As Racers experience new cultures
and new things everyday they begin to ask tough questions. There are questions
about God, their own identity, their future, what parts of a culture need to be
held onto and what parts need to be let go of, is something 'wrong' or just
different, and there are always lots of questions about spiritual warfare.
The leadership and staff of The
World Race and Adventures In Missions are a lot like parents to our
participants. We could sit here and give all of our participants all of the
answers to all of their theological questions and to any situation that they might come across. But if we did that we
would take away some of the challenge for the participants to figure things out
for themselves. It is one thing if it is our theology or our ideas; it is
another if it is theirs. If we tell all of our crazy stories, and explaining how we
did everything then we steal part of the adventure, excitement, and discovery from
them.
Our Racers are asking themselves
and God tough questions... some of their questions have answers, and some of
their questions don't.
Pray that the Racers will ask
tough questions. That they will seek answers from God and that they will stand
on the truth of who God is when there are no answers.
A Racer asks tough questions about children being affected by their parent's decisions - click here.
A Racer asks God why there are to minister in such a dark place - Part 1 here and Part 2 here.
God answers a Racers prayer of why she doesn't want like where she's at - click here.
Missionaries and new Christians seem to have something in common... they both struggle with having the zeal and desire to see God do crazy radical things yet still having faith when it doesn't happen. Many of the participants that come on the World Race have just begun to realize that God still does signs, wonders and miracles today. As future Racers read current Racers blogs about how people are receiving their sight and are walking for the first time because God healed them there is an excitement that rises up. Sure there is that question of if it is real or not. But even stronger than the doubt is the desire to see it for themselves!
Wouldn't you love to see God heal someone!?! Wouldn't you love for God to use you to bring healing!?! Wouldn't you love for God to heal you?!
Some people are lucky enough to see God move through signs, wonders and miracles. And the rest of us pray that we continue to have the faith to expect them to happen when we pray.
But there comes that day when your faith wavers. When you begin to doubt not that God does miracles, but that He will use you to do them. After expecting God to heal the hundreds of people that you've prayed for and seeing nothing happen you begin to wonder why. Why are other people seeing God move in amazing ways and you're not?
Pray for our Racers. Pray that they will have abundant faith. That they will hear God's heart beat. That they will know when God is ready to heal physically, or emotionally, or spiritually. Pray that rather than looking at the expectations that haven't been met, they will see the thousands of little miracles that the Lord is doing around them no matter how small they might be. Ask the Lord to show them the lives that have been changed forever because of them. And why not go ahead and ask that God would do some crazy signs, wonders and miracles :-)
A couple of weeks ago I asked for
you to join us in prayer for our World Race Alumni team who was headed to
Haiti.
The good news is that it was a
successful trip! The team had a great time being able to work together and
serve the local people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. (Don't worry, our
team did NOT go into Port-au-Prince they only just crossed to boarder into
Haiti for a few hours at a time.)
More good news is that AIM is
continuing to send teams down to Haiti! And the World Race Alumni are a huge
part of this effort.
It would take me ages to write
out all of the stories and the people that are going to be involved... so instead
I am going to post links and pictures. Click on the highlighted person's name
to open a link to their blog.
Pure and faultless religion is to look after orphans and widows in their distress (James 1:26)
Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn (Romans 12:15)
The World Race and Adventures In Missions have been to Haiti and the D.R. AIM has full time missionaries based in the D.R. When we heard of the earth quake in Haiti our hearts and spirits cried out to respond.
What do we do to help?
Is it safe to go?
What are their real needs?
The only way to answer any of those questions is to send people down. Being the radical group that we are, we are sending a group of 6 World Race Alumni down to the D.R. tomorrow! They will be in the D.R. until Wednesday. AIM is then hoping to be able to start sending teams in the future.
Being on the forefront this team and all of the other people who have headed to the D.R. and Haiti in the name of the Lord need a huge covering of prayer! Below I've posted the prayer requests from Ashley Musick (WR staff & alumni). She will be calling in everyday to give AIM an update on how things are going. If any specific prayer requests are shared please expect to see them posted here, all of her stories and any other information will be posted on the Haiti site. If you have any questions or specific things that the Lord gives you for the team please post a comment or click the contact me button on the left.
·
Safety and favor in travel. We'll arrive in Santo Domingo on Thursday and
travel to Jimani, the border town on Friday. We'll leave for Santo Domingo on
Tuesday evening, and leave for home on Wednesday.
