Favorite Food - In Nicaragua you could buy sweet bread everywhere.  That was dangerous for my health!  It's fresh baked, warm bread coated in sugar, basically a donut, and it's dirt cheap.  "Sweet Bread" also became a nickname for me for a short time.  Guatemala was my overall favorite.  We had a lady from the church cook for us so it was authentic.   My favorite thing she made was chocolate rice for breakfast, I wish I could remember the name.  Also, her beans were to die for.  In Costa Rica we cooked for ourself so we didn't get a cultural feel for food there but we did make guacamole and homemade tortilla chips almost every day.  Que rico!  

Scariest Moment - I had the chance to go scuba diving for the first time in Guatemala.  Angie, Sarah and I didn't really know what to expect but it was month 1 and we wanted the "adventure."  So we got briefed on the equipment and what to do for about 30 minutes at this guy's house.  It literally took me another 30 minutes to put the wet suit on (that is a story in and of itself)! We get to the lake, which is an inverted volcano filled with water, and I start to get a little nervous.  I've never been scuba diving before and I pretty much chose the most sketch way to go.  Nothing bad happened, but I was really nervous.  We only went about 30 feet deep but at one point I thought I was pushing the button on the jacket to release the air so we could go deeper but accidentally pushed the one to fill it up.  Needless to say I shot up out of the water, and if any of you have been diving before you know that is one of the most dangerous things you can do.  Good thing we weren't that deep.  I probably won't go scuba diving again, even if it's not sketchy. Breathing under water like that was too weird for me.  

Time I Felt Closest to God - Early morning or sunset, cool weather, Lake Nicaragua, hammock, iPod, Bible, journal, done.

Funniest/Most Embarrassing Moment - I tried really hard to remember an experience with myself, but honestly, Central America seems so long ago.  So here's a funny story of my team leader, Mac and another team leader, Scotty, in Costa Rica.  The area where we lived was in a semi-dangerous neighborhood but we all felt safe because not only were we were in a gated compound but an ex-mob leader, Victor, who had gotten saved lived in a separate house in the compound.  He was huge and eliminated any fear we had for our safety.  Mac and Scotty shared a tiny room connected to the garage so they could hear when a car drove through the gate or see if anyone was walking around from the window that was by their bunk beds.  It's 3:30am and Mac got up to pee.  At the same time, Scotty heard a car alarm go off, inside the compound.  So he got up to look out the window, did I mention he's ex-military?  As soon as he looked out the window he saw a hooded man walking toward the car with something in his hand.  If I was in this situation I would have probably wet myself at this point.  Scotty yelled out the window, "HEY!", the hooded figure turns and starts walking directly towards the window.  So what does Scotty do?  He tells Mac there is someone there, and they hide...in the closet.  Now this room was tiny.  Barely enough room for the bunk beds and their packs. The closet was even smaller.  So we have 2 grown men, in the middle of the night, hiding in the closet.  Scotty calls our ministry contact, at 3:30am, to tell him there was somebody in the compound with a gun.  If you haven't guessed already, yes, it was Victor! He had heard something and had gone out to see what it was.  When Scotty yelled, he came toward the window to let the guys know it was him, and the thing in his hand was a flashlight.  I wish we could have seen this all play out but having Mac and Scotty tell us the next day was still pretty funny.  

Blogs I Recommend - Worship in a Witch's Cave, A Day in the Life..., I'm Dreaming of a Sober Christmas