So this is it huh? The World Race. The first time I heard the term, I thought it would be an adventure more like the Amazing Race on TV. Boy was I pleasantly surprised when I found out it’s more of a migrating mission trip! Or maybe I could call it a global mission statement. That would be fitting right? It’s global. The Racers have a mission; God’s mission. The act in itself, and the act of obeying God, is the unwritten statement. Regardless, this is it. The real deal. The World Race.
When Jesus called his disciples to follow him, they literally dropped what they were doing, whether it be their fishing poles or their money bags, and they followed him. Think about that. If someone walked into your office or your classroom and said something like, “Our Father in Heaven would be pleased if you would join me in telling His message. Come.” What would you do?! For a lot of us, our fantasy answer is “Oh I’d go, I would! I’d unplug that computer and walk right out the door with him.” I have a feeling that for a lot of us the answer in our gut is more like, “Seriously? I dunno. There’s a lot of inherent risk in leaving my job and my studies. My job will probably be gone when I get back, especially in ‘this economy’! What about my cat? What do I do with my car? And how about insurance? Ugh, I also said I’d bring home dinner tonight!”
I said Yes. The World Race opened up as an opportunity to serve God 24 hours a day and put myself on the narrow path, and I said Yes. “In your face!!!” I said to myself. I can just hear God saying “Prepare to be humbled.” It is what I pray for, you know. I mean, come on, I felt rather austere after a few days of the Daniel Diet. Now looking back, I feel like me doing a good job was actually a twisted perspective of pride. Like a gnat, God has been buzzing around my ears saying “Surrender” and finally, I said Yes. And now that I’m preparing For Real to do this thing, I’m discovering that God’s love and will and message isn’t so arcane. No, it’s actually quite simple. “I love you. Now show the world.”
11 Countries. 11 Months. Yipee! If you already know me, you probably know that I fancy myself as a bit of a traveler, an explorer, or an adventurer, if you will (the more fitting term in my mind). I stare at that flat, unexciting, boringly-colored National Geographic map of the world on my bare white wall and slip into a daydream every blasted time. I’ve traveled a lot, and a lot of my travels have been good. I always think of God when I travel, of His inimitably wonderful creations and sights and awe-inspiring scenes of nature, but oddly enough, Jesus has been the missing ingredient to my vagabond-soup recipe. “Yes” is both my unit of measure and my instruction. Yes is my answer to God’s call. From now until September, it’ll be one step at a time. Your prayers will go farther than you know.
