These past 11 months have taught me a lot about what “home” means. Before leaving, if I were to picture what it meant to be home, I would think of my parents and brother, my cats, the room I sleep in with my bed and blankets, and my closet full of clothes. The plants hanging in the windows and pictures of my family on the wall bring a sense of home. Imagining the rooms in my house brings a feeling of steadiness and constancy, which could be used to define what home meant to me, and these things are still true of the house I grew up in. I still consider this place in Colorado home, but I have also found new meanings for the word “home”.
The first new home I experienced 11 months ago was my tent. Tents bring a sense of safety they don’t deserve to be credited with 
because, if we are honest, they only pretend to keep things out. I spent 16 days in my tent while at training camp in Georgia, and it kept the bugs out, but not all of them. It also kept … most… of the rain and wind out. It did not keep out the ringing of the cicadas, the rustling of my tent neighbors, or the howling of the wolves from reaching my ears. I felt safe from the outside world, but truthfully, ifsomeone or something wanted to get me, there was really nothing stopping them. Still, there was beauty to being outside. The roof of my tent leaked light every morning as the sun rose, and it filtered in as a soft orange with a blue filter from the walls of my tent. Even though the walls were thin, they allowed me privacy and made it a safe place to spend time with God. I learned a lot in that tent, and I was also more than ready for the day we packed up and left for Guatemala.
Poptun, Peten. Home #2. This home was bright, colorful, and hot. Despite nightly checks of my bed for scorpions before crawling in to sleep and the 90-degree weather, this is one of my favorite places I got to spend time on the Race. My bed had bright green sheets, and Ana and Elsa looking
down at me from the bunkbed above. It was certainly more comfortable than my sleeping pad from training camp. I shared this room with two other girls, and our neighbors in the rooms next door were eight guys with whom I became friends by the end. This home was full of singing as we washed dishes by hand, showering in a trickling shower head (or under a broken gutter during a rainstorm), constant demands from Lorenzo the Parrot, laughter over dinner, and short but sweet Spanish lessons. It was a safe place to return to after ministry and a house of friendship. It was hard to leave such a warm home for the coldness of Romania.
I had two homes in Romania. The first was in Alba Iulia, and even though it was cold outside, it was warm inside. It was a tiny home with two bedrooms, a full kitchen, a bathroom with a washing machine, and two couches in the living room. We were also blessed to have a table where we shared daily meals, family style. That table was also blessed to see its first, and maybe only, American Thanksgiving meal. The second was the mission house in Craiova. This house was busy and full. I slept in a room with 16 other girls and one shared bathroom. The kitchen downstairs was shared between at least 30 people, and by God’s grace, we could all eat every day. Out of that kitchen, God blessed us with a Christmas meal that reminded us of home and brought us together like family. There were extra blessings of sweet treats like bread pudding, cinnamon rolls, no-bake cookies, and frosted sugar cookies. Leaving was bittersweet. We had to leave behind part of our home to the people we said goodbye to.
Next, we moved to Albania. If you read my blog, “Praise God for the Mold,” then you will know that we had a rocky start to our move.
The place we thought would be our home was full of mold, but maybe God put it there for us so our new home could bless us. The view from the balcony was beautiful, and we enjoyed it from the bright red couches in our living room. This kitchen produced many family-style meals for our team and more no-bake cookies to share with our new friends in Durres. This home was a hub for our adventures throughout the city, and we spent lots of time at coffee shops, meeting new people and creating new relationships. We had to leave Durres for a second home in the city of Shkoder. The church we did ministry in became our home and taught us the deepness of the word forgiveness. Even though we only lived there for two weeks, it stole a place in our hearts because the people there stole our hearts.
We were quickly made to feel like family in our Turkish home. On the very first night in our two-bedroom apartment, our hosts invited us upstairs to have tea and cakes. This home was defined by its warmth, hospitality, and the desire to know more about God. We were blessed to have a clean shower, a washing machine, a dishwasher, and a TV. It felt like luxury. Many afternoons were spent in Bible study or watching videos from the Bible Project and discussing deep topics about our faith. Most evenings were spent with new friends or our Turkish parents upstairs, who offered to adopt each of us into their family. The only stipulation is that we agree to do some chores. Saying goodbye to our home in Avanos was one of the hardest goodbyes this year.
