Ask any World Racer…they can tell you amazing stories! I can describe vividly the day I rode an elephant through the jungle in Thailand, visited an Ancient Wonder of the World in Cambodia, snorkeled on the 2nd largest barrier reef in the world in Belize, rode a horse on the beach in South Africa, hiked in the foothills of the Himalayas, saw hundreds of elephants in Botswana. I also went surfing, cave tubing, repelled down a waterfall, swam in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic Oceans. I DID a lot of cool stuff this year. I SAW a lot of beautiful places. I EXPERIENCED some remarkable things. I LIVED some pretty legit days.
These adventures are easy to talk about. A lot of people want to hear the cool stories. I love adventure. I can talk about the adventures. But those things didn’t change me. The “fun adventures” were like a cherry on an amazing ice cream sundae. You don’t eat a sundae for the cherry. Without the cherry you still eat, enjoy, and crave the sundae. It adds a nice little splash of colour, a nice flair to the top of that delicious sundae, but it’s not the essence of the sundae.
The World Race is not a sundae, but it is an adventure. But it’s not an adventure because of the adventures you might get to have on your off days. It’s an adventure because you see the Lord in people you meet all over the world. You see lives changed by the love of the Father. You see the impact the Word of God can have on a community or a people group. You see people who have hope in situations that appear hopeless. You see the face of God in a new way. The World Race is an adventure because (if you let it) your priorities, your worldview, your dreams, your very definition of adventure changes.
As I slowly merge back into life in North America it’s easy to talk about where I went, what I ate, who we worked with, the cool things we did and in some cases even the disparity we witnessed…people want to hear that stuff. But I realized I don’t know how to talk about how all of that changed me. I’m actually wondering if I even know how my heart has been changed. And since I haven’t quite figured out how I’ve changed, I’m not quite sure how to share that with you.
So please family and friends, ask me questions, even if you’re not sure what or how to ask about my life the last 11 months. Your questions are helpful. I want to share my heart with you. And please, have grace when I stare at you blankly for a few awkward seconds before answering your questions. I just may need some time to collect my thoughts and emotions, as I figure out how to answer those questions.
