I’m ready to go back!
WOW! Where to begin? I went to South Africa with the purpose of seeing my daughter and it ended up being one of the greatest experiences in my life.
We flew into Johannesburg on Saturday. We weren’t scheduled to see Savannah until Sunday. That Saturday night felt like eternity. We met the other parents at the airport to catch a bus on Sunday afternoon. I remember the butterflies I had in my stomach. I wasn’t nervous. I was just excited to see Savannah. It had been nearly 8 ½ months since we had seen her. When we arrived at complex tears filled my eyes. I’m not an emotional person, but I was so happy to see Savannah. When we got off the bus, I saw Savannah running towards us screaming. I didn’t want to let her go.
We spent the next few hours sitting and talking. I just sat there and stared at Savannah with the biggest smile on my face and tears in my eyes. Just listening to her talk, I could tell the race was having a profound effect on her life. She was all grown up. Where had the little girl that I remember so fondly gone? I couldn’t wait to hear more about the race.
After dinner that night, everyone met for worship. Watching the other racers worship was awesome. I didn’t know any of them except through their blogs, but I felt like they were a part of my family. We also received our agenda for the week. It was going to be a full week. I was excited to get to experience some of things that Savannah and her team were doing every day.
We had the privilege of working with BEAM Africa run by Louie and Erika Lingenfelder. In fact, BEAM Africa was in the process of purchasing the facilities we were staying at. We traveled to their community center in Mamelodi where they offered classes to young people to help them things such as interview skills, budgeting, proper dress for work, etc. Before we started the classes we had worship time. Listening to the young women from Mamelodi sign was unbelievable. I could have listened to them all day. I sat beside a young man named Khone. Khone was one of the few young men in the class, but he was eager to learn as much as possible. Being a teacher, I have the privilege of working with many young people everyday teaching them life skills. I can’t say that I’ve ever seen any student with the desire to learn as much as Khone. I hated to leave the center.
On Wednesday we had an off day. We were able to go on a safari and attend an African braai. The safari was amazing. We were treated to an African dance before dinner. The food was fantastic!
When we returned from the safari and braai we met to discuss the next day. We found out we were going to do something that I fear the most – EVANGALISM! I’ve never felt comfortable talking with someone about Jesus. Let me rephrase that- I’ve never felt comfortable talking to another adult about Jesus. I could talk to kids all day about Jesus. Teresa, the mentor of X Squad, did kind of a crash course for us on evangelizing. She made it sound so easy. I felt somewhat more comfortable after listening to Teresa. The next day we went to the mall in Pretoria. I think we may have been in the mall 10 minutes when Savannah asked a lady in the grocery store if she could talk with her. I was kind of thrown off. I figured we would walk around for a little while before we talked to anyone. Savannah asked the lady if she had a personal relationship Jesus. The lady said yes. Savannah told her that was great and wanted to know if she could pray for her. Savannah prayed over her and we went on our way. I remember thinking while this was going on how awesome this was. Savannah seemed so comfortable talking with this lady. I asked Savannah why she talked to this lady. She said that Jesus told her to talk to a lady in the grocery store. This more than confirmed that going on the World Race was the best decision in Savannahs life.
We continued around the mall talking to several people. I kept looking around looking for a sign. I wanted to talk to someone, but my nerves were getting the better of me. I finally decided to walk by myself for a little bit. I went into a store with the intention of looking around. I was approached by an elderly lady who asked if I could help her get something off the top shelf. I thought to myself- Is this the sign I was looking for? I asked the lady if she had a personal relationship with Jesus. I remember the look in the ladies eyes. Tear started to fill her eyes. She told she did, but it had been a while since she had been to church. Her husband had died a couple of years ago. She had no children or family. You could tell she just wanted someone to talk to. I stood there and talked to her for a while. I prayed for her and then gave her a hug before I left. She had a big smile on her face. I can tell you I’ve never felt so good. Could it be like this every time I talked to someone? Probably not, but whenever it does I’ll know to cherish it.
We had worship time for the last time that night. It was a very emotional night. It felt like we had been in Africa forever (in a good way). I had never experienced anything like this week. I was eager for more. My mind was racing trying to figure out how I could keep this experience going. I didn’t want to leave Africa. I felt like I had grown so much during the week and it was the result of some kids who were half my age. They had taught me so much. I’m not sure how the racers were before the race started, but I can tell you that they are some awesome kids.
My faults were magnified in my mind that last night. I knew what I needed to do, but I had to take action. I prayed that night to have the strength to make my life and those around me better. I wrote down the words BE BETTER that night. I wrote those words every day since I’ve been back. It is a reminder to be a better husband, father, teacher, friend, colleague or whatever it is. Thank you to all of the World Race staff for an unbelievable PVT trip. Thank you for everything you do for our kids. I hope I have another chance to work with you in the future.
BE BETTER,
Eric Stoker (Savannah’s Dad)
