Wayfarer By Faith: Friendship

Jordan Moses is an American journalist currently hanging out in Greensboro, a hipster town in North Carolina. After studying as an exchange student in Melbourne, Australia for six months, she tried the whole nine to five desk job for a year and decided that life wasn’t for her. She’ll be taking another leap of faith soon when she dives into a backpacking trip coming up in December. In the meantime, keep up with her weekend adventures in East Coast America by subscribing to her recently-launched travel blog, The Pawprints We Leave.

I met Jordan (a.k.a Jomo) in 2012, then an aspiring creative writer on exchange at the University of Melbourne, where I was also studying my Bachelor of Music Performance. We met at a Planetshakers Urban Life group after being invited by a mutual friend and immediately clicked! Ah, you know that strange feeling? As you talk to this person you never before knew, you just have this gnawing suspicion that you must have known each other in another life! We soon found out that we had a few cool things in common: we were both the oldest of three sisters; shared different faith stories of the same transformative encounter with this amazing person named Jesus; and of course, loved going places, making local friends, writing about our experiences, and plotting new adventures!

I’ve always wanted to feature this cool chicka' on Wayfarer By Faith because we share such similar sentiments behind the why of our travels. What better time than to interview her now as she embarks on her latest adventure into the world of travel writing!

Jordan road-tripping along the Great Ocean Road, Victoria.

Whenever I meet people who have also evidently caught on the wanderlust bug, I always wonder how and when it happened. It fascinates me, because the passion to ‘get out there again’ seems to hinge on the relationships and life stories that have marked us through our past travel experiences. For both of us, it seems like our families’ love for road-tripping was one of the defining things that sparked the fire in our little minds long before we realized this whole globetrotting affair would become so much a part of shaping who we have become and who we are becoming! I hope you enjoy reading snippets of conversations we’ve shared along our journey…

Jomo | I’ve always liked to travel for as long as I can remember. My dad used to travel a lot for his job and our family would occasionally tag along. Let’s just say we took many a road trip and whether on a plane, bus, or car, I was turning around in my seat, attempting to strike up random conversations with whoever was behind me. I think traveling and specifically the journeys people take through life and the places they intersect, whether it be on the back of the bus or an airport terminal, have always intrigued me.

"As a creative writer, I only see people to love and stories to tell."

Janielle | I love how we both love to hear and share people stories! Do you make time to read when you travel? What are some of your best reads on the road?

Jomo | Oh, I love reading! I like to think of books as companions that provide knowledge, test our imaginations, and provide enough inspiration to shape our budding dreams. Plus, they help those plane rides to go by so much faster.

Favorite backpacking reads? This sounds boring, but I love grabbing travel guides for the area I’m in that tailor toward audiences “on a budget.” Just getting the inside scoop on the country I’m in is super helpful to me. Funny story, I actually found my copy of Australia: On a Budget in a quaint Cairns hostel with a book exchange. I have to say, I’m a big fan of the idea! As far as fiction, I remember having some spiritual breakthroughs upon reading The Shack by William Young while on a beach in Curacao. I couldn’t put it down even though tropical snorkeling was only a few steps away; literally, all I had to do was plunge my face into the water to find Nemo, but instead I came to understand the personification of the Holy Spirit in my life. I’ve never looked at the Trinity quite the same. Finally, even though expensive, I’ve found some great books just by grabbing what was advertised in airports. That’s how I discovered the first Hunger Games novel before it blew up; I finished it before I touched down in Atlanta!

Sky-diving in Virginia, woot!

Janielle | We all love to hear quirky stories of others’ unplanned escapades – what’s the most bizarre thing you’ve done in a foreign land?

Jomo | Ha, bizarre? I’ve found myself performing pop music I didn’t know the words to on a stage at Federation Square in front of a crowd of strangers in Melbourne; chasing Sydney possums in the middle of the night to see if the rumors were true that they’ll let you pet them if you hold out your finger (it’s true!); hitchhiking with an elderly couple in the Blue Ridge Mountains because the map wasn’t as easy to navigate as expected; and sleeping in a tent with four girls on the top of a mini-car we were road tripping the Great Ocean Road in.

"My life in general feels bizarre!"

Jordan playing rugby for UNC, Chapel Hill. (Told you she was one cool chicka'!)

Janielle | Truly, it’s the spontaneously crazy moments in life that keeps us alive! However, in the tougher moments of solo travel and introspection, how's Jesus and your faith real to you when you find yourself in unfamiliar territory and among unfamiliar people?

Jomo | Aw man, Jesus is everything. He’s life. He’s the reason I want to travel to meet the people and places he’s created. I’ve been through some crappy times, that’s for sure – from sickness, to dangerous street situations, to almost stepping on one of the world’s ten most venomous snakes – but none of them overwhelmed me because of the rock I stand upon. Jesus reminds me I’m not alone, that I never have to earn his love, that all of my failures, even the ones to come, have already been forgiven because he paid for a burden too big for me to ever bear. That knowledge – it sets me free. It allows me to leap, even if it means leaving the security of a job, knowing that no matter where I find myself, he will always catch me. He also just happens to provide the best relationships I could ever ask for along the way. I live for the companions he places in my path and I am constantly in awe at how close I can feel to a person I’ve only met an hour ago. Like when we met, it felt like we’d honestly been friends our whole lives. That’s what Christ can do.

Jordan embarking on a four-day trek in Tasmania, Australia.

Janielle | That, in my opinion, is truly the coolest thing about wayfaring by faith! Your path intersects with people you just know you were meant to meet because your hearts have experienced the same radical love, grace and truth beyond human comprehension. It’s the heart of why we’re on this journey – to love and inspire people we encounter along the way! Can you give us one sentence that sums the ‘magic’ of traveling for you?

Jomo | For me, it’s people; I believe that all good things come from and are inspired by God, so every time I feel the warmth of someone’s smile, find myself on the receiving side of a stranger’s generosity, or stand in awe of a person’s faith and ability to inspire, I have experienced the love of God.

If you loved the inspiring snippets shared in this feature, make sure you look out for our next interview-story with Zimbabwean DJ Artist and Radio Host Romeo Mudimu (a.k.a DJ Romeofoxy) of Harare. If you have any story suggestions of inspiring individuals in your life and city, shoot me a message!

Jordan enjoys good coffee, camping in remote places, and can occasionally be found climbing trees. Connect with her on Twitter: @PawprintsWeLeav. Photographs courtesy of JoMo.