(Note: This is a guest blog I wrote for Emily after the Parent Vision Trip earlier this month.)
When Emily first invited me to join a bunch of parents on a mission experience with fellow world racers in Guatemala, I completely dismissed the idea. How could we justify spending money on that when other racers are still raising funds to stay on the field? Why would I go to see her in May when she is coming home in July? What if AIM (Adventures in Missions) sets up harsh experiences to “break” us, or at least wake us up from our comfortable western lifestyle? Despite my initial questions, God kept pestering me with an urge to go, others encouraged me to go, Emily wanted me to go, and then my Bible study ladies helped pay for me to go. I’m so glad I went! To get even a slight taste of what these young adults experience on the World Race was totally worthwhile – and just to hug Emily for the first time in almost nine months was, well, priceless. Yes, I sobbed. (See photo below, far left.)
The racers arrived at midnight to our little hostel in Antigua (not the austere living conditions I had originally imagined!), after traveling by bus from Honduras via El Salvador for 18 hours – nearly seven hours longer than anticipated. The parents had traveled from all corners of the United States and Canada, converging at the airport in Guatemala City at noon earlier in the day. We each had stories to tell about our encounters, delays and mishaps along the way, which reminded me of some of the blogs I’d read about travel days on the race. Dare I say God (not AIM) may have been the One intentionally providing some minor setbacks? He must have chuckled to watch us adjust to ours, while our kids simply put up with a whopping seven-hour delay as if that’s routine. Observation #1: The racers’ response to the unexpected was totally “chill” compared to many of us. They saw it as an opportunity for God to show up, acknowledging His control over every situation.
And show up He did. During the next several days, our team leaders Ken and Martha and members of the Guatemala team led us in worship, fed us, and discussed such topics as harmful and beneficial ways of giving honest “feedback.” We got several chances to practice that with our sons or daughters. Yikes. We laughed, talked, cried and loved on each other. Those kinds of bonds are precious and eternal.
Guatemala team leaders Ann and Jonathan also introduced us to “ATLing,” aka Ask The Lord-ing. We were given Q20 – about $3 – to hand out in Antigua as God led. All we had to do was Ask The Lord, and wait for the answer. We needed to see with supernatural eyes rather than focusing on the natural; to hear the truth rather than assume the facts, as Jonathan said. Easy, right? Well, for some it was. They walked out in faith that God would give them a word or a vision. For others, it wasn’t so simple. It felt instead like telling the Holy Spirit to work “on demand” or like putting God to the test. Emily and I found we needed to tease this out with each other for a while, to figure out where her beliefs and mine meshed or collided. The cool thing is we separately came to the same conclusion. We would wait, and go hit a coffee shop! (Lol. We had peace about this because we wanted to talk. It was relationship building.) We held on to the money and figured God would speak to us clearly in His timing. (He did.) And that was OK. Others had wild stories about being led to get on this bus, or that truck, and hearing words like “laundry” or “white” and finding a woman who ran a laundry with the last name Blanco. She needed to hear about Jesus’ love, and the money was a sweet gift. That was cool, too. We shared our stories in an evening “debrief” session. Observation #2: It's good to listen and ask questions. Racers have a lingo and culture all their own, and it is important for parents, friends and loved ones to know there is a lot of thought and community associated with words like debrief, feedback and ATLing. In the end, it’s all about relationship, isn’t it? God shows up because He’s already there. Our part is to tune in to Him, to have grace for each other in community, and to know there are true and compelling stories behind those who find themselves in need. And, spiritually, that includes everyone on the planet.
Another theme of the week was printed on our parent T-shirts: Be_______. Fill in the blank. Suggested words in our devotional included available, radical, fearless. I was really looking forward to “radical” serving on the mission field beside Emily, and began to realize that wasn’t going to happen as much as I’d hoped. (Be “patient”?) Still, the two places we served delivered powerful experiences. We visited needy children at
Paso a Paso (step by step), which gives them a decent meal and love after school in an impoverished village outside of Antigua. Like the splashes of paint on our T-shirts, we got to paint “graffiti” on a wall at the center. I will never forget helping those kids paint that mural. There was such Joy! All afternoon, the varied gifts of parents and racers came out: some played sports with the kids, some held the babies, some headed straight for the classrooms, others helped with the food prep and clean-up. My favorite part of that day, though, was watching Jamal entertain the children with a song that involved squatting and standing and hollering and whispering. They fell in love with him, and it 
broke the ice for all of us to better engage with them. The crazy thing is that Emily and other racers told me Jamal came into the race declaring he would never work with kids. God kept putting him with children. This was the outcome. Observation #3: God has changed and grown our sons and daughters in amazing ways, and it is an absolutely beautiful thing. We often serve using the gifts we are most comfortable with, almost by default. But these racers have served people day in and day out in new and uncomfortable ways, and God has given them new gifts and woken new passions in their hearts as a result. Emily blessed me with loads of fresh wisdom and insight throughout the week.
The other place we served was at a garbage dump outside of Guatemala City. Wow. This trash-filled community is home to thousands of people in poverty, many scraping by on $3 a day from up to 12 hours of scavenging. We worked with a ministry called Potter’s House that is making miraculous inroads there with the hope of Christ. Check out their website at www.pottershouse.org.gt We split up in groups and visited the one-room shanty homes of some they serve, whom they call treasures, handing out bags of 
groceries and praying for them. Their stories are heartbreaking. Yet they survive and find joy. Some of the groups reported that several had given their lives to Christ. Our group’s visits included four different families of believers who shared their needs and desired prayer. God’s presence in their homes and in this community was palpable. I discovered perhaps these people deserve our compassion but not our pity. Where they are rich in Spirit, we are poor. Pity us. Observation #4: Coming home from even one week on the race to a cultural “Laodicea” (Rev. 3:17) is really difficult to process. I can’t imagine what it will be like for the racers to readjust after 11 months. For me, everything is still raw. It’s hard to put into words how powerful it was to encounter God’s heart beating with love for these people, His treasures.
Emily shared with me that one of her mentors recently told her new beginnings are only as good as your previous endings. By now, many of the racers see flaws in the organization, its leadership and their relationships. They are seeing ways they would do things differently. It is tempting for them to build drama around these issues. But all human institutions, and especially churches, have flaws. Bosses have weaknesses. Families are dysfunctional. No matter where we go or what we do, it’s easy to get swept up in drama, politics and positioning. I believe God hands us people or experiences we find difficult to shape our 
character, which He is more concerned about than our activity. Our job is to forgive, extend grace and be at peace with all people, so long as it depends on us, or we risk distraction from our mission to Be Jesus. On the race, there are still 12 more weeks to reach "the least of these" for Him and to show them His love. Observation #5: We all, no matter our circumstances, must keep our eyes on the prize – God’s mission to restore all mankind to Himself through what His Son accomplished on the cross. Love well. Finish strong!
These are only a few of the lessons I believe God wanted me to learn and share from this trip. (If you are a parent considering a PVT, I'd recommend going to see what He has in store for you!) He answered all my questions and blessed me with abundantly more than I could have asked or imagined: More grace to love and understand my daughter as a young adult, especially as she returns and readjusts to the states. More desire to advance the Kingdom. More compassion for the poor and the needy. Without a doubt, this race and the race called life is all about Christ, who is in all places at all times, available, radical and fearless for us. To Him Be the Glory.
“Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Gal. 6:8-9).
Thank you, Emily, for inviting me to join you on this leg of your Kingdom Journey. Stay strong in Him! I love you so much, but know that He loves you even more and has you in His competent grip. Hugs!
