One Week Ago I was with my squad of 27 leaving the states to go start my embark on the World Race. I reflected on many a things when I was leaving, like the last time I said goodbye to family and friends, the sessions we had at launch with the World Race Staff, and what will jetlag really feel like? Then it happened, we landed in Beijing, China. No turning back now. We got off the plane and received the first stamps on our passport with many more to come soon after. We walk out of baggage claim to be welcomed by our hosts for our different teams. And sooner than I thought friends disappeared taken away by their ministry host with out even as much as a “See ya later.”
Reality sunk in and I knew that this was really the beginning. Taking the first steps out of the China airport it was very cold and wet. A car almost hit me as it whizzed by without regard for people crossing with trolleys of luggage. After squeezing the entirety of everyone’s luggage onto the bus we sat and prepared for only an hour trip to our ministry home. I wanted to just stay up and stare out the window and view China for the first time but my body was saying otherwise after staying up for a 14-hour plane ride to Beijing. I awoke from a slumber dazed and confused unloading huge packs in the misty rain and walking through these metal Chinese gates at our ministry site. We get our room assignments and are amazed by how well accommodated we were. We each had our own bed, sharing a bathroom with running water and a working toilet. It was the last thing I was expecting on the race.
This wasn’t the World Race experience I expected. It wasn’t a complaint at all but I was expecting way worse. God had much he wanted to show me and this was the start. There will never be a norm from here on out. I wake up some days 5am other 6am and usually in bed by 9pm. Jet lag was cute. We had to wait three days to actually start our ministry and being in a closed off country meant that evangelism wasn’t really a thing. Before any of that we were practicing living in community. Learning how to deal with everyone’s personalities day in and day out was presenting itself a challenge seeing as we had to spend these long days with each other trying to make the hours go by. We were all really anxious to start our ministry. On our off days we went to church and got to have our first outing as a team and bond for hours on end. We laughed, took selfies, tried weird food, and bought into quirky fads. After we talked about our day and some realized some conflicts that were unspoken. Here was the start of when we began to lay out our differences.
With concerns came reasoning. Different teammates began to express why they react the way they do and it made it more understandable as to why they act the way they act. As people opened up more encouragement followed soon after as we were coming into a place of vulnerability with each other. Masks were removed, walls came down, and truth was expelled out of our lips. Meetings that were meant to be short turned into hour-long conversations about who we are and what we’re trying to get from God this month. Words like “Identity”,” Trust”, “Confidence”, “Purpose”, and such were announced to each other. Not even being a week in we had much to say and pray for and for each other. We even lifted up the other teams spread out in China.
Communicating with the other teams was difficult and limited to catching them at the opportune moment. Some teammates were overcoming sickness, others were performing late night dangerous covert ministry risking the possibility of being caught by the Chinese govern authorities, while other teams were already exhausted by intense labor conditions. I questioned God as to why we had it so well off. We had several options for food, a set schedule with plenty of time for rest and quality time with one another, several spaces to have alone time, and the ability to travel to tourist attractions almost every weekend. My heart was torn. I wanted the same for the other teams but knew that God was doing His own pruning and shaping with them and all I could do was pray.
More and more I realize there are things I will never have any control over and things just have to run their course. There is no need for me to worry about things that God has no worries about. He’s in control and that’s how it should be. He really does work in mysterious ways that I will never truly understand. And that’s okay. I’m learning more and more to let God be God. God has given us the space we have to work things out in comfortable enough setting to make us uncomfortable with one another and work things out sooner rather than later. I’m grateful for it. Confronting happened early and now it’s left room to be more loving and accepting to each other. Day by day we are being more and more our selves because in reality we are realizing that we’re stuck with each other for the next 11 months so might as well make the best out of it and have fun.
Getting on the plane to China I never imaged it to be like this. This race is not a month-by-month process at all but a day-by-day understanding of how much He loves us to test us in these things. This was only a week and so much has already been said. Just wait there’s more coming so stay tuned.
Paul said it best,
“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all fullness of God.” –Ephesians 3:16-19
God Bless,
Carlos Lopez
