June 1, 2019
After traveling all day we finally landed in Prague in the Czech Republic with a couple of hours to spare before we started the Amazing Race. The first day of the race was physically exhausting. One of the first challenges we encountered was moving a kilo of gummy bears, which is roughly 400 individual gummy bears, from our bucket to color coded buckets in the middle of a field using only our mouths. Most teams had about 5 or 6 people on a team, but our Slovenia team from Abilene only had 3 people. It took our team about an hour and a half to complete this challenge, resulting in each of us sprinting about 1.8 miles each. Let me tell you that after this challenges I could no longer feel my legs and we still had more challenges to complete that day. I thought my legs were going to fall off. For the rest or the day we were able to team up with the other Slovenia team and complete the challenges together, which was pretty cool to get to know the other half of the people I would be serving with this summer!
The second day of the race started out with us running Prague hopping between using the tram and the metro system. We had to complete a bingo card by going to different tram and bus stops and taking selfies with the stops, which took us about 2 hours to travel between 5 different stops. The last challenge we had to complete in Prague was sewing together a doll and clothes for the doll to wear so we could mail it to UNICEF. Just when we were getting comfortable navigating through an unknown city, we had to find our way to the train station and navigate buying tickets to Brno and finding the right platform our train was leaving. Arriving in a new city meant asking new people for new directions to new places and walking up and down A LOT of hills. But now I can say I have seen a castle – the Spilberk Castle – in real life and fulfill that childhood dream. After the business of everything, our final challenge of the day ended up being an hour of prayer. Which was a total change of pace from how the day had been going. As weird as it may have felt to be going a 100 mph to stopping all of sudden, it was nice to sit, breath, and regroup with my team in the presence of God. This hour allowed for an appreciation of everything God was doing in all areas of the earth and in everybody’s life. Also, to give God praise for who he is and the ways in which he has blessed us. Realizing that sometimes God’s blessings come in the eleventh hour and in the small moments. It was also a neat way to grow with Mitchell and Sarah and bond with them on a spiritual level. It is one thing to know people when they put a “mask” on for the day and it is another thing to be vulnerable with someone and take that “mask” off. I have noticed that so many times we only connect with people on a surface level and our relationship with Christ remains on private. But there is a new connection made when you open up and allow God to be the focus and direct the conversation.
The last day of the race was the final stretch. With each new clue given with a new destination, we would hobble our way trying to find people who would give us confirmation that we were heading in the right direction. One challenge took us out of the city to learn the camp dance we will be teaching youth’s this summer, just to bring us right back to the Spilberk Castle where we learned how to play a French game called Pentanque. Which I have to say was quite fun. The twist to it was if your team lost to the pervious team you had to stay at this location until another team showed up to play you. The only way to move forward was to win the game. It did not take us long to get the hang of it. Knowing that the race was coming to an end meant that we would be changing cities again. Arriving at the train station we found out that we had 5 minutes to board the train before it left the station, which meant making a mad dash for the platform and praying to God that we made it onto the right train. Traveling to the first train stop we were told by a kind stranger that we were in fact not on the right train and would have to switch at the next stop. Getting off with confusion we asked one of the crew members on the train and was told that the train we needed to be on was on the platform across from us, which just so happen to be getting ready to leave the station. So, yet again, we ran as fast as we could down the flight of stairs and up another flight of stairs that would bring us up to the opposite platform. Finally boarding the right train we were able to sit and relax for a bit as we settled in our the 4 hour train ride. Arriving at our final destination meant we only had a little bit left of the race. Once we had the finish line in sight we, both Slovenia teams, crossed together with huge smiles on our face and taking 5th place out of 26 teams.
As challenging as this experience may have been, whether physically, spiritually, or mentally, there was always someone cheering me on or encouraging me. This race taught me to rely on my teammates, check multiple times that you were given the right directions, a smile on your face can go a long way, and so much more. Our intern leader, Matt Mormance, at the being of the race introduced the way in which we would run the race. In Christ we would, celebrate each other’s strengths, protect each other’s weakness, be thankful no matter the circumstances, and communicate. At the end of the day it felt like a movie. We all celebrated conquering the Amazing Race, treating ourselves to a big dinner. Then we drove up part of a hill to watch the sun set and we were amazed at God’s beauty. As we sat there, we ate ice cream and made each other laugh. Nothing is better than going to bed with a smile on your face.
