Current racers: Your initial expectations when leaving for The World Race were probably the following: consistent ministry, building houses and churches, spending an abundance of time pouring into the orphan and the widow, working in the sex trafficking ministry in Thailand.
Future racers: You are probably expecting and preparing for the same.
While some of these do happen, there are two words that sum up ministry on The World Race:
Down time
Much of your time will be spent sitting, waiting and wishing that you were somewhere else doing something else. Believe me, I was as guilty as anyone during my first World Race and now I see it on a daily basis as a Squad Leader.
So how do we take all of this “down time” and make the most of it?
Shift your expectations
During training camp you’ll probably hear the phrase “let go of your expectations” 100 times. Expectations are completely natural. But when we dwell on unrealistic expectations, disappointment comes and we lose heart.
I want to propose something different and that is to simply shift your expectations. Expect God to move, expect to experience His love in new ways daily, expect Papa to bring beautiful life-long relationships about, expect divine appointments, expect to be challenged by your brothers and sisters, expect Dad to give you prophecies for your teammates, expect people to come to know Him, expect to see people healed, expect financial provision.
But don’t stop here. Make sure you go after these expectations rather than sitting around and waiting for God to show up. If you want to build relationships, you have to put in the time and effort. If you want to see people healed, you have to pray bold prayers. God wants to use you, but you have to be willing.
Turn off the WiFi
Here is one of my favorite quotes I’ve been living by in recent years:
“Our lives have become digital, our friends now virtual, experiencing the world through endless second hand information is not enough. If we want authenticity, we have to initiate it.” Travis Rice- The Art of Flight
I’ve never heard a racer say, “That month where I spent every day on WiFi, was the best.” Finish reading this blog, put down your phone, and see what greatness the Lord wants to share with you today.
Stop going to Starbucks
Ok, I am a little biased when it comes to coffee. I’m that guy who carries around a coffee grinder, a French Press and only drinks the best, Counter Culture or Intelligentsia. But this isn’t about the coffee. It’s about home. Every Starbucks around the world looks, feels, smells and tastes exactly like home. I’m not saying stop going entirely, I’m merely suggesting that you stop going for the wrong reasons. Are you going there because you genuinely enjoy a Starbucks coffee or are you going there because it’s a sweet reminder of the comforts of home?
This doesn’t stop at Starbucks. Think about all of the other commodities that bring you comfort. Remember that very first blog post in which you mentioned that you’d be leaving all of the comforts of home for 11 months? It’s time to actually implement this in your walk and in return watch how the Lord shows up.
Quit worrying about what everyone else is doing
Let’s go back two months to Japan. A majority of our teams were in the city, split up into pairs and living with Japanese host families, while one team was living together, working with a British professor. The teams who were split between Japanese host families were wishing they could be together as a team, while the team that was together was upset that they didn’t have an authentic Japanese experience. As Squad Leader, I had the opportunity to join in on both of these experiences. Neither was better, they were just different.
Stop looking at what you’re not doing and what you don’t have – learn to be content with the month ahead. It’s all about perspective. The grass is not always greener on the other side.
Invest in the locals
Oh, the beautiful relationships that happen on The World Race… if you let them. There are many opportunities to build strong friendships with the people, to invest and to love.
Just a few weeks ago on Christmas, we were sitting, fellowshipping and praying with our ministry host here in Malaysia. He’s one of the most passionate men I’ve ever met. Recently there has been much transition in his church and he is headed in a new direction in life. With tears in his eyes, he poured out his heart to us. “God has sent me eight angels this month. If you weren’t here with us this would have been our loneliest Christmas in 15 years. God has you here for a reason.”
We all broke. He was truly touched by the presence of Christ in us. But it didn’t happen with occasional hellos and superficial conversation. It happened with hours upon hours of dinners, car rides, teatimes, church services, etc.
Don’t be so caught up in your personal journey that you forsake those around you. You are Christ with skin on and somebody needs you today.
Dive into your team
Yes, this is probably the most important part of the race: community. For those who have been hurt by your church, family or friends in the past, it’s time to forgive and move on. World Race community is real and there is no better place to walk into the fullness of Christ. Get vulnerable, learn to trust, buy into feedback; it’s life changing. When you don’t buy in, you’re either saying you’re not good enough or your teammates aren’t good enough. Start believing the truth, and walk in it.
Pray
It was February of 2012, during month two of my first World Race, when we went out on a prayer walk in a poor village in El Salvador. My team hopped out of the truck and split up into groups and ventured out. My squad leader, Mac, happened to be there at the time and immediately stopped us all. He said, “Let’s listen to where Holy Spirit wants to lead us.” We gathered as a team and spent time listening for direction. What happened next was amazing. As we walked throughout the village people were physically and spiritually healed and some came to know Christ. Throughout that week of evangelism, I saw the blind see, the lame walk and many restored through Jesus Christ.
That one moment transformed my thinking. I’m now extremely prayerful in everything that I do. Pray hard and believe in those prayers. Take the time to sit and listen to your Father. Speak out what you hear. The world is waiting on you!
“Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17
Learn
With all of the free time you have, learn something new. The World Race presents you with an array of opportunities. Learn to play an instrument, learn to cook, learn photography or film. Learn to draw; learn a language, or at least how to communicate in a foreign country. The list goes on and on…
Experience
You’ll probably never get another chance to be a part of so many different cultures. You don’t just have a few days in each country; you have an entire month. Explore the sights, eat the incredible food, lay aside the tourist/missionary mentality and simply be one with the people. Many will say not every day is an adventure on The World Race; I say otherwise. But this is a key part!
Read
Not having alone time is quite the topic on the race. One of the best ways I’ve discovered to get that time is by opening The Bible or a book. You’re being productive, getting rejuvenated, learning something and likely growing in knowledge and intimacy with Christ. Why would you not take some time to better your walk?
Here are a few book recommendations:
Blue Like Jazz, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years, Crazy Love, Kingdom Journeys, Love Does, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, The Shack, Daring Greatly, The Circle Maker, Spiritual Slavery to Spiritual Sonship
Work out
With all of the carbs coming your way, you’ll want to do this one for sure. But don’t just do it alone, grab a teammate and have some fun with it. In Japan I went on some of the best, early morning hikes with some of my squad-mates. This month during Manistry I’ve started to rally up the dudes at night. We all take off our shirts (men, you understand), get pumped, get sweaty and get jacked. It’s been an absolute blast.
I’ve found it a lot harder to stay motivated on the race when it comes to this. A workout partner or two will help tremendously. Working out is spiritually, emotionally and physically rewarding. Who doesn’t want to live a healthy lifestyle and create some incredible memories while doing so?
There you go. This year is everything that you make it. The down time will be endless but take these few pointers and run with them. Enjoy. Laugh. Love. Every moment presents an opportunity to grow or an opportunity to stay complacent; an opportunity to love or an opportunity to hurt.
On The World Race, you can start a lifestyle of healthy disciplines that you can pass on to your kids, and every generation after that. Every chain I break and every lie I crush means that my son or daughter will no longer carry that. Doesn’t that sound great?
I say enough of the sitting, enough of the waiting and enough of the wishing. It’s your life; make it great!