· Clear communication between
all of our contacts and the people on AIM staff
· Funds to help do ministry
above and beyond our ground costs
· For health for the team as we
work at or around the hospital
· Protection as we camp at the
border
· Opportunities to lead people
to the Lord
· That our prayers will echo in
the heavenlies and that limbs will grow back, people will be raised from the
dead, and signs and wonders will follow the words of comfort and faith that we bring. Faith to pray the big prayers
· That we will be able to
connect with God's heart as we see some horrible things. Protection over
our mind, will, and emotions
· For our times of debrief
· That we will be able to get
accurate information for future teams that will help mobilize them to continue
helping the Haitians.
· Discernment on the spiritual
aspects. Haiti is a very dark country spiritually and the battle will be
raging
· Unity with the team
· Open doors to connect with
new ministries
· That we will be able to
capture stories to mobilize people to help and to give
· Safety and protection
I am hoping that all of you have heard of the earthquake and devastation that has hit Haiti. The following blog was posted today by one of our World Race Staff Members, Ashley Musick. Ashley led the January 2009 H Squad to the D.R. & Haiti this time last year.
It's like I can't escape it. I actually feel a little guilty for trying.
In the
past couple of days I've been overwhelmed with gratitude and I catch
myself every time I start to complain. Why? Because this morning I got
up out of my bed. I left the warmth of my covers and went to my
bathroom with running water. I got to stand at my pantry door and
ponder the various options for breakfast before I decided I'd rather
stop at the Biscuit Shoppe on my way to work.
So many
people in Haiti didn't sleep in a bed last night. They no longer have
a house to provide shelter. They woke up laying in the street, covered
only in the dust and grime from the terrible tragedy that has fallen
upon their nation. Once their up, they walk out into the rubble in
search of clean water... in search of food. There aren't any options.
I kept
the TV on CNN all day yesterday. I watched the pictures and videos
finally start to come in from the airwaves. As horrible as we expected
it to be... it may be worse than we imagined. The reporters were
walking over dead bodies just to take shots of a group of Haitians
trying to pull a 15-year-old girl out of the rubble who had been
trapped for 18 hours.
I find myself bursting out with prayer as various clips show on my television screen.
We need to help.
We ALL need to help.
I love
working for Adventures in Missions. We're already putting all our
efforts into getting people to help in Haiti. I have some friends that
work in the Dominican Republic long-term with AIM. Miguel and Kristen Shaul have
traveled to the border to get as much information as they can on
getting teams into Haiti, and to assess what needs can be meet on the
smaller out-lying villages that were also affected by the earthquake.
I spent most of the evening yesterday trying to round up World Race
Alumni who might be able to take off for several weeks and help
organize our disaster relief efforts in Haiti and mobilize short-term
teams that we want to send down to help. The other directors and many
of my co-workers are working around the clock to make connections on
the field, to set-up a fund for donations to Haiti, and to make plans
for recruiting and accepting teams to send to Haiti. We all want to
help.
This
past year I led a squad of World Racers. In February we visited and
ministered all across Haiti. I worked with a team at the Cambry
Orphanage in Les Cayes. It's a town in the south that has suffered
some damage, but escaped the major devastation. Some of our teams
worked in Gonaives, a city north of Port-au-Prince. They were helping
with people there and doing some relief work regarding hurricanes that
ravaged the city in late 2008. A few more teams worked with a contact
that one of the racers, Liz Froba,
had worked with in the past. The word from their ministry, Canaan, is
that everyone is fine. They are located closer to Port-au-Prince and
are preparing to help as best as they can. Many of the locals there
have family and friends that they still haven't been able to get in
contact with. Finally, two teams worked with another missions
organization in Jacmel Haiti. This is what I read about that city on
CNN this morning:
"The people of Jacmel, Haiti, are lining the streets, setting tires on
fire to light up a town that has been reduced to rubble in many parts
and is without power. The flames are all that illuminate what remains of this town on
the southern coast of Haiti, about 25 miles from the capital
Port-au-Prince, Haiti."
- CNN
While
we were in Haiti last year, we committed an hour of intercessory prayer
for the country every day. We were living at an orphanage without
electricity, and so after the sun went down and the orphans were
asleep, we would stand out underneath the stars and pray for Haiti.
Last night, Sammie McCowan,
an Alumnus from that team organized a conference call for all
interested to join in and pray for Haiti. We declared hope, we
prophesied life, and we spoke redemption over that nation once again.
