Looking back on it now I can say with absolute certainty that the week was not made for me. It wasn’t set up so I could necessarily have a life changing experience. It was for the parents. Not just so they could see us, but so they could catch a glimpse of what God can do when you jump head first out of your comfort zone.
Earlier this month I had the most incredible opportunity to do ministry with my parents at El Shaddai in Swaziland. Along with 14 other Racers and their parents we were able to do a wide array of ministries. El Shaddai is an orphanage housing over 50 kids. They have kids as young as toddlers and as old as college aged. We were with the kids from babies to 7th grade. We played with the kids, did manual labor around the compound, ran a daily chapel for the kids, and did house visits around the community near El Shaddai.
When I first heard about the details for the Parent Vision Trip back in Cambodia, I knew my parents would be game. Having been to Africa many times, and done international ministry all over the place I knew this would be right up their alley. As Malaysia, India, and Nepal came and went I became more and more excited to see them. If you’ve kept up with my blogs you know there has been a lot going on in my life, so I had a lot to talk to them about.
When we finally arrived in Swaziland, I was having a hard time thinking of anything else. The last time I was in Africa I was a 7th grader doing a medical mission with my dad, so you can imagine that’s all I could dwell on. Finally back on a continent that I love and remember so well and the first ministry I get to do on it is with my parents! I mean, it was pretty cool.
A funny thing happened when they finally arrived, though. I realized what I stated earlier, this trip wasn’t for me.
I spent all this time getting ready to do ministry with my parents. To see them and talk with them and just be excited. But it didn’t come. At least not how I thought.
Going into the trip we had heard over and over from the trip leader, Glenn, that we didn’t need to have expectations. That God needs to be in charge of this trip, not to let our desires rule what happens. True to form, the Racers of W squad did just that and let God do what He needed to do. None of us got in the way. But it was funny that when we placed it all in God’s hands exactly how He used it.
One would imagine that this trip would be for us. For the Racers. I mean, this is month 9. We’ve done all kinds of things for over half a year. We’ve been broken, beaten, remade, tried, and run ragged. You’d think that this trip would the time for our parents to pour into us and get us ready for the final leg. That they’d do anything we needed of them. That it would be a time to pretend like we weren’t on the Race and that we were on vacation.
Not so.
I’ve come to realize that in the basest of terms, I was a means to an end. We did get somewhat of a break from the Race, but not in an easygoing/vacation kind of way. We became teachers. Facilitators. Drivers to get our parents where God wanted them. We showed them what the Race was like. Gave them a little taste of our culture. Of the utterly flexible lifestyle we live. A bit of what it’s like to live in inescapable community. World Race worship and prayer. We brought them to these places. Set it all up. Whatever happened next was all up to God. The reason He brought all of us to this beautiful ministry in Swaziland.
And boy, did He ever show up. I can’t speak for all of the other families that were in attendance, but I can speak for the overall mood and feeling of the trip. Parents were going through things. God was working through them. Vulnerability came crashing in. Some going as far as to voice things to the group. To pair up with other parents and talk about the things they’ve gone through. The things that have hurt them. Said things they’ve never said.
Some saw God in a way they haven’t before. Felt a realness that they can’t find when they’re so deep in their comfort zones. Others felt God in a way they haven’t in a long time. Others still had God smack them upside the head with things just like He always has. Every experience was different. And I don’t nearly know all of them. What He did in every single person.
In essence they went through a taste of everything we have in 8 months, in one week. And they tackled it head on and responded in the most amazing and beautiful ways. They came away with fire in their bellies. Desiring for more. And a healthy respect. Not for us I hope, but more for what God does through us. We’re nothing special. Just a bunch of random people who answered God’s tugging at their lives.
It was an honor and a privilege to get to do a week of ministry with all of the parents. To get to see where all my W squad friends came from. To see everything their parents have done to get their kids to this point in their lives. To see why all of these people on this squad are so special. Where one person got their passion, another their heart, someone else their discernment, or someone their wisdom. It all came from the fantastic group of parents I met that week.
It was a time I will always treasure getting to be with my own parents for a week. I respect them deeply for everything they’ve done. Not just for me, but for the Kingdom. I love them dearly no matter what. I cherished having the opportunity for them to see me in action. See how I’ve changed. And I cherished more to get to be an active component in their lives. Being who God needs me to be for them. Trying to return the favor for everything they’ve done for me.
Parent Vision Trip was for the parents. That much I know. But I did come away with something important from it all. I came away with a deep burning passion to see this thing through. To charge headlong into these last 3 months. My parents encouraged me a great deal. They stoked the fire in my soul. Now I’m ready to go. ‘Rarin to go, if you’re from the South.
Ready to do whatever God has for me in Africa. But ready for whatever is next too.
Seth
