Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 5/7/2011
Strangest meat: dried squid as a snack, like a chewy, fishy Funion. OR "Road Goat"-- a piece of goat meat on a stick, bought through the bus window in Kenya. OR pig skin push-pops in Vietnam.
Strangest dessert: "poisoned" spice cake in Uganda-definitely tasted like poison-we sneakily threw it out the window when no one was watching. OR this sickly sweet mixture of what looked like eyeballs, alien snot, jelly fruit squares, corn flakes, black beans, and dried coconut in Hanoi, Vietnam. There really was coconut, black beans, and jelly fruit squares, but I have no idea what the eyeballs and alien snot really were, besides disgusting.
Favorite local cuisine: Ukraine. Mmmm borscht. OR Thailand, Cambodia, or Vietnam-love me some noodles, rice, and pho!
Best street food: Thailand or Guatemala.
Most liquor consumption: Vietnam during Tet Holidays. Them, not us! They got started at breakfast, doing shots of homemade "wine" which I'm pretty sure was moonshine, and they kept going all day.
Nicest McDonalds: in the train station in Bucharest, Romania. This place was crazy nice, plus it was the first AC we had encountered in a while.
Best food experience: Shepherds Pie with a Pear Bulmers from O'Sheas Pub in Dublin, Ireland. OR chicken salad with a strawberry smoothie from Cafe Javas in Kampala, Uganda.
Worst food experience: fish soup at training camp. They were trying to "prepare" us for food to come on the race.
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 5/7/2011
Most uncomfortable plane ride: Aer Lingus from Romania to Ireland-lots of nausea and absolutely no leg room.
Most comfortable plane ride: Qatar Airways. Perfection. Didn't even sleep because of all the wonderful in-flight entertainment, and I didn't want to miss out on the delicious meals. And I had LEG ROOM, which is almost completely scarce on the race.
Most ridiculous plane landing: Turkish Airlines landing in Istanbul-- it took two tries. He swerved two lanes, overcorrected, and then slammed on the brakes so hard that the plane shook and groaned.
Most uncomfortable train: to Bistritsa, Romania. Three-high bunk beds and no air circulation.
Most comfortable trains: Ukraine to Romania. We had some good times in those train cars.
Shortest amount of time in a country: 20 minutes in Turkey.
Best airplane food: Turkish Airlines or Qatar Airways.
Longest travel time by plane: 31 hours from Hanoi, Vietnam to Bangkok, Thailand to Tokyo, Japan to Los Angeles to Miami and finally to Nicaragua.
Longest travel time by bus: 54 hours from Lira, Uganda to Sumbawanga, Tanzania (by way of Kenya)
Longest travel time by train: roughly 48 hours from Lughansk, Ukraine to Bucharest, Romania (by way of Moldova).
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 5/7/2011
Biggest culture shock: after weeks of being the ONLY westerners in rural northern Vietnam, entering tourist-packed Hanoi was completely overwhelming.
Friendliest people: Thailand or Cambodia or Vietnam.
"Unfriendliest" people: Ukraine. But someone once explained them like watermelons-- hard on the outside, sweet on the inside. Once you get past that exterior they are the sweetest, most humble, welcoming people-- totally fell in love with them.
Longest church service: Romania. Started at 8pm Saturday night, and stopped for a break around 12:30. There were plans to keep going until they saw the Americans practically falling asleep in the pews, so they ended early. We're weak.
Craziest preaching: village revivals in Tanzania-- screaming and stomping and running around.
Best unintentional insult: a girl in our English class in Cambodia walked up to Ashley, patted her belly, and said, "One month!" She then looked at me, patted my belly, and said, "Two months!"
Worst Unintentional insult: a miscommunication in Romania that resulted in our contact and his entire family thinking that Logan compared all of them to dogs. Oopsie.
Loudest women: Uganda.
Loudest men: Vietnam.
Most violations of personal space: Romania. Or Dong Tau, a small village in northern Vietnam.
Most ridiculous "tourist scene": Hanoi, Vietnam.
The only constants in every country: Coca-Cola, Nivea skin products, trucks and cars with loudspeakers blaring off the top, lots of honking, and freakishly loud music playing at ALL hours.
