hello thereeeee !! thought I’d take a shot at this topic to help offer understanding to anyone that’s ever wondered.
okay here we go**
Before I joined the race I was skeptical about how much of it was an actual missions trip. Judging based off pictures of adventure days, cliff jumps, mountain climbs and such, WR offered a much different missions trip then the one I wanted to sign up for. My perception was solely based off of racers pictures and comments, never an actual testimony. My foreknowledge of what missions trips looked like was a simple 2 week trip to the DR. Little did I know what 9 months of one would truly be like to live out. It wasn’t until I reached out to a racer on the field that I truly began to understand.
I remember the first few months of the race being “pumped,” ready to take on anything the Lord threw at me. I was expecting 6am-6pm ministry, everyday, non-stop. When Nepal debrief came, I though, “Why are we having a break, I don’t need this.” Then thanksgiving came… then Christmas.. and all too soon the reality of what living “long-term” on the mission field looked like. I began to value many different odd things I never thought would be included in my vital vocabulary. Words like “rest,” “time alone,” “pizza,” and “mattress.” One by one terms I’ve heard all my life received new definitions.
Ministry: Literally day to day life. Living out our calling as Christians. Not a set time or place, rather an intentionality, willingness and attentiveness to seek out opportunity to show Christ no matter what country your in or if its your day off. Ministry can look like praying over the elderly for healing or being friends with your local barista at san mateos and showing him kindness.
Rest: NEEDED. A constant flow of outpour requires in-pour. Especially month 6 in the heat of Africa, when you preach about 5 days a week. I remember thinking that I was being selfish when I was mentally, physically and emotionally drained and needed to take a day off of ministry to just sit in the presence of the Lord and let him fill me. When in all reality, those days are vital. Rest can also look different for different people. It can look like hiking, being out in nature, it van look like sleeping, it can look like going to town on some pizza. Ultimately rest is important to doing mission work.
Missional Living: life. simply living out our calling as Christians to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. On the race, for me, it looks like getting up at 6am, having my quiet time, getting a croissant from George the corner store owner, then getting on a bus for an hour, going to pan de vida till 4pm, getting on another bus for an hour, coming home, then just doing normal life, journaling, watching a movie, reading a book, going out to get food, literally just normal life. Whether you are in Africa or America, life goes on. Just because your on the race doesn’t mean you drop anything and everything just to do your designated ministry 24/7. EXCEPT when your in the jungle of Nepal and you live in a wooden box that has no electricity, and you go to bed at 7:30 pm cause there’s nothing else to do, yeah, except for that.
Vacation: not the race. lol.
Mattress and Pizza: wellllllll you know these ones I think.
You see, its not about how many hours you fit in of ministry. Its not about how good your posts are on social media of you holding cute babies. Its a mindset. A decision you make to serve the Lord with your time, all the time. Then living life normally will always filter through that mindset and be evident to others. Whether on the field in America or Asia this goes for everyone.
A caveat in regards to the race is often perception. One of the most difficult things on the race has been to accurately represent the race on social media and through blogs. I can assure you that all 200 and something adults that are on the world race gap year right now are not on a vacation no matter what their Instagram/ facebook looks like. I have found that its hard to be transparent on these sites. Even with my own parents who came out to the field to live the race for a week have only seen a fraction of what its truly like. And to be frank as a racer you have to be okay with people just never understanding some things no matter how hard you try to explain. It’s hard to admit that you are weak and you need rest. Its really hard to tell people on Instagram that on Christmas day you cried your eyes out cause you missed home so much. Its hard to take pictures during ministry because more often then not you’re too busy doing ministry. This is in no way to make excuses but rather to bring you into what it look like to be on the race and trying to show others what the race looks like haha.
Debating whether the world race is living on the mission field or on a vacation is a common theme. But I would encourage upcoming racers to strive to be real and transparent, taking in all the pretty and rough patches of the race but more importantly letting them out, revealed to everyone else interested. And I would encourage anyone that may think the world race is a vacation, to actually get in contact with a past or present racer and have them elaborate on the subject.
I have 16 days left until I touch American soil. The past 9 months have been the most influential experience of my life and I’m sure that it will effect the course of my life. I want to post these kinds of blogs to give others a real look into the nitty gritty parts of the race so that in turn the Kingdom of the Lord will continue to be spread through racers and The World Race.
-your pal
katie
