Michie Bell (Squadmate’s Grandmother) What has been your favorite place you have been so far and why?
This one is very tough for me, because each country has its own treasures. I answer this by taking 5 factors into consideration. 1)Ministry 2)People 3)Culture 4)Beauty of Nature 5)Personal spiritual growth. With all these considered, I’d have to go with Nepal. Thailand and South Africa are close seconds.
Austin Shugart (Brother) How many times have you cried?…tears of joy?
Minus Training Camp, I have cried 3 times on the Race. 1. India- Team related. 2. India- Passion Band Concert in Hyderabad. 3. Nepal- Talking to team Tabula Rasa the night before we got new teams. If dreams count, then a total of 5 times. 🙂
Lorraine Shaffer (Fan of Hi-Cs A cappella) How has it changed you?
Talk about a loaded question! Haha. I try not to let the past define who I am. That’s how Satan defines me. Jesus defines me as a new creation and forgets my past… it doesn’t even exist to Him. I love and forgive more easily now, even when it’s really freakin’ hard sometimes. Things don’t go my way more often than not… I’ve learned to be more ok with that… to let go of my pride. I go with the flow easier… I’m not always worried about where I have to be and how long it’s going to take me to get there. A little more relaxed. I feel more freedom in Christ! I treat women with more respect and dignity. I pray more. I rarely get ticked off when I lose a game/competition. I share items/food more (sometimes reluctantly, admittedly. Haha) I conserve more water and electricity. I could really go on and on. By NO means am I where I want to be with any of these, and I don’t think I ever will be. I now try to boast in my weaknesses and be honest about them so that God can use His strength to continue changing them for the better.
Hunter Shugart (Brother) You sold my dead bird to a blind kid?!?
Hunter… I took care of it!
Seth Wood (Buddy) How has this experience changed your view of God?
He is someone that I can more easily talk to… that He is just as much a part of me as I am to myself. I also see Him as more unpredictable, in a good way. Another way of putting it would be that He is mightier and His ways are higher than I had ever imagined… He will surprise me with the way He wants to reveal Himself to others or me.
Phawama Maden (Fellow Teacher in Nepal) What is your best ‘moment’ so far during the race?
Oh man. Probably in South Africa when God prompted me to pray for one of my squad mates. She didn’t even know it was me who had prayed for her, and it’s exactly what she needed to hear from God. She even said it felt like God was speaking directly to her. I almost didn’t pray for her, but the Holy Spirit had other plans. I got pretty emotional. For the full story, read my blog called “Down and Dirty with Holy Spirit.”
Rebekah Diane Wingo (Cousin) What challenges did you face and how has your faith grown and changed through those challenges?
I could go on forever with this list, so I will just name a couple.
Lavender Hill, South Africa (Month 1): This was a location world racers had never been to. There is a lot of gang activity, and we would hear gunshots near our host home every few nights. I was team leader at the time, and it was left up to me to decide if we should stay at our location or move. I learned to have full dependency on God and prayed like I never have before. God never gave me a strong indication or sense to leave, so I ultimately decided we should stay. It was a trying time for our team, but we made it out safely! I learned how to listen for God’s voice more clearly.
El Shaddai Orphanage, Swaziland (Month 2): We were paired up w/ an orphan “buddy” that we were to teach and invest in for the month during the afternoons. My “buddy” Madida was very unreceptive to my teaching at times and would completely shut down on me. Yet, I kept loving on him and kept trying to capture his heart, even though it was really frustrating me on the inside. God helped me realize that it’s the same way with me and Him… he is constantly pursuing me even when I treat him like crap. I gathered a greater appreciation for my Father’s love.
Jack Oliver (Papa-Grandfather) How have this trip changed your view of who you are as a person and a child of God??
I am more aware of God’s love as my Heavenly Daddy. It’s a love so deep, that I couldn’t possibly ever understand. I’m a completely renewed person every day… it gets crazy when I think about how I’m a son… just like Jesus is.
Alie Heenan (Friend from Chick-Fil-A) Getting drunk in the spirit” and “laughing in the spirit” and that participants in the world race often are engaged in this. I was curious as to 1) if you have had these experiences 2)what it felt like/how it happened and 3) the biblical basis for it. Before about 3 days ago I had never heard of this and I am super curious to hear about it.
1) Yes, every once in awhile. Let’s define it as “being filled with the Holy Spirit” without the use of tongues. What I will first say about it, is that I believe Jesus uses it at a specific time for His specific purpose. (For instance, I have not experienced it as of late, which may be because Jesus has known the exact method to use to speak to me or other people through me).