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 5/6/2011
Welcome to the most random superlatives EVER. I started this list our very first month in Ukraine, and have been updating it every month with new winners and new categories. Since I've been doing it for eleven months, there are quite a few of them, so I'll split them up into different blogs. Enjoy!
Worst smelling bathroom: the bathroom and all surrounding areas on the train to Lughansk, Ukraine. It smelled like fish, rotting dogfood, and feces all rolled into one. Absolutely foul.
Worst experience with a food vendor: the lady selling peaches outside of the train station in Kiev, Ukraine. She yelled at us, cheated us, and gave us squishy peaches that exploded in our bags.
Worst roads: Ukraine (paved roads) and Tanzania (unpaved). Death traps.
Best moment as an Aggie: seeing a woman wearing a HOWDY: "We are the Aggies, The Aggies are we" t-shirt in the bush in Africa.
Best Anna Matthews moment: when she stood up in front of a church in Romania and said wholeheartedly, "We absolutely love it here in Ukraine!"
Best shopping: the Grand Market in Bangkok, Thailand. OR the Russian Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. OR the Night Market in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Best nights sleep: the Backpackers Hostel in Dublin, Ireland. Those beds were amazing.
Worst nights sleep: campout at training camp in 40 degrees with no sleeping bag. OR one night in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania in scorching heat and mosquito swarms with music next door at club-level volume.
Worst months for personal hygiene: Kenya, because it was too hot and showering was futile, and Vietnam, because it was too cold.
Most open staring at us: the road in Ville Tecci, Romania OR any small town in Northern Vietnam OR anywhere in Africa. People would literally slow down to stare, yell, and wave.
Most honking: all of the above. People around the world love to honk.
Hottest place: the train from Kiev to Lutugino in Ukraine; we could have done bikram yoga in that train car if there had been room. OR Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania-- absolutely miserable heat and humidity (see Worst night's sleep)
Most unexpected taste of home: getting to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 in English in the middle of Kenya, with a coke, popcorn, and a hot dog.
Fanciest hostel: Hanoi Backpackers Hostel in Vietnam.
Largest rodents: the rats in Cambodia. They looked like small cats.
Biggest spider sighting: in our bathroom in Tanzania. Ugh.
Worst mosquitos: Kenya, I think I counted more than 30 bites on my legs at one time.
Worst bugs in general: working up on the mountain in Panajachel, Guatemala. There were massive spiders, scorpions, and tiny evil black gnats that swarm and bite, but you don't notice the bites until at night when you lay down and suddenly your legs are on FIRE itching like crazy.
I'll post the next batch whenever I get internet again! We head off to Antigua, Guatemala in the morning, for FINAL DEBRIEF!
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 4/23/2011
I stole this blog directly from my lovely teammate, Andrea (andreagosselin.theworldrace.org) in order to let you guys know where we are! Still got $1,400 to go in support raising, so if you feel led to give just click "Support Me!" on the left! Thanks!
Well, we've made to Panajachel, Guatemala! This quaint little community is oh so lovely and FULL of culture. I fell in love with it immediately. The girls will be working on the side of a mountain planting trees and the guys will be digging a huge well for the community so they have free, clean water. After our long days work, we'll be doing nightly bible studies with our contact Ben which I'm really looking forward to as I've felt a desire to go deeper in the Word in this season. I'm really excited for this month with ministry and with our team. I feel like this will be a huge time of unity amongst us and strengthening our relationships with eachother and the Lord. I also feel like this will be a time of great challenge...whatever that means. Isaiah 45: 1-8 keeps coming to mind as we enter into our final month.
We're literally surrounded by active volcanoes, earthquakes and annual mudslides as we enter into rainy season...and there's only one road out! soo prayers for sunny weather are GREATLY appreciated! Other than that, LOVING it here already!!
I'll see you all oh so soon. I love and appreciate all of your love and support and prayers more than you know. THANK YOU!!!!!! <3
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 4/23/2011
When I was working for my friend Shauna about 6 months before the race, we must have listened to the song "Add to the Beauty" by Sara Groves at least 200 times. We listened to it at least once a week, and usually multiple times every morning as inspiration for the day ahead of us. But through some mistake in my iTunes, the song was never put on my ipod, and I forgot all about it until a few weeks ago. When I finally found wifi and was able to download it, I couldn't believe how relevant the words were to this incredible journey we've been on. I had forgotten how much this song inspires me in daily life. Every line hits home as a challenge or encouragement, spurring me to add to the beauty of His creation in everything I do.
