Every Monday this month we’re sharing guest posts from parents of World Race alumni – advice, encouragement, and wisdom from those who’ve gone before you.
Today we hear from Cindy Ricketts. Her daughter Nicole is a World Race alumnus from the October 2009 L Squad and now works at Adventures in Missions in the marketing department. Cindy works for Rabobank, is active in her church’s children’s ministry, and enjoys event planning, flower arranging, and spending time with family. In addition to Nicole, she has a son and daughter-in-law, and lives in Modesto, California with her husband of 33 years, Tim.
When Nicole first told us she was planning to go on this 11-month World Race to 11 different countries, I thought to myself, “All over the world? Really? This is what God has called her to do?” At that moment, God reminded me of when Nicole was an infant and Tim and I dedicated her to the Lord. We promised to raise her to know Jesus as her Savior. We believed wherever God would take her, he would be with her.
So I decided to support her in this journey. I decided to make these 11 months the best they could be for her and for the rest of our family. Here are three things I did that helped make our experience great:
Pray and let go.
The very first thing I did was pray. “Okay God, she is yours, and I will be faithful and trust my precious Nicole into your care.” I’m a mom, and I’m a worrier. This season helped me trust God in new ways. Nicole created a prayer card for her family and supporters, and I posted it by my mirror. Everyday while getting ready, I would pray for her and her teammates.
Celebrate.
Before Nicole left for the World Race, our family had a going away celebration. We surprised her with a “flash forward” evening of all the holidays she would miss. We had Thanksgiving dinner, then brought out Christmas decorations and sang carols, then had cheesecake for Valentine’s Day. Our family is very traditional with holidays, because we know why we celebrate. We know these are celebrations of God’s extraordinary love for his people.
Join the journey.
We have always tried to stay involved in our kids’ lives, so we wanted to play a part in this journey with Nicole, as well.
The best thing Nicole did was to sign me up for Facebook. She Skyped and emailed when she could, but Facebook updates, along with her periodic blog posts, became our main source of information.
I signed up for email notifications for Nicole and each of her team members so I would be notified when a new blog was posted. This allowed me to be part of the work of the World Race and see current pictures of my daughter each month right here from home. Seeing the updated pictures really eased my mind and assured me she was safe and happy doing the Lord’s work. Our church family was very active in thinking of ways to support Nicole’s team. My sister Kathy and I decorated a bulletin board at our church with pictures of all the Racers on her squad. We had a world map that was marked with each country they were scheduled to visit. As they posted blogs, we printed pictures and blog posts for church members to read. Nicole and her teammates were very good about posting new blogs and pictures. It was so fun following each of the different Racers because we got different perspectives from each of their adventures.
We also did fundraisers throughout the year. We deposited the proceeds into Nicole’s personal account for her team to use as extra things came up. We sold Christmas poinsettias and heart-shaped Valentine cookie bouquets. My sister also sold snacks at work.
Nicole’s team was our missions’ focus for Vacation Bible School. We donated all the offerings to kids in a gypsy village they were serving in Romania. We also had a yard sale and car wash for two of Nicole’s teammates who needed money in their support accounts.
Being active and supportive of Nicole and her World Race team’s efforts really helped the 11 months go by quickly. It was very hard to let our daughter go, but we knew it was not our choice, but God’s desire for Nicole.This was an adventure for us as well as Nicole, and we were so blessed to have lived it with her. To all of you out there just beginning this journey with your kids, here is my advice: Try not to worry, live these precious moments with your kids, and trust God with the rest. Have a Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year.
We’ll hear from another World Race alumni parent next Monday, so make sure you’re subscribed to receive our updates in your inbox.
