Today, on November 11th, I ask this question: What’s
so great about the number 11?
I thought about it…
11 was my jersey number on my high school softball team…There
were 11 people on my team in Guatemala last summer…11th grade was by
far my hardest year of school…It’s the number of Academy Awards that Titanic won…I liked the 11s when we had
to learn our times tables in 3rd grade because they were easy…Apollo
11 was the first manned spacecraft to land on the moon…11 was the only number I
could get my English classes at the orphanage to correctly pronounce…People get
excited when they see 11:11 on a clock and they make a wish…
And then I consulted Wikipedia…
11/11 has always been considered an important date…It’s the
day in 1620 that the Mayflower Compact was signed…It’s the day in 1864 that
General Sherman began burning Atlanta in his famed March to the Sea…It’s the
day in 1918 that WWI ended, now commemorated by Veterans Day…It’s the day in
1926 when Route 66 was first established…It’s the day in 1975 that Angola
gained its independence from Portugal…It’s the birthday of many famous
people-Abigail Adams in 1744, Fyodor Dostoyevsky in 1821, Kurt Vonnegut in
1921, Demi Moore in 1962, and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1974…It’s also the day that
many famous people died-Lucretia Mott in 1880, Typhoid Mary in 1938, Martin
Luther King Sr. in 1984, and Yasser Arafat in 2004.
So it appears that the number 11 has some historical
significance, but what does that have to do with the World Race, and why should
we be concerned with it?
At training camp we talked a lot about the number 11. To
most people, this number might seem random. Why 11 countries in 11 months? Why
not just press on and make a whole year out of it? Go big or go home, right?
Wrong.
We learned that the number 11 is very significant.
Adventures in Missions didn’t just roll a pair of dice, add up the numbers, and
deploy their teams for that many months. The number 11 matters.
Eleven is said to be the number of transition. When I first heard that I wasn’t too excited.
Transition…that’s code for change, right? If you know me, you know I’ve never
liked change. I like to know what’s coming, or better yet to plan it. So the
life phase I’m in isn’t ideal-I’m 22 years old, I just graduated from college,
I have an idea of what I want to accomplish with my life but I couldn’t tell
you the specifics of how I plan to get there, I’m geographically separated from
the vast majority of my friends, I don’t have a real job, and I’m as not tied
down as a person could be. I am in a time of transition. So at a time in life
where most people are seeking to put down roots, find a safe port in the storm,
and get off the merry-go-round of change, why am I voluntarily signing up to be
a nomad for 11 months? Why am I joining a ministry that, at its core,
emphasizes transition?
As training camp continued and I thought about this idea of
transition and my aversion to change, I realized that the two words are not
really synonyms. Change simply means moving away
from the current state of things. Transition, however, implies a move toward something new. Change might mean
leaving behind the people I love, the culture I am comfortable in, and the things
that define and motivate me, but transition means moving toward new people to
bond with, new cultures to understand, and new purpose to direct my life. I
could easily run from transition and find something-anything-that is stable and
consistent. But then I wouldn’t learn and grow. Then I wouldn’t move toward the
life that God has for me and the purpose to which He has called me.
That is a big part of what the World Race is about. We are
going to 11 countries in 11 months in the year 2011. We are embracing
transition and all the ambiguity, uncertainty, and discomfort that comes with
it because we believe that the life and the calling that we are transitioning
to are worth it. We also believe that if we step out in faith and open
ourselves up to transition, God will provide for us and give us a direction in
which to move. At our squad campout during training, one of my squadmates read
Psalm 111, and it struck a chord with our squad in relation to this year of
transition that we are entering into…
Praise the LORD.
I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright
and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight
in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures
forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and
compassionate.
He provides food for those
who fear him; he remembers his covenant
forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy.
They are established forever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and
uprightness.
He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever-holy and awesome is his name.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs
eternal praise.
We may not always know where we are going, what we are doing, or
sometimes even why we are doing it, but if we act in faith, seek God’s will,
and allow ourselves to go through this transition, God will be faithful to
provide for us. He will direct our steps and guide us toward the life to which He called us. He is constant, trustworthy, and faithful.
2011. 11
countries. 11 months. Bring on the transition.
