Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

I’ve been back about a month and a half now. I wanted to summarize this whole experience with a pretty little bow, but I haven’t done it for many reasons. There’s really no way that I fully can summarize everything that happened. I encourage you to ask me questions, and I will always be happy to answer them.

For now, I’ll answer the two questions I’ve heard the most, give a snapshot of the year, and tell you what’s next.

–What was your favorite country? 

I truly enjoyed every country and there were different things about each that I loved. The food in India was fantastic. The scenery in Nepal was amazingly beautiful. The people in every country were amazing, and we had some hosts (such as Pastor Moses in Rwanda) who became good friends. Cambodia was hardest to leave (almost entirely because of the children and a little boy who became my buddy that month). My all around favorite would probably have to be Kenya because I loved the work we did with Manna Worldwide there, the country was beautiful, and the people made us feel like family. 

–Did you ever feel unsafe? or Where did you feel the least safe?

I really didn’t, or at least never any more than I would have felt unsafe in America if I was in an unknown place that felt suspicious for some reason. By and large we were extremely well taken care of and people were generally helpful and friendly. We did have a few instances where things happened that weren’t good but more often than not I felt like people were basically good and even looking out for us. I think we walked in favor and I know that our hosts were protective of us and the local communities would often watch over us. All of that being said, if you travel, be conscious of your surroundings. Don’t show off your wealth (and you own things that you don’t consider items of wealth, such as iPhones, that are worth a lot in many poor countries). Don’t be obnoxious or rude. If you’re respectful, you likely will be treated with respect. 

Take-aways:

As I was trying to figure out how to share what the race meant to me, I sat down and made a list of things that I either learned on the race or came to a deeper understanding of as a result of the race. Here is that list. 

  • People are people are people: Culture does matter, people are different, but at the same time we all share the things that are important and as a result have far more in common than the things that are different. We found loving community wherever we went and found so many commonalities despite the difference in culture, life experience, and so much more. 
  • It’s important to have a why: If we don’t have a why it’s hard to find a common purpose or know which things are important. Knowing the why to how we live our lives helps us to see where we should focus and where we can maybe let go of some things. I’ve believed in the necessity of having purpose and hope for a while (in fact, one of my favorite books is Victor Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”) but seeing it lived out on the race solidified it all the more.
  • Community is important and we were meant to live in it: While this one seems kind of like common sense…people need people and all that, it’s not something that I think we always do with enough intentionality. I lived in community with people who I was convinced thought I was not a kind person. I felt deeply misunderstood. Some of those same people will now always be among my dearest friends. They have inspired me to try to create an intentional community here. I am not confident in my ability to do so, but I am confident in God’s message that I am meant to bring that community home. I’m working towards that and I hope you either have intentional community or will chase after it because it is a needed and good thing.
  • There’s a difference between kind and nice. I am not nice, but I am kind: I left for the race as a social worker who had always been perceived as nice. On the race I was shocked to find that people did not necessarily view me as nice. I struggled with this. God and I had many conversations about who I was and whether I was the issue. Sometimes I was and sometimes I will be, but ultimately I learned that God created me to see truth and to fight for it. Nice will let things go, kind will say what’s needed to work towards the ultimate best for those that they care about. I am not nice, but I value truth and I value people having the information if it’s for their best in the long run. I’m learning to deliver things that are hard with kindness and learning to sort through what God wants me to say versus giving either all of the information or none of the information. A friend and I were talking about this struggle the other day and as I tried to explain what I felt this year and before I got to my feelings on nice vs kind, he stated “there’s a difference between kind and nice. You’re kind.” It was one of those funny moments of someone confirming what God had been telling me all year. 
  • God created me, and you, with unique giftings and desires. We are meant to use them but that will not always be easy: See above. 🙂 This is also true in how I connect with God (through study) and my choosing to go back into social work instead of staying in missions (I love missions, but I desire to do counseling and to help the world in the way that I am trained in and skilled at). If you don’t know already, find what God created you to be and use it. I think He gave each of us different abilities and delights in our using them. 
  • Living a good story isn’t limited to the crazy adventures- it’s living with purpose in the daily moments. Often the “small” moments were the ones that end up being the big ones. I will always remember the adventures the race brought, but the moments that made the most impact were just being with people, hearing their stories, and building relationship.
  • I am capable of things that I didn’t think I could do: I am an introvert who did the World Race. I hate being the center of attention or talking in front of people. I’m pretty sure I have a bit of social anxiety. I am fearful that people do not love me as I love them. I often wonder if I am good, smart, pretty, talented, or skilled enough. Even with all of my doubts, I finished the race. God used me to make an impact. I lived in community and left it with lifelong friends. God had me preach month 1 and 2 and 3 (and based on all the above, you can imagine how much I did not want to). Eventually I realized it’s a gift that He’s given me, the ability to convey knowledge and I ended up loving it and volunteering to do it when needed. If I had been able to do the race with less community or less going out on a limb, I probably would have wanted to, but God had more faith in my abilities than I did and I don’t think half of the good of the race would have been accomplished if I had been able to play it safe. 
  • People need to be seen, known, and loved for who they are: Again, something I’ve always recognized but we saw this again and again wherever we went. People want to be truly known and accepted. People crave being loved for who they really are. Loving people in that way is one of the biggest impacts you can have on this world. 
  • God is moving in powerful ways: On the race I preached a sermon about Moses and how we shouldn’t want to be like him. He had the opportunity to say yes to God, and he eventually did, but in the meantime he told God how unequipped he was and how he couldn’t. So God responded by letting Aaron do some of the work. I think Moses missed out on all God had for him and I don’t want to miss out. Yet I still act like Moses sometimes. But what if we all said no to all of the reasons God might not choose us and actually listened to see how He wants to use us? Would it allow us to transform the world? The places where He is working in great ways, are the places where people are saying yes at any cost. I have seen God move in crazy ways when people invite Him in or when people say yes to being used. I’ve seen people healed, people baptized and transformed, churches built despite not thinking there would be enough hands, children taught, and relationships built. Do you see that in your church, in your community? If not, do you trust God enough to let Him turn you into a vessel for the amazing things He wants to do?

