This is, in my opinion, the best question a World Racer could be asked. Hands down.
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This month we're working with some of the most amazing people I have ever met, John and Jane Goodwin. They're a powerhouse couple from Canada who comes to Bulgaria for extended periods of time to do ministry and lead worship sessions. They've impacted my life in more ways than one and will definitely be going down in my book of "People who have changed my life for the better".
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When we first arrived on the Goodwin property two and a half weeks ago, we came inside, put down our packs, and immediately joined together in the living room.
I was expecting this first meeting to be the expected: "John and Jane telling us about themselves, what they do here, and how we can help". We don't ever really get this run down from most of our contacts in the first place, so I was excited to be more "in the know" this month.
However, that's not what we got… at least… not right away.
Instead of talking about themselves first, John and Jane sat us down and asked us about… us. They asked us where we had been, who we had worked with, and what we had experienced over the past four months. More than that, they asked us:
"So, tell us what has made you cry?"
This was one of the most humbling moments of my Race so far. We came here to serve this couple – to work with them and encourage them.in what they're doing here… but instead we got served and encouraged by them. This whole month has been an overflow of that. Yes, I think we're reciprocating that service and encouragement in ways… but their love for us has been overwhelming and so fruitful. It's incredible.
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To go along with that, I want to express just how good of a question I think, "So, what has made you cry?" is.
I 100% get that this whole World Race thing is difficult to understand – I have a hard time understanding it myself! Whether you're an outsider or are on the Race yourself – this is just a crazy experience that is difficult to comprehend at times. As a result of that, I understand that it's hard for outsiders to know what kinds of questions to ask. I mean, there are a million potential questions that would be adequate… but I can see how it would be difficult to find "the right ones" to ask.
So let me give you a piece of advice: get to our hearts.
Ask us what has made us laugh, cry, and laugh so hard that we cried. Ask us what has been frustrating. What God has been teaching us. What our hearts have loved. What our hearts have hated. How we have grown. You know… the deep questions that sometimes seem scary to ask because you're not quite sure what we'll say and how we'll say it. Those are the kinds of questions we need to be asked. Asking us about the food or the weather is fine… but it's not necessarily what we want or need to talk about.
What we want and need, I believe, is an opportunity to pour our hearts out to someone new who is willing to listen.
That's what John and Jane did for us, and it was beautiful.
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