Nepal is the country we lived in next, and we lived in several homes in our short time there. The church was our first home. We welcomed our sleeping pads back out of our backpacks to sleep on the floor, and Mama, the pastor’s wife, graciously prepared meals for us every day. Our second home was in the mountains, and my tent joined the party again. This time, they offered minimal protection from cows roaming by and children up early in the morning, ready to play. The biggest “shower” I ever had on the Race was here. Well, if you consider a shallow stream a shower. A cook who cooks for hikers on Mt. Everest blessed us with his cooking every day, and we also learned that the people of the mountains love Mtn. Dew. Other homes in Nepal included sleeping above a water buffalo, hiking past leeches that inch like worms on land, and a mountain resort.
The final international home of my journey was South Asia. Here, we experienced selfless blessings from our host, who treated us like his own sons and daughters. Buzo, Blackie, Laura, and Goldie
loved on us in the best way dogs could, even when that meant knocking things over or loudly barking at us to greet us when we came home. Church meetings and traveling to see new cultures became a part of our home, too. We learned what capital C, Church, means in a new way as we traveled to other temporary homes during our time in this country. Late-night conversations and birthday celebrations marked the end of our time with our host, who loved us so well. This kitchen helped us return the love by creating hushpuppies, cornbread, and chili on one of the last nights. After a short 3-day stay at a home for adventuring, we flew back to America.
In America, I have known several homes. The home in Grand Junction, Colorado, where I was born, our fifth wheel trailer that became home for a year in California, the home I grew up in for ten years 
in Washington state, and the four houses I have lived in since moving back to Colorado. Recently, I added a new home in Gainesville, Georgia, at the Adventures in Missions base. Even though I have only spent maybe three weeks there, it feels like community and like home. Saying goodbye to Z-squad truly was the hardest goodbye of this Race. Home doesn’t mean consistency to me anymore, at least not in the physical location. Home is where Jesus is leading me and the people He is leading me to be around. For 11 months, that meant Z-squad was my home and, to an extent, still is. Right here in Colorado Springs, that means my home is my church community, my family, and my friends. Soon, my new home will be with P-squad as we travel to South Africa and eSwatini.
Oh yeah, I have an announcement. I am leaving to be a squad leader for a Semesters trip to South Africa and eSwatini! I leave on August 20th to go to Gainesville for squad leader training before meeting my squad there a little more than a week later to help prepare them for their trip. I am excited to continue being a part of The World Race program and to pour the love of Jesus onto people in the same way my leaders did for me. Since I am leaving again, I need your support. There are a few ways you can support me. 1. Prayer. Pray for P-squad that they can courageously trust the Lord in these three months of mission for Him. Pray for open hearts and minds to see Christ in a new way and for wisdom for me, my co-leaders, and my mentor as we lead this squad. 2. Finances. I need to raise $3,000 for my three months on the field. Praise the Lord, I am already 6% of the way there, but I still need your help! When you partner with me financially, you get to partner with the Lord and see what He is doing through this squad. Even if you want to give but only have $2 to spare, that still pays for a whole meal or an entire day’s worth of transportation to and from ministry. 3. Share God’s story! God has used me and my squad to do amazing things, and we want to bring him glory through the stories He has given us. Tell other people about the miracles that I have posted about. Share my blogs with others, invite more people to read my blogs, or follow my Instagram. I want to give God the glory for all He has done and say, “Do it again” in faith for the future!
Kiley Rush (@kileyrush_01) • Instagram photos and videos
Thanks for sharing your story from beginning to end, and on going!!
It will be very exciting, as you get to know your new team, train them, be an encouragement to them and lead them in Africa to share Jesus.
May the Lord bless you with wonderful homes in Africa, as you continue on your journey.
Love you!
❤️