We come with beautiful secrets, we come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls.
We come to every new morning with possibilities only we can hold
Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces, calling out the best of who we are
And I wanna add to the beauty, to tell a better story
Shine with the Light that's burning deep inside
It comes in small inspirations, it brings redemption to life and work
It comes in loving community, it comes in helping a soul find its worth
And I wanna add to the beauty, to tell a better story
Shine with the Light that's burning deep inside
And this is grace, an invitation to be beautiful.
And this is grace, an invitation.
Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces, calling out our best
And I wanna add to the beauty, I wanna shine with the Light that's burning up inside
It is an absolutely beautiful song, you should download it and let it inspire you to add to the beauty!
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 3/11/2011
1. Few sounds piss you off as instantly as the buzz of a mosquito over your ear at night when you're trying to sleep.
2. A new, clean, WHITE t-shirt is about as special and useless as a wedding dress-- you only pull it out on a special occasion, you shower and get clean before wearing it, and only get to wear it one or two times.
3. Toilets that flush AND allow you to throw used TP into them are always a delightful and unexpected blessing.
4. The question you hear the most and the question you dread the most are the same: "What are you doing after the race??"
5. When you encounter Americans it takes you a few minutes to realize you're openly staring at them, and another few moments to remember that that is not really acceptable.
6. No matter what your previous scruples might have been before the race, now the sight of a MacDonald's makes your mouth water.
7. You find yourself daydreaming about things like cereal, driving a car, and wearing high heels.
8. Sometimes you say thank you in another language, but you can't remember which language that was.
9. You get so anxious to get blogs up that you leave a top 10 list at only 9, and it doesn't really bother you.
Love you guys-- TWO MONTHS until HOME!
P.S. If anyone was thinking about buying me a birthday present (April 11th- one month!) feel free to save yourself a shopping trip and just donate to my support account! $1,400 to go-- just click on "Support Me" on the left side of the screen. Thanks guys!
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 2/27/2011
I'm sure if you googled "Lord of the Rings+Christianity," you'd find thousands of essays on how the story is, in some ways, an allegory for the Christian faith. But I just read The Hobbit for the first time since sixth grade, and the Lord has used even this simple prelude to the Lord of the Rings series multiple times as an illustration of different experiences on the race recently.
All of that is a fancy, heartfelt way of revealing that I'm a geek. And proud of it. (In the words of Andrea, "...you like fantasy, don't you?" said with just the slightest bit of judgement on her smiling face :) So what?? I like LOTR, Harry Potter, and the Chronicles of Narnia (a lot)-- it's like fantasy with a deeper message. Except maybe HP. Still a great story though.
For those of you who live under a rock, The Hobbit is the story of a small-town hobbit (basically a man, only smaller) who gets caught up in a grand adventure, and eventually plays a pivotal role in the fate of the entire world. The story is told through four pretty lengthy books, but that still only covers a few years in the grand history of this world called “Middle Earth.” There are hobbits, humans, elves (the most badass elves you've ever heard of), dwarves, wizards, goblins, trolls, and a whole medley of creatures"and all are involved in a truly epic battle of good versus evil that spans throughout all the ages of Middle Earth. And all of these books are about a time after evil was supposedly defeated--people thought the story was over, so they forgot about it, and moved on. This is a quote from the movie, as a prelude to The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series, explaining the background (it's a bit long, but bear with me):
It began with the forging of the Great Rings. Three were given to the Elves: immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven, to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of Men, who above all else desire power. For within these rings was bound the strength and the will to govern over each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged, in secret, a master ring to control all others. And into this ring he poured all his cruelty, his malice and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. One by one, the free peoples of Middle Earth fell to the power of the Ring. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of men and elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the very slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle-Earth. Victory was near, but the power of the ring could not be undone. It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, son of the king, took up his father's sword. And Sauron, enemy of the free peoples of Middle-Earth, was defeated. The Ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever, but the hearts of men are easily corrupted. And the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur to his death. And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge. Until, when chance came, the ring ensnared a new bearer. The ring came to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels under the Misty Mountains, and there it consumed him. The ring gave to Gollum unnatural long life; for five hundred years it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumor grew of a shadow in the East, whispers of a nameless fear, and the Ring of Power perceived. Its time had now come. It abandoned Gollum. But then something happened that the Ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, of the Shire. For the time will soon come when hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.
