Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

| by archiveworldraceblogs

There’s one word that seems to strike dread in the hearts of almost all upcoming World Racers:  packing.  For me, Christie Albaugh’s suggested packing list had me at hello and eased my packing phobias.

 

Then on my first month of the World Race I actually got to meet her.  She’s been on staff with one of our partner ministries, Kids International Ministries (KIM), in the Philippines for over a year.  She’s helped KIM host our squad and much of the January 2010 squads.

Christie helped take care of the wee little ones of KIM, making sure things are more or less under control in the nursery; she also discipled four older young ladies.  Her formal title from what gather from her Facebook profile was “Teacher” but she served above and beyond that role.  She was their Ate, their advocate, their caregiver; she has been Jesus’s love incarnate.

 
 
She just returned back to the U.S. because God is leading her onward.  These were some of her thoughts during her last days in the Philippines:
 

This is my life. This is how I live. And the thought of that changing is absolutely killing me. I don’t want it to change. I don’t want to say goodbye to my friends. I don’t want to not be there to feed Imon breakfast. I don’t want to stop Tuesday/Thursday devotions with the older girls.

And I don’t want to live in a place where people are more focused on themselves than they are on others. How can I be okay with my big room and soft, clean carpet, when my two favorite boys in the world are sleeping on hard dirt floor?

 
How can I go back to school to get my masters degree when fourteen year old Vanessa is still in grade five and needs a lot of help to catch up?  How can I share a house with my two dogs, healthier than most of the kids I meet on the street? How can I yet again adjust my “normal” and return to the way things used to be?

As I draw near to a year since I’ve returned home from the World Race, I wonder if I came back a different person.  I wonder, “what’s next?”  Maybe some of you alumni Racers can relate.
 

I read Christie’s blog posts and I see her photos, and aside from seeing how the kids at KIM have grown, I see that it’s true that He who began a good work is faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6).  God has been at work in Christie’s life long before she went on the Race, and He will keep moving her and in her as she re-enters (for a longer period of time) the U.S.

Christie reminds me that having been on the World Race doesn’t mean I’ve got His destiny for me all figured out.  So, Christie, even though you have no idea what you’re doing, it’s okay.  I take comfort knowing I’m not alone in this boat, trying to figure out how to step out of it.  Thank you for your obedience.