This blog is written by none other than my Mumsy, Madre, Mommason: Cindy Stiles. ENJOY!
This is my first blog ever. Here we go…
First of all, I have had incredible peace about Cara going on The World Race right from the beginning. She has given up alot….a great teaching job at a desirable school and a very successful head coaching position, sold her car, got herself out of debt, raised over $16,000.00, and agreed not to get into a relationship from acceptance until her return (almost 2 years). NOW..that's a lot. I knew that she was called by God!! Psalms 46:10 Be still and know that I am God. This is one of my favorite verses! Lately my life has been/is a whirl wind. I'm not still ever. One daughter (Cara) is on The World Race VSquad, and two other daughters (Brittney and Lyndsey) are getting married. One was married before The Parent Vision Trip (PVT) in Ireland and one 2 months after.
My husband and I just returned from PVT. Many things were as expected. We stayed at a yucky hostel in a bunkroom with 12 other parents. We spent time with the homeless and prayed with them as well as other ministries. We had lots of wonderful worship services of singing praises to God, sharing and praying. Yes, my fear, I learned that I wouldn't die if I prayed in public thanks to the grace given to me in our group (you know who you are :))! I also learned to BE STILL and listen for God to give us a word, which He did in a mighty way! He gave me the word "healed", which actually became a reality for my family!!!!!
The beauty of watching the smiling face of my child and other racers as they sang to God will forever be imprinted in my mind. There were happy tears, sad tears, healing tears, and lots of laughter. It was wonderful! We were able to get a teeny tiny taste of what a racers life is like! Frankly, I don't know how they do it. It is frustrating not having what you need. Even if you have it it's hard to find in that very limited tightly packed bag. Sometimes the outlets don't work. You wish that you could just have a drink of water, but wouldn't dare stick your head down in the sink at the hostel to get one. Ugh! We wore our socks and jeans for 3 days LOL! I didn't expect the small things to get to me like they did. Communal living and very little privacy is not so much my thing! Cara would say that it is all in the day of a racer! God bless them!!
Having said all that… God was so there! You could feel His presence in the air. He repaired relationships, gave us beautiful new friends, helped us visualize the lives of our kids and the sacrifices that they have all made to share how to obtain eternal life through Jesus Christ!!!! It was a trip of a lifetime and such a blessing for us! I challenge you all to listen and "Be still and know that He is God"! You will find peace and comfort!
