No Car, No Plans, No Problem: a Christmas Family Road Trip

We made it to the Middle East! Our squad is the first group of World Racers in Oman & we’re stinkin’ excited to be pioneering the way; hence, team Cartographers (photo sans Hannah).

So, here ya go: the story of how we got two Jeeps, six racers, two locals, and three dogs camping for five days in the Omani Mountains.

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We started the month in Seeb, just north of Muscat, with the whole squad joined by our Squad Mentor and Coaches from the States. We were split into *new teams*, and became the Cartographers, comprised of Elijah, Ian, Hannah and me. Hannah has been sick since we were in India with a few different diagnoses and a laundry list of medications, so she stayed back in Muscat with Jewel and Tamara to rest and heal (and wrote a sick blog about it ha ha ha & a redemption story of what she did while sick).

Ian, Elijah and I, joined by Eric, Laura and Austin (squad leaders), left to camp on Kalbuh Beach. Our budget here drastically limits our housing options, but evidently camping is free & legal in Oman; ily Oman ily. So, we essentially pitched camp on a beach boardwalk… think wealthy Orange County meets rabble rouser backpackers nestled under the stars.

During debrief, some of the group went to Yiti Beach, just east of Muscat, and met a friendly couple and their three HUGE dogs. By no coincidence, a week later we were camping on Kalbuh Beach (read: sidewalk) and were just crawling into our tents when we saw them again. They lived just up the street from where we had set up our lil’ tent city, so they invited us over for tea on their rooftop.

They were certainly people of peace, just as Jesus declared we would find in Luke 10:5-7, and they graciously opened their hearts and home to us, despite our religious differences (they’re Hindu).

They asked about our month in Oman and we were honest: we had no plans but big dreams. We had talked about taking a local bus to the mountains to camp, and when they asked what mountains, I froze and said Jebel Akhdar because it was the only one I could remember (ok fine, it’s because it’s the one Anthony Bourdain infamously trekked to).

The next morning, we packed up our campsite and saw our friends again, but this time, they asked if they could join us on the camping trip.

They have two Jeeps and offered to take us up to the mountains for a few days of good ol’ camping fun. So of course, we said yes.

Back to Luke 10, Jesus said that once we find a house of peace, to honor that house. He commanded us to demonstrate relational integrity, faithfulness and friendship; we were being led to help build the Kingdom and to stick out the difficulties. So, we stayed with our new friends and loved them well.

As it turns out, we originally did want to go to Jebel Akhdar, but you need four-wheel drive to get there, so we had settled for a mountain village reachable by bus. Our limitations create opportunity for God’s interventions… and our need for transportation was met with a generous invitation and five friendly smiles.

Because, of course, the three doggos came along, too – Rambo the Mastiff, Jackie the Pitbull, and Tarzan the Great Dane.

We piled all three MASSIVE doggies and the boys (Ian, Elijah & Austin with Eric driving) in the Jeep Cherokee; Laura, our new friends and I were in the Jeep Wrangler.

With about an hour’s notice, they packed up and we hit the road out of the capital city and headed straight for the mountains.

My heart exploded for this peaceful, Middle Eastern country. 

Once we made it to Jebel Akhdar, we set up camp.

Since our new friends were borrowing my tent, we also set up some hammocks. I wildly underestimated the strength of the sleeping pad and don’t know if I would have survived the night in the windy mountain chill without it.

Of course we had to show our friends a true American camping trip by making a roaring campfire & roasting ‘mallows.

Our friends claimed we ate too much ‘maggi’, so we got some fresh veggies and four chickens from the market and convinced the coffee shop guy to let us use his back kitchen to make curry. Proof it never hurts to ask! We did find ourselves in hot water when the police showed up and they were NOT happy that a woman (whom nobody was married to) was cutting veggies (working) in the kitchen (with men). Needless to say, it was a delicious glamping dinner.

However, I failed to wake up at 2am when our friend chased off a donkey from our campsite, and again an hour later when the donkey ate ALL the curry leftovers from dinner. Here’s the face of a culprit. Rude.

