My parent’s came out to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan to visit me for 6 days, here’s a summary from each of our perspectives on what happened!
Parent Vision Trip (Pvt) from Emily’s Perspective:
Im gonna be honest and start by saying I thought the parent vision trip, pvt, was gonna be all about my parents getting insight into life on the world race. Although that was the point, that was a sliver of what actually happened!
I remember several months ago praying that God would do more than I could ever ask or imagine in my parents during pvt and even further back, all the way to august 4th at the launch of the race I prayed and wrote in my journal “radically change my parents this year God so that they will have changed more than me.”
Yes I saw my parents struggle with all the cultural differences that I’ve learned how to live in. And I saw them ministering to the local people here even working through the language barrier. They ate the local foods, minus the horse…we shared the highs and lows of the year, we shared our first encounters with God, I filled them in on my traveling hacks, they nearly doubled my food budget for each day (!!!), we experienced worship together, they even watched me lead a worship session for the first time ever and my mom actually tried out the squatty potty!
If all of that wasn’t enough, I think what I take away from pvt the most has nothing to do with those things. I learned that there are things that God has been wanting to change in our lives because He has a powerful purpose for this family. I watched my parents step into greater vulnerability from the beginning, sharing how difficult these last 5 years has been on their marriage and on their own walks with Christ. I even watched as both of them sat in a circle of nearly all strangers and confess that they were on the last straw of their marriage. Through that they opened the door to allowing the body of Christ to surround them and cover them in prayer, standing in the gap because they haven’t been able to. From the moment they arrived here in Bishkek I saw a desire for change in their lives and what better places to step into transformation than here while being surrounded by so many others how are desiring the same thing. I think it’s because of that, through pvt, that God has begun setting this family free from things we’ve been crippled by for too long (complacency, anxiety, depression, fear, division, etc) and unite our family for the purpose of glorifying Him!
Pvt helped open my parent’s eyes to see that there IS STILL a purpose for their lives. Following Christ isn’t just for the younger generations, it’s for all generations. God desires all of us. I know He has a plan and purpose for us and I just want myself and the rest of my family to be ready to say “yes” and join in no matter what that plan is.
Pvt was more than just about giving insight into my life on the field and what I’ve learned. Pvt is about parents experiencing more of the Father.
PVT from Dad’s Perspective:
The PVT World Race saved my marriage!
I am not a very good reader, writer, blogger or story teller, but I feel that if I do not share my story with you my head might explode…. let me please invite you into my story!
My wife and I have been married for 29 years, we have four wonderful children and we are both believers. The last five years have been particularly hard on our lives and marriage. We went through a lengthy church “re-organization”. We experienced some pretty intense personal family trauma and we own and operate our own small business. None of these things by themselves would have been insurmountable by themselves, but the combination and persistency of them all has just plainly “wore us out”.
Not that we had at any time discussed the option of divorce, the simple fact was we had already divorced. In our hearts we had divorced… spiritually, emotionally and physically. We found ourselves co-habituating and co-parenting. We each were living out our lives independently. We were basically at the end of our ropes and our marriage.
Nine months previously our daughter, Emily, had started The World Race. Neither one of us had any pre-conceived expectations that the race would impact our lives in any way. But in the course of several months we got the opportunity to hear and observe some pretty amazing encounters with God. Not only in Emily’s life but also the lives of the other Racers and the communities that they were ministering too. We were both genuinely happy and excited for her. We soon found ourselves anticipating each new voice call and each new blog.
We also knew that part of the World Race is the PVT. Which is the Parent Visitation Trip (PVT). Where we could visit our daughter and experience a small part of what she was experiencing. As the date to go on our PVT drew near, my anticipation began to escalate. Not only to see Emily, but in my heart of hearts to experience God in the way she was experiencing God.
I know that I might have been putting a lot of pressure on God to show up in a mighty way, but I knew that if He didn’t show up, there was little to no hope for my marriage. My marriage would possibly end up as being just another static, another broken family and another casualty of this broken and fallen world. This is not what I wanted nor did my wife.
The PVT week did not let me down! God did show up in a mighty way! He far exceeded anything I could have ever expected. We got to see these Racers carry out the Great Commission! We were able to see such a spirit of authenticity and vulnerability. Their total dependency on God. In all my 40 plus years of being a believer I had not experienced such a presence and spirit of God as was on these Racers. The fruits of their lives was evident. Living and walking in their shoes these past couple of days helped me drown out the cares and concerns of this world long enough to again hear the voice of God in my spirit. God calling me back to Himself, to love Him and worship Him because He is God! Calling me back to be fully committed to loving my wife and loving my family. Allowing God to heal my broken and wounded heart. I needed a Savior!
Not that the last chapter of my life has been written yet, but I now feel that God Himself has planted my feet back on the Solid Rock, Jesus. He has renewed my calling and my voice. For this, I will be eternally grateful to the World Race, PVT, “M” Squad, their Mentor and the Parent Coaches. You have all altered the course of my life more than you will ever know!
God saved my marriage!
I wanted to write my story and wrap it up the with statement above, but for those of you who are sitting at home, who might not have a Racer, or find themselves in a similar situation that I was in, l wanted to extend to you some HOPE!
You don’t have to travel half way around the world to experience God the way I did. Know that He is here, He is waiting for YOU ever so patiently. Waiting for you to say “Yes Lord”. Waiting for you to give Him your Heart. He Loves you!!! As one Racer so eloquently prayed over me “there is nothing in your life that is too broken or messed up that God can’t redeem.”
I pray now that God would hear your prayer, He is listening!
PVT from Mom’s Perspective:
Em asked me to write a brief summary of what the PVT meant to me and I can just say that God showed up in ways that were unexpected and it was truly life transforming.
Here’s what I believe after this trip…
1. That God had me there for 1 university student named Gula. My momma heart connected with her immediately and Emily and I had the opportunity to take her to dinner and just love and encourage her, though she is a devout Muslim, she thanked “my Jesus” for bringing me, and when we said goodbye she called me her second momma.
2. God also had me there for an older woman in the market we visited. She just needed to be encouraged and loved on as well and we ended up trying to communicate with her through google translate, and after many hugs, I believe Jesus touched her in a way that she needed.
3. I believe that this trip began the restoration of my marriage and relationship with Rob.
4. I believe this trip enabled me to have a sister in Christ to sister in Christ relationship with Emily that will forever change the dynamic of our relationship.
5. I believe that God has restored His calling in my life and I am already walking into that and excited to see what the future holds.
6. I believe this trip will forever change the “culture” of our family with a clear vision for us as a family of adults.
7. I believe spiritual warfare is real.
8. I believe this trip allowed me to begin relationships with 3 incredibly special people (her coaches and mentor) who are pouring into Emily and her teammates, and that we will continue to grow in our relationship with them as they are family now.
PS: NO DIET COKE IN Kyrgyzstan! But they had something else that I made do with??