We need to continue to do that.
If you're like me, and you want to help. If you just can't allow
yourself to escape to our everyday lives when something like this is
just a few hundred miles off our country's shores... then please join
us at Adventures in Missions.
Here's how you can help:
Give a Gift.
Click here to
give a tax-deductible financial gift for the purchase of supplies
needed for first response (food, blankets, shelters, basic health care,
etc.).
Give Prayer.
Continue
to pray over the country of Haiti, over the ministry that we're
establishing down there, and for the restoration of lives! Leave a
comment on this blog with a prayer for the Haitian people.
Give Yourself.
Spots are still open on the July 2010 Race - second stop is Haiti. Apply Here!
Also, we'll be sending more short-term AIM teams out soon for immediate response. Check adventures.org/haiti for updates.
These two squads had a great week of launch in Matamata, New Zealand. They have all started their first spot of ministry! Everyone was really excited to get started and see what God has in store for them. Some of the teams will be partnered up together for ministry this month and other teams are on their own. Pray that they have a fruitful month and that the Lord will not wait until they get to a 'third world country' to break their hearts or show them the power of the name of Christ.
L Squad - October 2009
The squad made it safely and quite easily into Cambodia. They had a day of rest and are now getting ready to split up and do ministry. Overall they are doing really well. We even sent one of our Real Life staff members to them for this month so that she can experience the World Race. Pray that the teams will continue to hear the heart beat of the Lord, and that they will be able to not only minister to the people that them meet but also to continue to minister to one another.
J & K Squads - August 2009
Are in Africa! This always seems to be a highlight for most of the Racers. Africa is consistently fruitful. People get to hold and play games with orphans and preach the gospel - watching as people come to know the Lord for the first time, and are healed and delivered by the power of calling on Jesus Christ to come. Pray that the teams will have the energy to keep going, that the Lord will answer their prayers and that they will see Him move in power. Pray for God's protection and covering over them, that they will be wise and that they will stay healthy.
I Squad - June 2009
Southern Africa. These guys have been in Africa for two months and have one final month in Africa before heading to Asia. They have experienced the joys of being in Africa and been hit with some of the struggles and realities as well. We have learned from previous racers that as the squad gets to this time in the journey it gets quite difficult. The realities and thoughts of going home and all of the questions that come with it begin, as well as the regrets of things undone or not accomplished yet on the trip. This can be a very difficult time for some of the racers, especially as they are in the third month of a continent and might just be ready to move on to something new. Pray that they would end their time in Africa well, that they will not miss anything that the Lord is wanting to do, that they will begin to look back over their trip and look towards the future, but not allow the negative thoughts outweigh the things that the Lord is wanting to do now, and that the Lord will abundantly bless them this month!
I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas & New Years!
Our Racers are all headed back to different ministries after the holidays. The were able to enjoy time together, remember that Christ is the true meaning of Christmas and experience the holidays in a new culture.
Please be praying for all of our teams as they begin to refocus on ministry in new places. And for our M & N Jan Squads as they all begin to travel to start their Race!
The January 2010 – M & N Squads, are getting ready to
start their Race. As you can imagine this is a time of excitement, anticipation
and just being overwhelmed with it all. We now have the team leaders and
finance people start a day or two earlier than the rest of the team mates so
that they can get additional teaching ahead of time. This means that we've got
people flying on three different days – Jan 1, 2 & 3! Pray that all of the
Racers that they will be ableto
get the most out of their last few days at home. That everyone would make all of their flights and have abundant blessings during their travels. One of the things that we've
noticed that Racers often don't get enough sleep before starting their trip.
Pray that the Lord will give them the rest that they need so that they are
ready for all of the great things He has in store for them.
The L Squad finished up their ministry in Central America
and headed over to Asia. Having to transition out of a culture that stole their
hearts and into a new place where they will need to open their hearts once
again is a new thing for this group. Pray that the guys would bond and learn more of their true identity as they serve during manistry, that they would all be able to
not focus on the past countries yet not forget the people and the things the
Lord did, that the Lord would watch over and guide the girls and guys in each thing they
do.
Read about what the Lord did in a participant's heart, the
guys heading out for manistry and what nightlife looks like in Thailand.
The two August 2009 Squads have both been doing technology fasts - refraining from using their ipods, computers for internet or movies, tv, and all the rest.
Many people ask why do we ask people to lay different things aside at different points of their trip? Why fast?