Our friend worked in hotel public relations, so we stopped at a plethora of beautiful guest houses throughout the mountains. I was easily enthralled by the cliffside views & can safely this was far better than the Grand Canyon (sorry, National Park Service).

And the boys quickly found a game of pétanque (similar to bocce).

Just as Jesus poured His life into His 12 disciples and didn’t add to them to dilute the quality of the relationships, we stayed with our new friends. We invested and stuck it out, even through the tough car conversations where we were privy to the intimacy of 19 years of knowing one another. Amid the prolonged chaos of our friends in the car, we had a rad time and visited a secluded village in the mountains.

And again, the boys easily entertained themselves by cliff jumping into the sinkhole.

It was a full send moment. However, the expectations & standards for women are a little different here, and since I’m technically not supposed to show my elbows or knees, I couldn’t afford to jump in after them.

But, it’s okay. Girls get to be girls, too, and that meant stopping for drinks (a rarity in a Muslim country).

And then we kept on driving. Our friends shared more and more with us, opening the doors to their hearts. She had a dream of the man in white (!!!) and we were able to share some Kingdom truths and pray with her.

In all honesty, some drives felt more like marriage counseling with Laura and I in the backseat (which I, obviously, have absolutely no qualifications for besides that conflict mediation certification I earned in college), but it was beautiful to see peace fall afresh with the declarations of His truths. As we dived deeper into Truth, their wounds were unsealed in naked honesty, and His love flowed right in. We helped her break out of the prison of her own making and instead let peace and love take residence in her heart.

We then drove to Jebel Shams to pitch camp. 

Our tent city was starting to feel like home. There was a peculiar sense of stability found in the familiarity of our little nylon protection. Even though we weren’t playing it safe – we had almost nothing in our pockets and no road map – we were taken care of; we were safe.

The next day, we drove out and about, absolutely awestruck by the views. Lord, never let me lose my sense of wonder.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming of stopping at random guest houses in the mountains to let the dogs out (aye).

And, our daily interruption of uninvited guests to the campsite. Yes, I’m looking at you, lil’ sheepies. Nobody invited you.

On the road again, Captain Eric found a CD in the car and out blasted TUPAC. Shocked would be an understatement.

We kept on until the Cherokee battery died in the middle of a ONE-WAY mountain road with a BULLDOZER trying to skirt by us. If the World Race has taught me anything, it’s that I can laugh and take a picture at what would normally stress me the heck out.

After four cold nights and five sweet days, our friends had to head back to Muscat, but we took the scenic route through another quaint mountain village.

We hiked up loose gravel & played catch with the doggos.

So, here’s the group. Here are the wild, spontaneous, impulsive, radical explorers with whom I was lucky enough to adventure into the Omani mountains.  

It was one heck of a camping trip, but I felt so much peace returning to our lil’ boardwalk. After eight smelly days, I finally bathed (in the ocean, nonetheless), and it took me 20 minutes to brush the partial dread locks out of my hair and then to clean up my fresh wound from the shallow coral. I rinsed my mess kit in the ocean because the lingering scent of curry just about ruined my oatmeal. Then, I had a serious pride check as I washed my clothes in the sink of the public park.

Oh, how the Race has humbled me.

But, more importantly, I came back in deep reflection of how we had lived out Luke 10: finding people of peace and sticking with them. The order of Luke 10:7-9 is significant: eating, serving and then declaring the Kingdom. Eating together (as we did on their rooftop) brought acceptance & the breaking of bread instilled commitment to friendship. We served them by cooking, letting them borrow my tent and equipment, and bringing them into our community of worship and discipleship. Then, we declared “the Kingdom of God has come near to you” with truths spoken over them. First comes belonging, then serving and meeting their needs, and lastly, the communication of Kingdom-belonging. Although we split ways, I gifted them my Bible to continue the conversation. Jesus is in the mountains of Oman, y’all.

Join me in prayer:

Lord, thank you for these new friends. Help guide them along your path and protect them from schemes of the enemy to distract. Thank you for your peace that will rest over their house. Thank you for never putting a limit on the love, gracious generosity, and wholeness you extend to us. Thank you for letting us make our home amongst strangers. We love you.