What Not to Ask (and What to Ask) a World Racer

The World Race is darn near an entire year of your life. Yes, it is a mission trip and a program you sign up for and and and, BUT it is also, at the end of the day, simply a year of life. 

With the end very well in sight, going home  (everyone for at least for some short amount of time) is on the top of everyone’s brain, and inevitably, the questions we may get asked are coming up too. 

We joke all the time about how difficult and annoying it is to answer such broad and vague questions like “how was it?!”, so to save yourself (and the World Racer you love) some headache, here is a helpful guide for what to ask and not ask a World Racer.

What not to ask (and why): 

• how was it?! – How was what? The past year of my life? It was nearly 365 days, so certainly not something I can sum up in a nice and tidy 10 second answer for you, so sorry about that. 
• what did you learn on your trip?! – this is essentially saying ‘what did you learn over the course of a year of your life’ and is not a question you’d ask any other person in your life… right? 
• what was your favorite country?! – this is so broad… do you mean based on ministry, location, landscape, housing, weather, or something completely different? I’m not sure, so I’m just going to ask you to be more specific. 

What to ask (and why): 

• where did you go? – if you mean countries, anyone can give you the rundown in list form. And most of us could probably do it in our sleep. 
• how was traveling so often for an entire year? – an unusual and interesting thing for sure, and something everyone has their own opinion about! 
• what is something you learned in *this specific country*? – giving specific parameters helps us to think back to those certain weeks, instead of trying to think through 52. 
• what is a fun memory you have in *this specific country*? – again, parameters help us come up with an answer quicker. 
• who was your closest friend on each team you had? – an easy question for everybody to answer. 
• what did you learn from the people on *this specific team*? – it’s easy for us to think of the 3-5 people we were with, and communicate what they taught us. 
• what was something hard about the community/program/travels/ministry? – specificity!! There are so many hard things, so unless you want a long list that sounds like complaints, ask specifically. 
• what was something good about the community/program/travels/ministry? – same as above! There are so many good things, but having a narrower list makes it easier to share. 
• who is a person you remember/stands out to you when you think of *this specific country*? – honestly, the people we meet are the most fun. So thinking about who stands out from a specific place and then getting to share about them is amazing! 
• is there a country you want to go back to? – everyone has different feelings about returning to the places we did ministry. Some people would go back to the same ministry in a heartbeat, and other people just want to go explore a country more, and still others are happy to never return if they’ve been there once. 
• what is a ministry/city/adventure that you really enjoyed? – for some, thinking of highlights is easy, and everyone has different favorites so they’re all fun to hear! 

Honestly, (most) everyone wants to share about their experience, but be ready for the good and the bad. If you simply want the highlight reel, you can find it on social media, but if you want to know the good and hard and real and growing and exciting and heartbreaking parts of the year, then sit down, ask specific questions, and just listen. 

This blog was so fun to write! Personally, thinking about sharing about the year is exciting. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to process and share my thoughts through this blog as the year has progressed, and the thought of getting to share face-to-face with friends over coffee in a few months makes me all the more excited to be on U.S. soil in less than 2 months! 

As always, please pray: 

• for safety and mercy as we travel to South Africa soon. 
• for our last few weeks of ministry to be exciting and engaging, even if our minds wander home. 
• for peace and unity as the squad comes to the end of our 11 months together.