Seven Safety Concerns of a World Race Parent
by Seth Barnes
Those of us who want to make Jesus Lord need to be prepared to give up our rights and embrace the inevitability of risk. Still, what is an appropriate level of risk? When is the idea of taking a risk really just a cover for foolish behavior? Certainly we want to be prudent even as we ask young people to do what God is asking them to do, no matter the cost.
As your child leaves on the World Race, please know that our staff has worked hard to assess those risks that your son or daughter’s team will encounter. We want to communicate with you in advance about them.
In all of this, our presumption is that we are sending out adults. The minimum age for participants on the race is 21. Part of becoming an adult is learning self-governance.
Statistics show that air travel is far safer than travel on the ground. If you’re going to worry, don’t worry about this. Planes could go down, but they do so less frequently than lightning strikes people.
Ground travel
In our minds, travel in-country poses the greatest actual risk your child may face. With as many young people traveling by every means imaginable, the odds are high that someone at some point will be in an accident. Racers travel by bus, by van, by rickshaw, by motorcycle, by train, and by boat.
Random Violence
Random violence can happen anywhere. Here in America it happens in schools, on highways, and even on Army bases. We live in a different world since 9/11. Terrorists strike in random and calculated ways. We look at the level of violent Muslim activity and political upsets before going into countries, but we can’t anticipate random violence.
Bandits/bad guys
Every country has its share of bad guys and good guys. We have yet to send a team to country where our teams weren’t welcomed. They did experience some animosity from Muslims by way of wary looks. Many of these very people, after hearing the message of the gospel, changed from wary of the Americans to trusting in Christ. As in any developing country, the highest risk is for petty theft. If something of value is set down, it will get stolen. We’ve had a whole WR team held up at gun point in comparatively safe parts of South Africa and we’ve had individual racers get mugged on the streets of Lima. We try to avoid those areas where tourists wouldn’t normally go.
Illness
Almost all racers get sick. Sometimes they get very sick. We’ve waited many a night at the bedside of our teammates. They get malaria, dengue fever, and random tropical diseases. Going overseas exposes their stomachs to all manner of foreign bacteria and viruses. When they do get sick, we take them to the best local hospitals. If the level of care required seems beyond their capacity, we fly them to a modern hospital.
Foolishness
Racers have fallen off roofs and through them, landing in the hospital. They’ve gone bungee
jumping, cliff climbing and hanggliding. As a group, they are very active. We don’t encourage all this extra risk-taking, but they do it anyway. We figure they’d probably do these sorts of things wherever they go. If you want us to ask your son or daughter to refrain from certain behavior in advance, please let us know.
Nameless worry
Even after we’ve tried to quantify everything, life is so unpredictable. Who can foresee all the crazy things that could happen? Our racers have killed cobras and found black mambas under their tents in Africa. They’ve encountered lions trying to get loose from their cages. If you’re prone to worry, know that the WR staff worry too. Please pray for us!
