What is the World Race?
These last couple weeks in Haiti have forced me to rethink my definition of the World Race.
We’re working with an organization titled Mission of Hope: Haiti. Their mission is to reach every man, woman, and child. They feed over 19,000 children every day and have schools all over the island. There’s a clinic on their compound and they send mobile clinics out to remote villages. Our work has mostly revolved around the final week of VBS. Team 3D has been taking a truck up into the mountains every day to help with VBS in Turpin, a village that has never had more than a medical clinic come to it. Visit www.mohhaiti.org to check out everything they do.
Here at Mission of Hope, we are always surrounded by North Americans. Most of the outreach done by Mission of Hope is Haitian led. However, there is a constant flow of visitors coming for a week or two to help out. The typical definition of a mission trip. I’ve watched people come and go, and here is something I’ve observed.
There is a difference between a week-long mission trip and the World Race. These wonderful people are giving up a week of their summer to travel to Haiti and experience new things while spreading the Gospel. Starting at these basics, our goals are the same. The difference comes down to the amount of time we’re spending searching for the same things. They have one week to have a mountain top experience that may or may not change their lives back in the States. As a Racer, I have a whole year in which to grow and change with the Lord.
The truth is, I’m not really on a mission trip as it’s usually defined. Instead, I’m living my life all over the world. I have good days and bad days. I make mistakes, break down over insecurities, and lose stuff. I also read books, attend spontaneous dance parties, and wash laundry. There’s something fantastic about seeing a day in Haiti as normal, but never really having a normal day. While those visiting have their homes to look forward to in just a few days, this yellow concrete building with its metal bunk beds, inconsistent electricity, and endless supply of American food is my home for the month. In order to get through this Race, I have to choose to accept everything the way it is, my new normal.
So maybe that’s my definition of the World Race for this month: normal life lived in abnormal ways.
