The World Race has this really cool program where parents get to come onto the field for one week and do life with their son/daughter. It is called Parent Vision trip, A.K.A PVT. Ours was held in Nicaragua on the farm where we would be staying for the month. Scott & Jen are the founders of REAP, Granada which is the Organization at the Farm. Scott & Jen are incredible humans with wisdom and guidance pouring out of them. This location is an actual AIM Base and Scott & Jen are World Race Mentors, meaning they know a LOT about how to mentor racers like us.
Their location is particularly used for PVT and they have hosted a plethora in the past couple of years, ours included.
From my blog, “Transitioning” you can get perspective on how go go go our schedule had been, then arriving here we only had three days until parents arrived.
PVT is set up for all parents but has a beautiful aim towards parents who don’t follow Christ. Which is absolutely AMAZING but can be very tolling on the child of the non-believing parent. So, as you can probably imagine the nerves were very high as PVT quickly approached.
I knew even before the race that my own parents weren’t going to make it. We discussed it and I got to feel all the emotions of them not coming before I even left which I am very thankful for. Plus, I realized as more and more time passed since I saw them last that I had no right to even be upset because God had perfectly placed them in Israel during almost the exact dates of PVT. I mean what are the odds that they have this once in a life opportunity to go to The Holy Land and I am so happy they got to go on vacation, relax and see God in brand new ways.
Even knowing all of this in my head, the emotions of missing my parents were definitely still present. I could see God’s plan so clearly when He asked me not to talk to them at all while in Ethiopia. I had learned to be fulfilled by God and God alone. So, yes, I missed my parents but I had been doing this for so long that not having them at PVT was just an extension of Ethiopia. God had me practice when we were at midpoint debrief, on WiFi where every person around me was talking to their parents and I wasn’t. Learning that lesson while in Ethiopia helped me during PVT week in Nicaragua.
But World Race knows what they are doing so, of course anyone who didn’t have parents coming was sent somewhere else for the whole week with the mindset of ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
~Arriving in Nicaragua Wednesday and leaving Sunday morning for NonPVT week!
We traveled to Masatepe, Nicaragua which is about a 45 minute bus ride. And boy did I have expectations… normally I was really good at keeping that in check. I mean you have to on the race but I didn’t realize I DID have all these expectations until we arrived.
Looking back I remember person after person saying, “you guys are going to have such a good time, they have a lot of special things planned for your group”. Or “I heard it’s so nice”. Or “my non-PVT week was the best week of my race”. My mind quickly went to, this is going to be the best time of the race, which means it’s going to be easy and luxurious.
~Dealing with so much missed placed expectations when we drive up to a farm.
Realizing I would be working way harder than the people with parents coming, staying in not such nice living conditions and dealing with so much entitlement. Dealing with so much comparison. My reasoning was that since I had to “suffer” through the fact that my parents weren’t coming that I would at least get to have a better situation than all of my squad mates who get to see their parents. I got mad really fast. With others and with God. “This is not what it was supposed to be like”.
I held onto that attitude until God reminded me that he is the one who gets to decide where I go, what I do and I need to buckle up and enjoy the ride BECAUSE he knows what’s best. He knows. HE KNOWS! I feel like it’s so easy to be negative when we decide how things are going to be and then they don’t happen our way. We actually have no right to say what it’s going to be. Are we gods? No. We have no right. I HAVE NO RIGHT to believe I know what the future holds.
In the end it was a really hard week. Sometimes you have those.
We need to grow as followers of Christ and to grow we need to have really crappy weeks. A time to fail. A time to cry. A time to ask why this is happening. In those moments God shows me, teaches me, speaks to me.
I needed to be reminded that I live my life out of His will not out of my own.
I needed to be reminded that circumstances and physical surroundings do not define my joy.
It’s actually crazy because the three days I was on the Reap Granada Farm our whole squad got to stay in the newly built dorms. I’m talking nicest place I’ve stayed on the race. Sitting there on my bed thanking my God for this incredible bed. For this luxurious home. For letting me use a shower for the first time in 7 months that didn’t make me wonder if my feet would get infected by the floor. I was rejoicing. I was thanking him and he said to me, “Margee would you still rejoice in me if you were in a tent in the worst conditions of the race? Do not define your joy from temporary things but define it by my measure. You are my daughter, a princess of the highest king, you are always in the most luxurious place in your heart”.
I remember thinking, “oh, yeah for sure I totally would rejoice in you the same way”. Aaaaand he tested me and I failed.
