This past week my parents came to Africa and got the opportunity to live the life of a World Racer. Upon arrival they found out the men and women would be separated into male and female bunk dorms, truly getting the full community living experience. While all the parents were cozy inside on their too small, spring cots, with actually amazing comforters that the Racers were jealous of, we were outside in our tents during the mostly rainy and cold nights. However, there was one exception … If you personally know my mother than you know she is more than slightly obsessed with me and loves to snuggle. So guess what my crazy mother did? She traded my tent-mate her bed so she could sleep in the tent with me!
From the moment they pulled up I was overwhelmed with emotions. We took bets on who would be the first to cry … mom being the unanimous vote but, I was the first to crack. The bus hadn’t even stoped yet and I was running alongside it balling my eyes out. They barely got their feet on the ground before I tackled them in hugs. I was in disbelief that after 9 months I was finally hugging them and seeing them face to face instead of through a screen!
PVT to me is one of the most amazing opportunities. We got to invite our parents in to what we’ve been doing and how we’ve been living for the last 9 months. The parents got a new perspective and understanding of why we committed 11 months of our lives to this. My parents both said after getting to see for themselves all of our hearts during ministry and all the little things blogs can’t capture, they finally get it.
It was adorable to see the parents reactions to things that have become so normal to us; such as, cows, goats, and young children wandering the streets. They all looked like us day 1 back in January with a mixture of excitement and terror visibly on their faces. Unsure of how to take in everything around them and no clue how to make sense of any of it. Even now 9 months in there is a ton of unknown and flexibility in our day to day schedules, we’ve become masters of “go-with-the-flow”, so it was more than entertaining for us Racers to watch some of the more structured parents let loose being on African time.
The week had more great moments than I could ever truly express but, doing ministry alongside my parents and sharing in the emotions that come with that is something I will cherish forever. We served at a care-point on the outskirts of Manzini, Swaziland where we would play with kids, help serve their meals (for many their only meal of the day), and take turns doing home visits to some of the children’s families. It was a special combination that allowed our parents to be a part of different types of ministries we’ve done this year.
Many of the parents were way outside their comfort zones, mine included, being here in Africa for ministry. But man oh man there is nothing cooler than watching parents humble themselves before God and being all-in right off the bat. The first day on the drive there some of the parents were talking about how they’re not sure what it’ll be like, how they’ll react, etcetera; but as soon as the van door opened and we were swarmed with little faces that just wanted to be loved all the parents were laughing and holding kids as if they’ve been doing this the past 9 months with us.
For me I loved seeing my parents personalities come out and the kids totally play on their soft spots. One little boy grabbed my mom by her hand, drug her to the food line, and then after waiting with him for his plate to be filled he just handed it to her walked over to the step and sat down. She laughed realizing he wanted her to feed him. She sat next to him and looked at the plate then looked at me totally confused; there was pop (picture mash potato consistency) and beans with no utensils. I couldn’t help it but laugh while mockingly saying “welcome to the World Race”; then explained she’d have to put the pop in her hand, roll the beans inside it and then scoop it into his mouth. She did it like a pro!
I knew the house visits would be more uncomfortable for my parents than playing with the kids. When doing home visits it’s impossible to deny the poverty and hardships of the country. We brought bags of rice, beans, and maize meal with us to bless the families. You really can’t help your heart breaking when you walk up and see the mud homes and conditions some of Gods children are living in. Being respectful of Swazi-traditions the women sat on the floor on straw mats and then men sat on buckets as chairs. We asked them questions about themselves such as how long they’ve been married, how many children they had, and then some about their home. They told us who slept in each hut skipping over one because the roof had caved in and it was no longer able to be used. My dad being the type of person who wants to help in ways he can see the outcome quickly asked if we could fix it. Sadly, we were told it’s not an easy fix so for the time being there was nothing we could do. Many in Swaziland are effected by what we as Americans consider a solvable problem because it’s easy to forget they don’t have the resources available to them.
one of the huts at our first home visit
There was a great balance between unscheduled time with our parents and ministry hours. We would worship every night and Racers would take turns sharing testimonies. God opened up space for great conversations and an insight to what returning home will be like. I’ve always had a really great relationship with my parents but, I know this week grew us closer as a family in ways we will always remember. I’m so grateful for Adventures in Missions providing this time on the field with our parents as well as my parents willingness to get out of their comfort zones and trust me when I told them it would be an amazing experience for us.
Dad and mom teaching one of the kids some karate moves.
**fun fact – when I get tired of holding kids I do make-shift ballet classes so it was funny to see my parents resort to something similar when they couldn’t lift any more kids.**
Dad being an awesome goalie
