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I‘ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately about the different seasons of life that we live, why each one feels so different, why change is so beautiful, why it hurts, and how God equips, stretches and expands us for what each new season will hold. He’s real gracious like that.
When I was out on the field in 2008, the ministry looked different every single day. Sometimes it was to AIDS orphans in Africa, sometimes to women stuck in prostitution in Thailand, sometimes to earthquake victims in Peru, sometimes to the homeless in 
Cambodia, sometimes to my squad-mates, and sometimes to my friends & family back in the United States through videos and blogs. Here in 2009, the ministry is no less important; it’s only different.
Cambodia, sometimes to my squad-mates, and sometimes to my friends & family back in the United States through videos and blogs. Here in 2009, the ministry is no less important; it’s only different.
Summer time is hot, frankly unbearable for me, and every year, I can’t wait for it to be over… mostly because it leads into my favorite season, which is Fall. The colors turn richer and deeper, the air feels more free, and it’s time to build fires in the living room again where family cuddles up together. Winter is magical and very Disney-isque to me, and being that I am a giant fan of hats, winter is the perfect occasion for them. Then there’s Spring, and it always spurs me to remember that after every death, there will inevitably be life again. “This too shall pass…”
I think I’m coming out of a SumTer in my own life (that’s Summer and Winter mixed together. Because they did it in that picture over there —>). Summer, because there have been some borderline unbearable parts, and Winter because, even amidst all it’s mystical beauty, there’s been a lot of death. I’m coming out of Winter’s death, right as Winter is about to politely arrive again in Michigan. And so, I’ve been reflecting. From 2008 with The World Race to now, things have obviously changed. (For one, I no longer brush my teeth in a river.) In this present season, a portion of the ministry I get to be a part of is telling our story through video, so that the masses of undiscovered World Racers can see, hear, and hopefully feel what it is like to be a part of this journey.
But it goes way beyond The World Race. In fact, it’s really not about The World Race at all. My hope is to inspire people to take a step into the unknown, out of systems and structures, to choose to be in places where they have to depend on God, to begin to understand that the Kingdom of God is withIN us, and therefore doesn’t need to be conjured up by laws or re-doubled efforts: it only needs to be released. There have been seasons where I have completely missed the point, not released the Kingdom, not accepted or given grace, not loved well, and not clung to hope. But outrageously, God has lavished kindness and patience on me, and taken me out of the corners I crammed myself into. He’s put me in a spacious place. Now out of the freedom I’ve received, I want to see it released in other people’s lives. He has grown in me a desire to see us begin to understand our destinies. To take risks. To live freely under authority. To understand who we are and who we are not. To grasp that we have an inheritance, and it is the Kingdom, and the Kingdom is made up of people. To live the greater things that Jesus promised.
Here is a video I just finished that features the experiences of some of our Alumni. I’d love it if you’d take a few minutes to watch, and pass it on.
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