This past week, parents of the racers joined my squad for a week of ministry/living the world race life. I invited my mom&dad to come, but logistics&such worked out so that only my dad could come.
I’m SO happy to have had the opportunity to share a bit of my Guatemalan home with him. He was with me while I said some pretty hard goodbyes, and he witnessed me in my new element that I never thought would be my element.
Because I have grown so much while being on the race, and I haven’t seen my dad face-to-face since before the race, I was worried that I would accidentally revert back to the person that I used to be around him. That person was easily frustrated, not confident in herself/her beliefs, and desperate to do good only to please the authorities in her life. I am now a woman who knows that patience is KEY, who knows what she believes in (Christ) and why, and who is eager to walk in alignment with what God has for her because she knows He loves het&will never lead her astray. WOW. Thanks, Father.
So back to my dad. I was also a bit nervous because I knew that a lot of what we do on the race is outside my dad’a comfort zone, even with just the language barrier. But I saw him jump into ministry, worship, prayer, and intentionality in ways that I haven’t ever seen before.
Our first day of ministry together was the last day of my fourth grade English classes. My dad was an amazing teacher‘s assistant, and during recess he had a great time laughing and playing with all the kids. He didn’t let language stop him from trying to show them the love of Christ. I don’t even know if he knew that’s what he was doing, but it definitely was.
I heard a lot of honesty from my dad this week. About where he was at, where my family’s at, and what he saw in me. Honesty can be hard, but it’s ultimately so so fulfilling&beneficial. I saw ways to pray for my family that I hadn’t known about before. I realized that my relationship with my family is always changing and growing.
All in all, it was an amazing week. Thanks dad for choosing to come down to Guate, and thanks Father for growth, healing, and love.
