October '08 Racers Are on Their Way

I hope you are all familiar with the World Race. A program of Adventures in Mission, the World Race puts 20-Something kids out into the world to experience life as missionaries. They will have raised support funding from friends and neighbors for the trip. In return, those of us who stay at home expereince vicariously the new places and adventures and spiritual development the Racers experience.

World Race parents are a special breed. You see, we have put our loved ones out into the world, some with little or no experience, and hope that they thrive and prosper. When our daughter, Allison, went on her Race in 2007, we were very enxious for her and her team. That was our little (28) girl out there, and she knew nothing about Africa or Asia, except that there were lions and elephants. Her expereinces went well past animals, and that is another story for the future. For now, I want to deal with the parental issues.

First, learn to use and love Skype. This VOIP service is inexpensive and readily available to any web users anywhere.. The Racers might not have running or hot water in some places, but they could usually find internet connections. With Skype, we were able to talk with Allison at least once a week, using webcams and chat features. Honestly, we talked to her more than when she lived three hours away.

Second, get used to the appearance of non-organization. The Race is based on the premise that a way will be found to serve and travel and eat, so don't try to fret over details from home that they can solve on the ground. So many times, we just shrugged our shoulders, and let it go.

Three, read all the blogs. We learned what was going on from the team blogs that would appear randomly that would fill us in on ministry, trips, fun, meals and potties around the world. We usually began our days with a trip to the PC to see if there was anything new to read. The Racers are amazed that so many people are hanging on their every word. Alli loves to tell the story about her recent visit to a church in West Virgina where one of the pastors showed up with a Starbucks mint cappacino that she had written about in China. That was six or eight months prior, and the guy remembered! The point is, there will be many, many who read those postings and will respond. the flip side is to be sure to respond to as many of the posting as you can to reassure the Racers that someone they care about is reading their stuff.

Four, trust AIM. This past year has been a challenge to the organization and some of the Race teams, but in every case, their safety was paramount to AIM and every decision was made with the kids in mind. I suggest you read Seth's blog regularly, too. You can find it on the World Race website.

Five, love them, pray for them, and look forward to the day they get back. They will change this year in ways we can't predict. but we still love them in every way.

If you are a WR parent and have questions or soncerns, post them here and I will try to help.
Cheers,
Steve J.