Some people have preconceived notions about what ministry on the World Race looks like. You blog stalk for months on end and watch new videos as soon as they are posted. These small glimpses into the life of a Racer often portray the good times: big God moments where everyone is changing the world one cute African child at a time. But these blogs and videos are like watching the highlight reel of a football team. You see all the game winning touchdowns, massive tackles, and nearly impossible catches. It’s literally a four minute glimpse out of 31 days of ministry; just long enough to last through “Home” by Philip Philips. I hate to ruin this illusion, but just like with your football team, fumbles, turnovers, and losses happen.
So, you may be thinking that World Race ministry is all about playing with orphans, praying for healing, and leading the lost to Christ. Sometimes it is. Sometimes it looks more like this:
Walking the dusty streets of a Romanian neighborhood in July in order to place a flyer in every home’s gate. You don’t know what the flyer says because you don’t speak the language. Street dogs chase you occasionally. The locals eye you suspiciously and scare you away from their gates. You feel like you will never stop sweating because it’s 95 degrees outside and you still have two hours of ministry left.
Leading Kid’s Camp for one child. You are disappointed because you were hoping for twenty children. The child clearly feels overwhelmed because there are eight Racers, two translators, and three youth volunteers all there staring at him. You discover halfway through the day that you have been calling the one child by the wrong name the entire time, and his real Russian name is too hard to pronounce.
Performing the duties of a maid/chef for 53 people. You clean toilets, scrub floors, and empty trash cans. When everyone else relaxes after ministry, you stand in a sweltering kitchen for two hours cooking enough rice to feed the masses. You touch everyone’s sweaty shirts, smelly towels, and dirty underwear.
Moving rocks. Literally. You walk along a grassy bank in Northern Ireland picking up large rocks with your bare hands. You place the rocks in a wheelbarrow, walk them three quarters of a mile away, dump them, and walk back. You zip up your jacket more. You wipe the snot off your runny nose. You look around at your friends and laugh. You pick up more rocks.
A lesson that many Racers learn early on is that ministry is not glamorous. You are not always doing the activities that end up in the highlight reel, but, no matter the task, you are still furthering God’s Kingdom. You may not see the fruits of your labor immediately. You may be doing the background work that no one else wants to do. You may simply be serving your teammates while they go out and lead an awesome youth event. All of this has been ordained by our Heavenly Father. He foreknew even the most menial task you would perform on the Race before you signed up. It is all part of His plan.
So, in times like these, I encourage you to remember Colossians 3:17, “And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
And then film all the really awesome stuff and put it into a video on your blog so more people will want to come on the Race 🙂
