I remember night 3, sitting on the staircase to the apartment, looking over the capital city of Tirana, and realizing that nothing was special about the World Race.
I don’t know what I expected, really. That this would be some magical experience? That it would radically change me from the inside out? That somehow I would step on an airplane and step off a changed person? Well I was wrong.
I’ll start out with confessing that month 1 in Albania has been pretty cushy. The 6 women on my team were blessed by our ministry host with an apartment including running hot water, a bathroom!, mattresses, and electricity. The walk to the youth center is barely over a mile where there is air conditioning and where we were asked by our host to rest during the hottest hours of the day! And ministry? It’s been asking the Lord to lead us, playing sports, meeting kids, inviting them to play games with us every evening of the week at ETHOS (the youth center), sharing our faith with them, and loving everyone we come into contact with along the way.
I’m still the same me, living the life I want to live. The World Race can’t change me, I have to change- I have to let the Lord change me.
If you step on the Race, you won’t instantly be disciplined in spending quiet time with the Lord. You won’t automatically be filled with boldness when it comes to sharing the gospel. You may not even feel overwhelmed living in a foreign country.
It would be easier than you think to live a mediocre life on the Race. But night 3, looking at the skyline, I realized that nothing really changes just by stepping into this journey and I decided I was going to do something different. That I was going to make MY relationship with the Lord priority. To invest in others’ relationship with the Lord. To press into awkward situations. To step out and ask tough questions. To be willing to be interrupted by the trash on the street, the woman selling tomatoes, the man selling street corn. And I’m so glad I did.
The thing is, we have to be willing to step out no matter where we are. You can make just as much of an impact from the States. There are just as many people who live a life of bondage to sin and shame. There is freedom, people! Freedom found only in Jesus. You don’t have to be the same person today that you were 5 minutes ago. You don’t have to be bound to the drugs, alcohol, sex, pride, selfishness, bitterness, jealousy, anger, or hatred. You don’t have to hold on to the things that hurt you. It’s okay to let go.
I thought I was a pretty whole person when I left on this journey, but every day I find more of myself. I choose to be stretched.
This is already and only the end of month one! This hasn’t been the roughest month, and I pray it’ll be the easiest. Sorry (not too sorry) to my team, but I’m praying for patience and I’m praying for hard situations. So we can learn to
rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Romans 5:3-5 ESV
I can’t wait to see what happens in the upcoming months. I look forward to hearing more stories, hearing more laughter. For sharing smiles with more people, for sharing Jesus with more people. This has been an incredible experience. Not because of the trip itself but because of how much I decide to take from it by actually deciding how much of myself to pour into it. I refuse to take this experience for granted. I wasn’t miraculously a changed person when I stepped off the airplane in Turkey, but I promise I won’t be the same person when I step off the airplane back in the US.
I’m precisely $2,547 away from my next deadline of $13,000 due in 29 days. And $7,564 from being fully funded which is due at the end of November. I’m asking you to pray for these financial needs to be met. Prayerfully consider being a monthly donor, making a one time donation, or who you might know that would be willing to pray or support in any way.
The World Race is nothing special if we don’t make it.
Life is nothing special if we dont make it.
To get a fun look at what our month looked like check out my girl Melissa’s video:
The Start Of Something Beautiful
http://melissavereen.theworldrace.org/post/the-start-of-something-beautiful
