Three months ago my idea of the World Race and being a missionary looked a whole lot different from what it does now after moving to part two of this journey. Living in Guatemala was incredible and taught me so much, but it was nothing like how I expected it to be. I imagined so much of my life to be completely different than how it turned out, but boy did I learn more from the reality than I ever would have if God had listened to my lowly assumptions about life on the World Race.
Ministry-
Expectation: “I’ll start ministry around 8am and end around 5pm, every day. I will help. I will truly make a difference in these people’s lives. It will be amazing and fulfilling. I will share the Gospel with every person I meet and really be brought out of my comfort zone. I’ll make lasting relationships with the local people and be around them all the time. I’ll be just like the people I see on the mission field- working with the lost, the broken, and the hopeless. That’s where I’ll really grow in my relationship with the Lord, from helping those who need my help! THAT is how I’ll learn about God. I will experience Him like never before through working with and helping prostitutes and men tied down to a life ruled by drugs and teaching underprivileged children and feeding the hungry and sharing the Gospel in every conversation, even to those who reject it. THAT is what missions is.”
Reality: Ministry is something my team and I really struggled with over these past three months. Guatemala has some nice areas despite its status as a 3rd world country. Yes there was poverty, and I saw it; I worked in it. My team started off doing construction in one such area which was pretty consistent for a few weeks, but then the boys took that over. We then started teaching morals in a school, which was great but school was never really in session. One thing about Guatemala is that the people there are in no rush… for anything. I mean, it’s 7am until it’s 8am to them. That made ministry hard. Besides construction, nothing was every day, or even all day. After schools let out, we put on a Vacation Bible School that was held at the place where we lived. That was awesome. The kids who attended were from the surrounding neighborhoods and also the same ones that came to discipleship every Friday night, so we knew them pretty well. VBS was every other day from 8am-11am for about a month. When that ended, my team started up another construction project, and let me tell you, that was hard work. All in all, ministry wasn’t what I expected it to be, although I really enjoyed it. We helped the best we could, the best we knew how. But I quickly realized that these people didn’t need our help, they needed our love; more importantly, they needed Christ’s love. These people lived normal lives, just with dirt floors. Ministry isn’t always as glamorous as it seems to be, and it is not the only way the Lord can grow us while being on the mission field.
Living Conditions-
Expectation: “Well, if it’s anything like training camp, living conditions will be awful. I might be sleeping in a tent. I’ll probably be somewhere on my sleeping pad. When I get to shower, they will be cold bucket showers. I’ll eat weird food that will probably be scarce and I’ll never see pizza. I’m sure all my clothes will get ruined.”
Reality: That was not the case at all for Guatemala, but that is not to say it will be like that for the rest of the Race (none of what Guatemala was like reigns true for the rest of the Race). We lived in an incredible place for three months. Not only was our house beautiful and comfortable, but the city we lived in was amazing. Everything we needed was easily accessible, including Dunkin Donuts and Little Caesars Pizza. I was very blessed to live in the place I did these past three months.
Community-
Expectation: “I’ll be living with about 20 other racers, so that might be hard. I’ll probably get annoyed with them, but it’s fine because there will be other Guatemalans I’ll meet and be able to hang out with. I’ll learn a lot about respecting others through living in community, but that’s about it. It probably won’t be a very big deal in my Race experience.”
Reality: I didn’t realize how big of an aspect community was to the World Race until about month #2. Let me tell you, living in this tight of a community will give you a huge wake up call. Everyone is in the same boat as you. We all miss home some days, we are all gaining weight, we all hate the long walk from the gate to the house, and we all want to grow closer to the Lord. These people quickly become your family and your reliance. But you have to be careful that they don’t replace God in your life. Honestly, I believe the Lord used this community to grow me the most over these past three months. All in all, my community of believers taught me two big lessons:
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Love. Because I lived with 20 incredible people 24/7, I was forced to love them truly. I have learned what it means to actually care about someone, their health, and their happiness. I have also learned what it means to love myself. These people encourage and lift me up like no other. Affirmation circles are just a normal occurrence here. I have seen what true friendship looks like. I don’t have to try so hard to impress people, because they enjoy and love me already. That is Godly, Christ-like love.
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Health. Surprisingly I have learned a lot about what it looks like to be emotionally and spiritually healthy by being around so many people all the time. I am a huge extravert. Like, if I am ever in a place by myself for more than an hour, I am completely drained of all energy. I have to be around people. Well, being here I have had to intentionally take time away from people and spend time just being with the Lord for an hour or more. That time away is very hard for me, but I can tell when I have not had it. The people here can tell too, and they keep me accountable. I have also been learning some humility in that, knowing that my relationship with Christ and health comes before any want for others’ attention.
I am so, so thankful for the house I lived in the past three months. The people I lived with have been incredible, and the Lord really used them to grow and change me dramatically into more of the person He has called me to be.
So this is the truth. “Missions” isn’t always what everyone sees on the outside. Being a missionary looks very, very different for everyone. I can remember one team time we had, and we just sat and talked about how we aren’t doing what we thought we would be doing and just asking the Lord what He had for us. In that moment the Lord revealed to my team that it doesn’t matter what ministry we have or what our living conditions look like or even what we are eating for meals, but HE is the reason we are here. We need to find our joy in HIM and rely on HIM. He alone is the source of our growth and we don’t need to be feeding hungry children to experience His Presence. The Lord told us in that moment to give our expectations to Him. He will use us, He will grow us, because HE has called us.
“So, Alexis, what’s the biggest thing you have taken away from your time on the World Race so far? What has God really shown you?”
I believe the Lord used these past 3 months to show me who Alexis Dillon really is. While my team and I helped our ministry contact best we could, I don’t think my sole purpose of living in Guatemala was to make a dramatic difference in the lives of the people there. I have learned so much about myself and what I truly means to be a Child of God. I can remember complaining at Training Camp about how many sessions they had on identity. And then when we had more at Launch I thought to myself: “Really? again? I know myself. I know exactly who I am, why do I need to hear another spiel about identity?” Well, once again, I was wrong.
I learned that I lack grace for myself, and I don’t fully understand the meaning of finding my worth in Christ. I am beginning to realize that Christ values me and loves me regardless of all my sin, so I need to do the same. I also learned that I cry, a lot. Before the race I hated crying (unless it was in a sappy romance movie). Here, I cry all the time and I’ve learned to totally embrace it. I am also learning, by the Grace of God, to be real and genuine. And not only with myself, but with others and GOD. I definitely think the Lord used Guatemala to prepare my heart for all that is to come in these next six months.
The World Race is more than just a mission trip. Yes there are times when Racers live in tents for months and work long days of ministry every day, but for me, that just wasn’t the case these first three months. I believe these months in Guatemala were used to shape and grow me into a woman capable to do the work the Lord has laid out for me. Not just for the rest of the race, but for the rest of my life. Life isn’t perfect. Ministry isn’t perfect. The World Race isn’t even perfect, but God IS. And so is His plan. And right now, His plan has called me to Guatemala, Malaysia, and Botswana, and I have chosen to obey.
