It's February, so like most of you, our minds are on love. But not just romantic love. We are collecting stories, Tweets, Grams, and Facebook posts from people like you all over the world about how they've experienced love on the mission field. Tag your story #AdventuresinLove, and we'll see it.
Today, we want to share a special story from Adam Smith, a World Racer on the July 2012 H Squad. Adam found love on the World Race, but not in the way you might be thinking. Adam shared this story last September near the beginning of his Race.
My parent's split when I was four years old. There is really no way else to say it. Like most kids that young, I really didn't realize what had just happened. All I knew is that I didn't see my dad anymore. We didn't do much together though. He wasn't the "go out in the yard and play catch" kind of dad. He wasn't the "build a tree house" kind of dad either. Looking back now I'm not really sure what we did do together.
I'm sure he loved me but I can't remember a hug, a kiss, or anything else. I can't remember him ever saying he loved me. I can't remember any sort of affirmation or affection.
All I can remember is him yelling, throwing things, and being cold. I don't say all this to invoke some sort of pity party, but to set the stage for the next 18 years of my life and for the amazing work God has been doing in my life over the last five days.
At the end of my second month on the Race, my squad headed to a small village in Moldova for a week of debrief. Debrief is a time to do just that, debrief. But it's more than that, it's a time to rest. It's a time to catch up with friends on other teams. It's a time to have iron sharpen iron. It's a time to encounter Jesus in worship. It's a time to be honest. It's a time to be real. Its just an overall great time.
I didn't realize that 18 years later I would still be dealing with the divorce and the lack of a father in my life. But more than that I didn't realize that 18 years later I would find a new dad in the least likely place possible.
While at training camp I learned that Adventures in Missions assigns each squad a set of squad parents. Basically it's a married couple that commits to pray for you all year, and every two months they fly out to meet you on the field for a weeklong debrief. Their job is to be parents away from our home. To love us. To pray for us. To just sit and listen to us if we need to cry. To be a source of encouragement but also a source of challenge. They are Deon and Rynette Vanstaden and they are great at their job!
At the end of my second month on the Race, my squad headed to a small village in Moldova for a week of debrief. Debrief is a time to do just that, debrief. But it's more than that, it's a time to rest. It's a time to catch up with friends on other teams. It's a time to have iron sharpen iron. It's a time to encounter Jesus in worship. It's a time to be honest. It's a time to be real. Its just an overall great time.
On our second night of debrief my great World Race dad, Deon, preached on our identity in Christ. It was such a timely message for many on my squad, and I'm sure if you read some of their blogs you will find out how God changed their lives through that message. But for me the moment came after the message where my amazing, godly, discerning squad mom, Rynette, spoke a word over me and said that she saw Moses in me. I thanked her and moved on. No big deal, or so I thought.
The next morning was a normal morning. I left breakfast and began walking across a field back to my bunk when Deon waved me down. Deon wanting to talk is normal. The man is so full of joy, and he cares so much for all 57 of his kids on the Race that talking, praying, and serving only come natural to him.
As soon as I clear the 50 yards between us, the first words out of his mouth were "I just see so much of Moses in you." My jaw probably hit the floor. I ask him if he knew that his wife had spoken the same word over me the night before. He smiled and said he didn't.
So what did I do? I did the only thing I could think of and grabbed my Bible, opened it up to Exodus, and start reading about Moses.
"Now a man from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite women."
Exodus 2:1
God spoke so clearly to my heart in the moment. As far as I know that's the only time Moses's father is mentioned in the Bible. And if we were going to compare my story with Moses, my father would probably only take up one verse too.
I've known God as Father for nine years now, but I've never really known what it means to be a son because I've never been a son.
But I'm learning now, and I couldn't be more thrilled. Not only with God the Father, but also with my dad Deon. Deon is the first father figure in my life to look me in the eyes and say that he loves me. He rarely calls me Adam because he's too busy calling my destiny out of me by calling me "man of God." He has no time to say anything discouraging to me because he's dead set on telling me exactly how God has gifted me and how everyday he sees me growing in the Lord. He has no time to be selfish because he's busy serving me.
I had high expectations of what God would do through the World Race, but I didn't expect him to give me the dad I always wanted. And I didn't expect I would be learning how to be a son all these years later.