And why am I blogging about this? Because I am realizing that I am part of an epic adventure. And not in the trendy, overused “Whooooooa...epic!” sense. I'm talking really, legitimately epic: “pertaining to a long poetic composition, usually centered upon a hero, in which a series of great achievements of events is narrated in elevated style; heroic, majestic, impressively great.”
Yesterday some of my teammates were relaxing in the house, discussing different parts of the Bible, and one of them brought up a part of the Bible I'd never heard of: Revelations 20. Apparently after all the tribulation stuff, the antiChrist, the mark of the beast and all that (after the entire Left Behind series is done) there's still more. After the beast and the false prophet are destroyed, Satan will still live. He'll be chained up for a thousand years, during the reign of Christ, but he eventually will rise again. At the end of the thousand years, he will escape and gather an army for one last battle, where he will finally be defeated once and for all.
That's when it hit me just how big all this is. This goes so far beyond my little life! I really feel like Bilbo, plucked from my homely little life and thrust into an enormous quest and battle against evil. In a land where there are wizards, elves, dwarves, and men, who are hobbits that they should have an impact on the fate of the world? They have no special powers or strengths to speak of, especially in comparison to wizards and elves. Similarly, in a universe where there are legions and armies of angels, who are humans that we should be so special to the Creator of all? But He chose us to pour His Spirit into, He created us in His image, and He chose us to receive His Son. It's truly humbling; what possible difference could I make?? And there are numerous times in The Hobbit where Bilbo feels overwhelmed and wishes he could just be back in his hobbit-hole, in his favorite chair by the fire. There have been several instances on this race where I've wistfully thought of my comfortable bed, hot shower, and my own kitchen. And not just on the race: this whole journey as a follower of Christ is difficult. I'll confess to occasional thoughts of: "Can't I just go back to a normal life? Where it's not so difficult, and I could just blend in and live my life, wrapped up in my own little world?" But those moments pass, and I can't just pretend like I haven't seen and felt all of this. Even if it means I don't fit in like I used to.
Last week we stayed at the trendiest hostel we've seen yet; this place was packed with backpackers and people from the "travelers' scene," mostly from Europe and Australia, drinking and swapping stories about their travels. You would think that after nine countries over nine months we'd fit in perfectly there. But we just don't. We're not traveling for the purpose of getting wasted in different cities or hooking up with other backpackers; when the purpose of our travels comes up in conversations, people usually politely nod and move on. We're different. And when I get home, I'm probably not going to fit in like I used to. I'll get a job and work to support myself, but I don't think I'll be able to continue living my faith like this and pursue the American Dream at the same time. I don't think I want to. He called us to be different, even if it garners a lot of disapproval from others. When Bilbo returns from his first grand adventure, he doesn't fit in either. "Indeed Bilbo found he had lost more than spoons-- he had lost his reputation. It is true that for ever after he remained en elf-friend, and had the honour of dwarves, wizards, and all such folk as ever passed that way; but he was no longer quite respectable [in his own town]. He was in fact held by all the hobbits of the neighbourhood to be 'queer'..." But Bilbo is okay with it, because he gets to be a part of an epic tale. He has made a difference in the battles against evil-- more than he ever realized or expected.
I'm excited to be a part of this heroic, majestic, poetic story. I love reading these books and getting lost in their journeys; something stirs within me and I crave that excitement and adventure in my own life. Now I realize that I am a part of a grand tale. There is considerable danger, discomfort, and sacrifice involved, but the reward of His love, peace, and salvation is absolutely worth the loss of my comfort or reputation in this short little life; I get to be a part of the epic Story, and I get a chance to try and win the battle for Good.
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 2/27/2011
I'm lying on my back on a blanket, catching glimpses of the bright blue sky between the swaying tree limbs that arc over me. The cool wind and the shade offset the heat of the day, but the warmth still seems to amplify the smell of pine. The hills and mountains surrounding the valley have fallen under the hush of afternoon, and the only sound I hear is the whisper of wind in the trees that cover the hillsides; occasionally the wind grows strong enough to elevate the sound to a stage whisper. To my left a horse wanders lazily through a field, the tall grasses hardened and yellowed by the dry season, while a grey mare and her new foal graze in the grass at the bottom of the hill.
