1. PHILIPPINES (September 1 2011 Weather: End of Summer Rainy Season)
This Asian island nation, once a Spanish colony and an American protectorate, is a country in tension, trying to cross the threshold between the third and first world. It offers a variety of landscapes – beaches, mountains, volcanic lakes – and languages, with Tagalog as the national tongue. The Catholic Church is a substantial piece of the religious pie. Islam is also growing in the island of Mindinao. The Filipino people and culture love music, dance and community. While there, I will give hope to the destitute, care for orphans, and challenge the growing number of Christ-followers to rise up.
Host of the 2008 Summer Olympics and home to 1.3 billion people, China is not just grand in land mass and population. Beside the Han Chinese, there are over fifty minority groups. While China has grown in leaps and bounds industrially, intellectually, and even economically, it's still a politically closed nation. Depending on where you are, you may meet Buddhists, Muslims, and Taoists; there are even churches – government approved and regulated. The underground church is extensive and continues growing, even thriving amidst persecution. While there, I will have to pay homage to the Great Wall, and bring light and hope to a people in darkness and depression. How I'll do that exactly – I'll know once I'm there.
3. SOUTH AFRICA (November 2011 / Weather: Hot Summer, Humid & Powerful Storms)
While it's been several decades since apartheid has formally ended, there is still more healing and reconciliation to take place in South Africa. This country is one of the wealthiest on the continent, and yet, much of the population that lives outside the cities is poor. Like the rest of sub-Saharan Africa, this country struggles with a high rate of AIDS/HIV. Host to the 2010 World Cup and breathtaking natural attractions, it is also a place full of kingdom potential, waiting to be released — by me. 😉
4. MOZAMBIQUE (December 2011 / Weather Hot Summer Humid & Powerful Storms)
One of the most beautiful countries in the African continent, Mozambique is a favorite location of World Racers for a variety of reasons: the people, the landscape, the ministry partnerships, the miracles that this country has seen, and more. The former Portuguese colony is seeing signs of redemption and economic recovery; because of, or in spite of, the extreme poverty gripping the nation, the church grows. I will teach, preach, and practice "true religion" with widows and orphans while I grow my identity in Christ. One of my most interesting travel "days" may happen here. I will celebrate a very memorable Christmas here!
5. SWAZILAND (January 2012 / Weather Hot Summer, Humid & Powerful Storms)
The Kingdom of Swaziland is one of the last remaining monarchies in Africa. Home to 1.1 million people and breath-taking scenic views, it's also where the world's highest HIV/AIDS infection rate lives (26.1% in adults and over 50% of adults in their 20s). It's estimated that by 2050, the country of Swaziland will not even exist. Young orphans are scattered throughout this nation that is in desperate need of attention. For years, Adventures in Missions has been committed to seeing these statistics reversed. Here, I will most likely find myself involved in a variety of outreaches, including education, orphan care, care point feedings, and more.
This southern-central European country is the 16th largest in Europe. Its geography is varied with mountain ranges, plains and a coastline along the Black Sea. Its economy is growing, but among all the European Union members it ranks lowest in terms of income. Organized crime is an issue as is human trafficking. Bulgaria is mainly a source of trafficking in persons yet also, to a lesser extent, a transit point and destination of trafficking. Here, about half the population claims to be orthodox and over 10% are Muslim. I plan to bring light and hope to this nation caught between "developed" and "developing."
7. Eastern Europe Somewhere ??? (only the lord knows) (March 2012)
Much of this region was under some communist regime for much of the latter half of the last century. Some countries are doing better than others in catching up; some of them are also sources, transit points, and destinations of human trafficking. I may live life with the Romani (or Roma), commonly referred to as Gypsy, a people group without a land of their own and long shunned by society. Through reaching out to orphans, teaching English, and running sports camps, I'll shepherd a generation caught between a Soviet past and the post-modern European present.
8. SERBIA (April 2012 Weather: Winter/Spring Cold)
Formerly a part of Yugoslavia, this country has been through it. Under Slobodan Milosevic, ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo, now an independent nation, were either displaced or killed. After Milosevic, things haven't improved much. Here, too, organized crime and human trafficking are issues. In a place where the people seem to be leaving in droves, the presence of the World Racers will help bring about the redemption God wants to give them from their broken past.
9. NICARAGUA (May 2012 Weather: Summer Hot)
This location is always a World Race favorite. It's a country full of wonderfully warm and caring people, and participants always leave having had a powerful experience. However, hopelessness, addictions, destitution, and poverty still plague the many lives of Nicaragua. There are orphans who have grown up without knowing the love of a parent and families who get by each day by scrounging scraps from the city dump where they have made their homes. In Nicaragua, I'll have the opportunity to bring God's love through slum ministry (living as they do), door-to-door outreach, outreach to children, and more.
10. HONDURAS / EL SALVADOR (June 2012 Weather: Summer Hot)
I will spend this month in either of these Central American countries. Honduras is the third poorest in the region, after Haiti and Nicaragua; El Salvador, on the other hand, is the third largest economy in the region after Costa Rica and Panama. Both have had their share of political/military troubles: for El Salvador, it was a coup d'etat in 1979 that led to civil war from 1980-1992; Honduras went through a six-month constitutional crisis. In both countries, there's a need to reach out to the youth – not just to keep them out of trouble (like, gangs) but for them to know their worth and that they're loved.
11. GUATEMALA (July 2012 Weather: Hot Summer, Celebrating my 37th Bday here)
A country rich in history and natural resources – fertile soil from the volcanoes help yield excellent coffee – Guatemala is the perfect place to initiate my World Race experience. Outside of its aesthetic appeal, it is a country in desperate need of God's touch. Gripped by poverty and bound to a spirit of religion, the people of Guatemala are hungering to see the kingdom of God invade their lives. World Racers radically change the atmosphere in which they find themselves. I'll have the opportunity to usher in the kingdom to this land and to these people in the form of relationships through incarnational ministry (living just as they do), reaching out to the people in the fringes of society, hard work, and maybe even a miracle or two.
Then back to the USA JULY 31st (Lacey's Birthday)