I straight up failed. I was so upset and angry that He would have the audacity to send me here.
And you know what? It’s okay that I failed. In fact I rejoice in that failure because he spoke to me once more but this time reminding me that I don’t have true Joy in Him. That I don’t truly depend on him instead of the people and things around me.
I am SO glad He gave me this realization because I’m going back to America in like 2 months where there is comfort upon comfort upon comfort. Where things and surroundings mean the world to people. He knew that. He knew I was going to struggle, that I am going to struggle coming back to my worldly home. How easy it is to become entitled again. To measure my joy by my emotions instead of truth. He is prepping me, providing the awareness and the tools for my future because HE KNOWS.
Thank you Dad for these kind of days/weeks where I get to be reminded where my heart posture is and where it needs to be.
~The rest of the week;
While working on the farm the girls and guys were split up. The girls worked with the turmeric crops, pulling them out and picking apart the roots. It was actually so much fun! Sitting around, talking or listening to music while our hands went to work.
The reason why they (Organizations in Nicaragua) are starting to grow crops of Turmeric over other things is because less chance of stealing. It’s very common for fruit to be picked off trees, Scott had 40% taken at one point. Scott gave a great perspective that they are not in Nicaragua to make money and there is endless grace in stealing but not wanting our brothers and sisters to stumble by creating less of an opportunity.
The farm we lived on was filled with every fruit tree known to man. There is a road with beautiful, large coconut trees lining it on both sides. One day one of the workers, Rudy, treated us to fresh coconuts from the trees. By far best one I’ve ever had especially after a morning filled with sweat and dirt!
The girls also cleaned up one of their buildings where they will be starting a rehab program. Alcoholism is very prominent in Central America and is passed down the generations. This organization has been trying so hard to start up this new program and they all have such bright visions for this program but because of the crisis money has become very tight and they had to shut down all the plans. Because of our budget we were able to supply the hands and money to re-start the program!
The men worked on the chicken coup for 1,000 chickens! They already had one for 500 chickens but they quickly outgrew that size because of the demand for eggs. This program is to provide nourishment to children in school who never have enough protein or full bellies. The crisis really hit hard to the majority of the families in Nicaragua so these eggs are in high demand and are crucial to these children. They worked on the chicken coup all week plus built a new roof for the rehab center!
In the afternoons we got to go to their cafe! It was so cute and we loved going their. We also got to do house visits and get to know families in the community.
I absolutely love house visits. Hearing about their families, their perspectives of the crisis, getting to partner with them in their hardships and pray Gods complete healing in families. It’s beautiful and miraculous.
Most of all my favorite thing was one night we did a conversational English night at the cafe. Inviting all the youth in the community currently learning English and being there to help them practice. It was such a peaceful night, sipping on coffee and getting to know people more. They spoke such good English! It was such a simple thing our team could provide and it was so much fun!
We had great ministry hosts. They really focused on educating us in topics like the culture and the crisis. They invited us in their home and mentored us. Gave us devotionals each morning. Gave us a tour of the town. Invited us to one of my favorite church services on the race. They were fabulous.
It was also so cool to spend a week with people I don’t spend most of my time with. Living together in a small house and doing life together.
It’s crazy how much we can miss out when we decide to put expectations on things. God convicted me the first day and I was able to change my heart posture, but if I hadn’t chosen to do that I would have missed out on a really, really good week.
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Ways YOU can Join me on my Spiritual Journey:
1. Pray. I will need a multitude of prayers ranging from strength, wisdom, clarity, love, joy… The list goes on. Whatever your heart desires and feels right, pray. Here in Ethiopia we have a little boy at the orphanage who’s legs don’t work, pray healing over his body please!
In Nicaragua pray for jobs, most of the country is unemployed and it’s really taking a toll on families, pray for God’s provision to these people.
- SPREAD THE WORD! Tell everyone about my trip and show them my blog.
- SUBSCRIBE! When you subscribe you will get all notifications when I post on my blog about my trip and any updates!
- If you would like to donate to me still, please donate directly to me (through my church for tax purposes: Please make checks out to Bear Creek Community Church (address: 18931 NE 143rd St., Woodinville Wa 98072) and attach a sticky note saying it’s for Margee’s Missions. Do not donate through World Race any longer. I AM FULLY FUNDED but I am now raising money for flights!! I need to buy 3 plane tickets for my trip home on June 3rd and for PSL which is a week long “after the race” conference in Georgia at the end of June. Thank you for everyone who has donated already. It’s been an incredible journey!
Venmo me : Marguerite-SanMartino