I sit up just in time to see two puppies galumping up the hill toward me. One continues up past me, while the other stops to play, and I can't help but laugh at her antics as she tugs on my blanket and tries to kiss my face. Eventually the other returns, and they wrestle and roll down the hill a bit before they head back down to continue their romp through the shade beneath the trees.
Welcome to Eden.
This might sound like a fantasy, or some poor attempt at fiction, but it's not. This is where we are staying this month. At an international retreat center called Eden, 40 minutes outside of Tegucigulpa, Honduras. Our first three days here have been spent planning ministry and recovering from jet lag-- plus a great deal of time spent just marveling at the beauty of this place.
We are some of the first people to be staying here, as it has only been open about four months. Some of our time here will be spent finishing details, like painting bathrooms and making a sign for the road leading up to it, and the rest of the time will be focused on creating relationships with some local street kids. Our contact, Tony, has spent two years building relationships with kids and teenagers whom everyone else has given up on, and one at a time the Lord is working unbelievable changes in these kids. During our time here, we are inviting twelve of these boys to leave the streets, and come to Eden. We want to give them a break from the nothingness of the streets, where the only thing they have is a $1.50 can of paint thinner, which they huff to numb the hunger and hopelessness. We will cook for them, explore with them, work on projects with them, and hopefully--day by day--show them the love of the Lord, which contrasts so sharply with the rejection and judgement they've received from the rest of the world.
This is going to be difficult. I've never worked with teenage boys who've had experiences with gangs and drugs. But Tony has slowly unearthed hearts of gold in each of these boys, and that's what I'm focusing on. My limited Spanish will help a little, but my attitude and faith is so much more important. This will be our second month specifically focusing on demonstrating the Gospel through our actions, rather than preaching it, and I am thrilled for the challenge. And even when I feel tired and drained, He created me with an overwhelming love of His creation--so all I have to do here is go for a walk on the trails or play with the puppies, and He'll fill me back up.
Please keep us in your prayers this month, and especially for the boys; pray that our love for them will mirror Christ's: absolutely unconditional.
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Posted in General Posts by Jessica Sims on 2/27/2011
Because my last post about the first half of Vietnam was so long, I thought I'd just do highlights for the second half.
1. Visit Dong Tau. We drink some tea, bless some houses, start up games in a field and draw a crowd of 50+ people, get kicked out by the police and escorted to a hotel, drink more tea, have a massive dinner with a family who speaks no english, stay at their house, I throw up for the first time on the race, drink more tea, then hop a bus back to Thanh Hoa. We took only our daypacks with an extra change of clothes, food (which we never had to eat because people feed us all the time), and our tents (which we set up for only 3 hours before the police made us stay at a hotel). Crazy couple of days!
2. Make more friends. After our 5 college-aged friends had to go back to Hanoi for school after the holiday, we made some new friends-- high schoolers! We got to go to their houses, visit their English class, share Jesus and our purpose for being there with the class, eat lunch at their English teacher's house (who's married to a policeman, by the way), play basketball and cards with the kids at school, and just love on them and share Christ with them!
3. Street ministry. We passed out flowers just to brighten people's day and bless them, and even did a FREE HUGS campaign! Got turned down a lot, but also got some really great hugs from a lot of people who looked like they needed to be hugged. Definitely drew some stares when 5 Westerners went traipsing by with open arms, grinning like fools, with giant signs that say "TU DO OM!" (FREE HUGS!)
4. Team Sequoia fun nights. Dance parties (complete with ridiculous clothing), Valentine's Day movie marathon (Stranger Than Fiction & Wait Until Dark), complete with flowers, wine, chocolate, and ice cream from our sweet boys.
5. Trip to Hanoi. We took a train about three hours north to Hanoi, where we stayed for two days before heading out on our trek to Central America. We visited some of our friends at University up there, and were even able to share Christ with some of their other friends. Enjoyed my last two days of delicious Vietnamese food!
Overall, I really, really loved our month in Vietnam. I loved not having any plans, and just going with whatever the Lord put in front of us. It was incredibly freeing, and I think we all learned so much from it!
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