G.O. 2005: Namibia (pt. 12)
This is the 12th entry in my 2005 Namibia trip report. Earlier sections can be found in the archives menu.
When You Believe
Seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I’d say…
I have always been astounded by the conversations that happen on our short-term cross-cultural trips. It’s not that these conversations couldn’t have happened at home, it’s that they wouldn’t have. I’ve come to believe that this is all very much the orchestral genius of our God; a demonstration of His extravagance – His willingness to have many dollars spent, many miles crossed in providing the perfect ‘other-worldy’ setting – for these conversations to happen.
These settings seem also to provide a most fertile environment for people to ponder the Divine. Whether a relatively new believer or someone who has walked with the Lord for many years, all of our G.O. Team members seem to return home having grown tremendously. I especially wondered what this would look like with this team’s unique make-up. In numerous journal entries before the trip began I asked, “What do You have in store for this group?”
I noticed while checking in for our first flight that, though we were a group of 29, our travel agent had booked our flights in groups of 3 and 4. There didn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to it. The groupings weren’t alphabetical. And, although we had two married couples who were grouped together and two sets of sisters who were kept together, my two daughters Amanda and Katie were booked separately from me. Having been on a number of these trips I didn’t think too much of it, realizing that we’d all be swapping seats once we got going. But it suddenly hit me that the two other people in my grouping were the two girls I was least acquainted with as the trip began, Kara and Stephanie.
In the several months leading up to our trip I prayed for each of our team members daily. Stephanie was the last to join our team. In my journal next to Stephanie’s name I wrote, “Lord, will you provide opportunities for me to get to know her?” Kara was different in that she was not a dancer but the older sister of one of the dancers. Her work schedule made it very difficult for her to attend many of the team get-togethers leading up to the trip. Next to her name in my journal I wrote, “I don’t know her at all, Lord. Help?” So, was it a coincidence that I was to be grouped with these two ladies for 10 flights?
When we hit the ground in Namibia, Stephanie wound up with the ‘shotgun’ seat in my van. The ‘shotgun’ in our vehicles on these trips is responsible to continually remind the driver “LEFT” as we drive. (Accidentally falling back into the ingrained American traffic pattern is a real danger on these trips.) Steph’s role in my vehicle in-country and our flight itinerary basically assured that she and I were connected for the entire trip. It must have been dozens of times that I looked over at her and smiled recalling those journal entries – “Lord, will you provide opportunities for me to get to know her?” Another coincidence?
Some conversations happened quite naturally. Some personalities really clicked well together. Some folks moved conversationally in one circle while others gravitated elsewhere. As it all sorted out it seemed that everyone had important connections with one or more team members.
Once again, I do God a huge disservice here in not sharing specifics of these conversations. The fact that He is at work in each of the 29 lives that made up our team, and that He was present in every conversation was unmistakable. But the conversations that you have in these settings aren’t the kind you would chronicle in a report. They are the kind you hold in your heart, pray about, and remain very thankful to have experienced. What I will say is that I was surprised at the depth and honesty of some of the sharing on this trip. We talked a lot about ourselves. We talked a lot about God. We talked about life. We talked about death. We talked about what matters. We talked about sexual purity. We talked about many of life’s decisions and choices. We laughed a lot. We cried some. We laughed some more.
One recurring theme in conversation, especially towards the end of the trip, concerned coincidence. Was it a coincidence that this team had come together? Was it a coincidence that we found ourselves in this amazing setting? Was it a coincidence that we were sharing these profound experiences? Was it a coincidence that we were coming to really care for one another? Shedding these tears? Asking these questions? Considering these answers? Coincidence?
When You Believe
Seeking faith and speaking words I never thought I’d say…
I have always been astounded by the conversations that happen on our short-term cross-cultural trips. It’s not that these conversations couldn’t have happened at home, it’s that they wouldn’t have. I’ve come to believe that this is all very much the orchestral genius of our God; a demonstration of His extravagance – His willingness to have many dollars spent, many miles crossed in providing the perfect ‘other-worldy’ setting – for these conversations to happen.
These settings seem also to provide a most fertile environment for people to ponder the Divine. Whether a relatively new believer or someone who has walked with the Lord for many years, all of our G.O. Team members seem to return home having grown tremendously. I especially wondered what this would look like with this team’s unique make-up. In numerous journal entries before the trip began I asked, “What do You have in store for this group?”
I noticed while checking in for our first flight that, though we were a group of 29, our travel agent had booked our flights in groups of 3 and 4. There didn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to it. The groupings weren’t alphabetical. And, although we had two married couples who were grouped together and two sets of sisters who were kept together, my two daughters Amanda and Katie were booked separately from me. Having been on a number of these trips I didn’t think too much of it, realizing that we’d all be swapping seats once we got going. But it suddenly hit me that the two other people in my grouping were the two girls I was least acquainted with as the trip began, Kara and Stephanie.
In the several months leading up to our trip I prayed for each of our team members daily. Stephanie was the last to join our team. In my journal next to Stephanie’s name I wrote, “Lord, will you provide opportunities for me to get to know her?” Kara was different in that she was not a dancer but the older sister of one of the dancers. Her work schedule made it very difficult for her to attend many of the team get-togethers leading up to the trip. Next to her name in my journal I wrote, “I don’t know her at all, Lord. Help?” So, was it a coincidence that I was to be grouped with these two ladies for 10 flights?
When we hit the ground in Namibia, Stephanie wound up with the ‘shotgun’ seat in my van. The ‘shotgun’ in our vehicles on these trips is responsible to continually remind the driver “LEFT” as we drive. (Accidentally falling back into the ingrained American traffic pattern is a real danger on these trips.) Steph’s role in my vehicle in-country and our flight itinerary basically assured that she and I were connected for the entire trip. It must have been dozens of times that I looked over at her and smiled recalling those journal entries – “Lord, will you provide opportunities for me to get to know her?” Another coincidence?
Some conversations happened quite naturally. Some personalities really clicked well together. Some folks moved conversationally in one circle while others gravitated elsewhere. As it all sorted out it seemed that everyone had important connections with one or more team members.
Once again, I do God a huge disservice here in not sharing specifics of these conversations. The fact that He is at work in each of the 29 lives that made up our team, and that He was present in every conversation was unmistakable. But the conversations that you have in these settings aren’t the kind you would chronicle in a report. They are the kind you hold in your heart, pray about, and remain very thankful to have experienced. What I will say is that I was surprised at the depth and honesty of some of the sharing on this trip. We talked a lot about ourselves. We talked a lot about God. We talked about life. We talked about death. We talked about what matters. We talked about sexual purity. We talked about many of life’s decisions and choices. We laughed a lot. We cried some. We laughed some more.
One recurring theme in conversation, especially towards the end of the trip, concerned coincidence. Was it a coincidence that this team had come together? Was it a coincidence that we found ourselves in this amazing setting? Was it a coincidence that we were sharing these profound experiences? Was it a coincidence that we were coming to really care for one another? Shedding these tears? Asking these questions? Considering these answers? Coincidence?
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