2) How: For the most part, it has happened to me when I’ve either asked to experience God in a new way (experience more of Him) or when praying healing over somebody. With that said, there have been times when I’ve asked for it or prayed for healing, and I don’t feel “drunk” with the Spirit (This goes back to what I said about Jesus and his timing and/or purpose. You don’t have to experience God in this way for Him to remain real).
Feeling: It’s an extreme sense of peace. Also, I feel God’s love overwhelm me. Usually I experience either some type of uncontrollable shaking of my arms and/or legs, and/or my eyes fluttering and seeing bright colors. And I always can’t help but smile.
3) Biblical Basis: Many scriptures talk about receiving the Holy Spirit when you are saved. There is no denying that, so we can say that the Spirit is with us at all times. As far as “drunk in the Spirit” goes, there are several scriptures in Acts and one in Luke (Acts 2, Acts 4:29-31, Acts 3, Luke 1:41-44) where it talks about people being “filled” with the Spirit. The greek meaning is to “fill completely” “complete” or “as a strengthened form.” It’s not super clear and debatable what it means by “filled,” but I take it as a way of God giving you a little more of His presence. Regardless, after these people were “filled,” they received much joy and spoke the Word of God more boldly and confidently. There is not a whole lot of concrete verses that explain it to us. I do know that others and I have experienced a type of filling and that it is real.
Sloan Blanton (Friend) Have you see anyone come to Christ? What else is Jesus (God/the Holy Spirit) doing on the trip?
Yes. I have seen one girl with my own eyes and had several people say that they were very interested and thinking about salvation. Several of my squad mates have seen people come to Christ. Mostly, it seems as if my team have been the “planters” in the ministries we’ve worked with… many people are hearing the gospel for the first time! Kinda crazy. But I get messages from people talking about how God is moving in the communities we’ve served in, so that’s encouraging.
Brian Berger (Buddy) What is the most awkward/ humorous thing that has happened on the trip?
Awkward/Funny Now: I was a fifth grade teacher for a week in Dharan, Nepal. We thought we were just there to maybe add on to what the original teacher was teaching at the time. Well, that was partly true. Most of the time I ended up coming up with lessons on my own. Anyway, my first day, I was sitting there to the side listening to the teacher speak. Then she says, “Ok, now you tell a story.” I’m like, “Any story?” She’s like, “Yeah, they like stories.” First of all, it took me 5 minutes to come up with a story. So, I’m standing there like an idiot. Then I think of one. I told them about the time I hit my head on a sprinkler on a cruise ship, and how the water sprayed everywhere. I realized towards the end of the story that they had no idea what a sprinkler OR a cruise ship was. Needless to say, the story didn’t go over like I had planned. Then I was told to tell ANOTHER story. Ok, how about the “3 Little Pigs.” Easy enough. Well, I forgot halfway through the story whether or not the first two pigs ended up getting away or not. Then I forgot the “moral of the story,” so I made up one. That story went over really well with the kids too.
Donna Bethune (Aunt) Have you witnessed a miracle?
I’m not sure if it would be something most people would be in awe of, but…
my teammate, Seth, dislocated his shoulder bamboo rafting down a river in Thailand. He was in pretty bad pain. They pulled the raft to the bank, and our raft pulled in right behind to give assistance. 2 of us slowly walked him over to a large rock to try and naturally have it fall back into place, but it was turning out that the rock was not tall enough for this to happen properly. The Holy Spirit wanted me to pray, so I did. I asked simply for healing in Jesus name. As I was finishing, Seth was wincing in pain. 5 seconds later, somehow his shoulder popped into place and the pain was gone. Our rafting guide kinda freaked out. Haha. We praised the Lord.
Alys Seay (Squad Leader) What has been the scariest moment?
I’d have to say hearing gun shots on our street in Lavender Hill, South Africa 3 days before we left. We had heard them before, but none that close. Riding on the back of a motorbike in India is my second. They drive like crazy people!
Mary Ann McMillan (High School) What are the advantages/disadvantages to spending a year in 11 different countries vs. just one country?
Advantages: 1. You get to experience many different cultures and become more educated about the world as a whole. 2. You are able to reach many different people in different cities for each country (usually 7 teams split among 3 cities/towns/villages). 3. Able to see all the different kinds of beauty God created through nature… each country is unique in this way. 4. You are able to find out which country/countries you may feel led to come back to.
Disadvantages: 1. It’s emotionally exhausting saying goodbye to people you just started to develop relationships with, not knowing if you’ll ever see them again. 2. Sometimes you find yourself wondering about the next country you are going to, which can distract you from being present in the moment. 3. You are only able to start long-term projects without completing them. 4. Just when you begin to get in the swing of things with the culture and people, you are leaving. 5. LONG travel days