Speaking of amazing things…

Many of my teammates and friends from Z Squad are going on to continue in the missions field in some way. Find out what they’re doing and support them through prayer, encouragement, and financial support (donations are tax deductible unless otherwise noted)- you can see what each of them are doing using the links below:

Kingdom 217:

One Hope:

Other Z-Squad friends:

What am I doing next?

I’ve accepted a job with Intercept Youth Services as an in-home counselor. This means I once again get to work with kids and teens. The job will allow me to do clinical counseling and work towards my LCSW. I’m really excited to return to the field. I’ve put together a wishlist of tools that I’d like to use with the kids and youth I’ll be working with and should you like to help me build my toolkit, you can here: Therapeutic Tools Wishlist 

(It should be noted again that I really appreciate all that everyone has done to get me to the race, as well as the financial support many of you have given myself and my friends-so please don’t feel that anyone needs to give any more than you already have, these notes are only if you truly want to give!)

Want to make an impact at home?

A HUGE need in the US, including in Virginia, is the need for foster parents. Right now many children are waiting for a home and some never get one before aging out of the system. If this is something you believe might be for you, Intercept Youth Services is looking for great therapeutic foster parents and respite care. If you’d like to find out more, feel free to talk to me or visit: interceptyouthtfc.com If you decide to apply, I’d really appreciate it if you’d let them know that I referred you! 

One last note…

Partly because I’m going back into a sensitive field, once I start seeing clients, my blog will become password protected. The password will be the name of our first country: Uganda. If you forget it, feel free to ask me and I’ll try to find somewhere to tack it on to facebook as well. 

Thank you all for being a part of this amazing journey. I only got to do what we did because of your support. God is doing great things through racers and Adventures in Missions. Partner organizations are greatly helped by your support and AIMs willingness to send young adults. I hope you’ve enjoyed watching it all unfold and that you’re part of the transformation and good God is working in your community! It’s been so wonderful to be home and see many of you and I’m excited to keep catching up and spending time with everyone!