The definitive American vacation, The Roadtrip, was a staple of my family when I was growing up. Whether annual summer treks to see family in Indiana or poorly planned excursions to meet my dad, who was stuck on his birthday alone at Disneyworld for work (still sorry, Dad, we only made it to Kansas on that one). Even in high school and college we would trek to Virginia Beach, our vacations planned around the summer tours of Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire, playing at the amphitheater.
But other than my brother’s and my independent studies abroad, we’ve never traveled internationally as a family. Not sure why, but we’ve been pretty content exploring nooks and crannies of the United States, with many memories along the way, including the classic, Evangelical, children’s radio drama on cassette, Adventures in Odyssey. Mr. Whitaker, thanks for the hours of sage advice from your fictional home of Whit’s End. I still wonder if your friend/sidekick Eugene ever became a fully functioning adult…
At the end of my time in Ecuador, in the midst of this yearlong Odyssey of my own, my parents visited me for a week of ministry and encouragement as part of the Parent Vision Trip hosted by the World Race. Committing to travel days of many connecting flights, I could barely contain my excitement on my hour-plus-long commute to pick them up at their hotel.
For the following few days, my parents and I served together at several ministries, including my host ministry for the month, Pan de Vida, as we prepared meals and met with families attending the health fair. I felt so surreal introducing my parents in person to my friends and ministry contacts, all of whom were overjoyed to meet my family.
On two other days, we helped out a local church with a VBS program for their children. My team, which had Patrick and I (the two male Racers present during the week), was selected for the Dance Ministry for the week. I burst out laughing. How in the world would they select the only group with guys to lead a dance ministry?! I mean, my dad and I enjoy the Texas Two-step but we aren’t exactly modern dance troupers.
Upon walking out to our practice “studio” (aka the wood-floored lobby), we had no idea what to expect, however, we were quickly found by a director of the VBS, who was thrilled us guys (Patrick, my dad and I) would be helping out with dance. Apparently, in the previous week of the camp, the one little boy who wanted to dance was ridiculed by his friends for not wanting to be in the Soccer group. Now, he had one extra friend for the week and three big, bad gringos learning the dances alongside him.
We had many laughs while learning the choreography to “Waves of Mercy,” especially every time that my dad whipped his head back as part of our dramatic backwards lean. At the end of the first day, our group was called on to perform on stage, in front of everyone. Now, none of the other boys in the audience laughed at our friend in dance. If anything, they got to laugh alongside of Patrick, my dad and I as we joined in.
I wouldn’t say dance ministry was in any of my expectations for the Race, but it was so exciting to encourage two young guys who just wanted to move and express their worship for the Lord through choreographed slides and spins. I’m thankful that dance is one of the many ways we can worship the Lord and that there are a couple of young boys who got to dance their hearts out for Him.
Lastly, at the end of our “practice,” our dance troupe reviewed the Bible verse of the day. My dad and I noticed one of the boys really struggling. All his teammates were getting a lollipop reward for their memorization but he couldn’t get it down. I realized that the way our team was practicing the verse was by recitation – auditory learning. Perhaps that wasn’t his best learning style. I looked for a paper and pen and ended up “borrowing” a VBS poster on the wall and practiced writing the verse out with my new friend. We worked alone, and as his frustration wore off, the excitement on his face was ecstatic as he began remembering the verse and was eventually able to get that lollipop! The Lord really did have a reason for putting the gringo guys in the dance group, to encourage and edify the boys who needed support.
Overall, the week was too short, but we filled it with many laughs and great times. I loved serving alongside my parents and seeing them serve outside of their comfort zone, culture and language abilities. I hope that our family can serve again together in the future, not only to see my dad’s incredible backup dancing, but to be together loving others through service.
My only disappointment in the Vision Trip is that it is limited to parents, so my brother was not able to come. Oh well, I guess he and I will just have to plan a future South American adventure of our own sometime in the future!
And now, one of my favorite kids songs of the Race. I learned it at a school when we were in Guatemala and they played it as a silly, active song at the beginning of VBS each day! (The lyrics and motions describe kitchen and cooking utensils and tools, haha)
