The picture above is probably the last picture M-Squad will have taken together as it is unlikely that they all will be at the same place at the same time again. Already, they have split up as some waived their flight home to stay and travel in Europe for a few more weeks. In true World Race fashion, they have an exhausting 48+ hours of travel to reach US soil and probably closer to 72 hours without getting to sleep in a bed. They are spending one night on a bus and the next night in the Lisbon airport.
When I look at this picture now, I don’t see just my daughter, but the extended family that has formed in the last 11 months. In one sense, my own family has grown by 33, or even bigger when you take into account the bonds that formed between the parents of the Racers. (There’s a parent’s FaceBook page where we openly share our thoughts and feelings, and I met a lot of them at both launch and PVT.) I know them – their stories, their personalities, their quirks. One year ago when she returned from Training Camp having just met all the people she would be living with for 11 months, Elise was not at all sure they were who she wanted to be with full time. World Racers don’t get to pick with whom they travel. God does that and, of course, He knows best of all who they need to be with on this Kingdom Journey to grow in Him.
Before Elise left on the Race, I released her to follow where ever Christ led, even if that meant full-time missions. That was a tough thing to say to her and know that I would have to walk it out if she came home and told me she felt Christ’s call to be a missionary. I am thankful that she does not feel called to the nations but is instead coming home to Charlotte.
I’m so happy to have Elise come home, but there is also a part of me that is grieving the end of the Race. It has been an amazing year not just for Elise but our family as well, and there is a part of me that doesn’t want it to end. There is no doubt that I have been living vicariously through her experiences, and I think some of our family and friends have been as well. If I am feeling grief, it has to be multiplied exponentially for the Racers themselves. For some of them, being World Racers has been their goal for years. Now it is over and they are struggling to find a new direction. For most of this year, they have been attached at the hip to the Racers on their team, living in Community with them. In World Race terms, Community means living openly and honestly as they lovingly call each other out to correct flaws and push each other to deepen their relationship with Christ. The loss of that community will be one of the things they will grieve the most.
This time last year, we were burning up the credit card on Amazon and making daily trips to REI as Elise sorted and made lists of what she felt she needed to survive for a year abroad. In retrospect, she was never far from civilization. The only month we struggled to stay in touch with her was when she was in Cambodia – which ironically was the first month of her Race and when we were most desperate to know that she was OK. Southeast Asia was tricky, though, as the 12-hour time difference meant that most of our conversations were in the middle of the night here. (I use the term “conversation” loosely as for most of the Race it amounted to a series of exchanged texts via FaceBook Messenger. At least it was Proof of Life!) Several months, she had Internet access where she was living. That was a luxury! She didn’t even have to find a coffee shop to contact us! Although it was not necessarily great Internet, it was always adequate to get a message or two through. Actual phone calls were more rare, and video chats rarer still.
I want to say “Thank You!” again to all of you who helped make this trip possible. $16,561. I look at that figure now, and it is still overwhelming to me that God spoke into all of your hearts to help her meet that need. And really, she raised more than that as there were some of you who earmarked your donation specifically to be put into her account for her personal expenses on the trip. That money was what enabled her to do some cool things like ride an elephant in Thailand, go on a picture safari in Botswana, do the giant swing over Victoria Falls, and visit Auschwitz in Poland.
Adventures in Missions first started providing parents with information about Re-entry back in June. Mostly, the Racers need grace as they struggle to assimilate 11 months of life-changing experiences into a future they are still trying to determine. Grace to be alone. Grace to talk non-stop. Grace to laugh. Grace to cry.
When you talk to Elise, please don’t ask her vague questions like, “How was your trip?” (As a family, we have talked about how difficult that question is even for a two-week trip like Philmont. Now multiply that times twenty two.) Ask specific ones like, “Tell me about the food in Cambodia,” or “Tell me about the missionary family you worked with in Malawi.” Those types of questions will likely open the flood gates as more memories start to come out. (Keep your eye out for a whole blog on this topic from Elise!)
When we were at launch, Van and I had a conversation with one of the World Race coordinators. He suggested that when Elise comes home, we have a day we call “Cambodia Day.” That day you look at Cambodia pictures, tell Cambodia stories and eat Cambodian food. Another day, you do the same thing with the next country. That lets the Racer process the countries one at a time and tell you about that month in detail. That definitely appealed to my home-schooler-heart and I know that many of our home school friends have asked to be invited.
When they get to Miami, Elise, Crysahna, Hannah, and Leslie will be spending three days in a time-share condo in Fort Lauderdale that Crysahna’s grandparents arranged for them, then four days on a cruise ship out of Miami to Key West and Cozumel. After that, they will each head to their respective homes in North Carolina, Colorado, Minnesota, and Virginia. That’s a lot of distance between close friends and some hard good-byes.
So, homeward bound they are. Some direct and soon, others in a more roundabout fashion. I am thankful to have her, excited to see where God leads her – and us – and eager to experience this new person God is returning to us.
And to the rest of M Squad, know that you are always welcome at the Swepston Family home!
In Christ,
Susan Swepston
