In my book, Kingdom Journeys, I talk about going on my own World Race. I was 22 years old when I started. It took three years, mostly in Indonesia and the DR. I started out single, married Karen and then the two of us took off for parts unknown together. Here’s the story of the first leg of the journey.
It began after I graduated from Wheaton College in 1980.
I took a job with Opportunity Int’l. First assignment: Drive a donated yellow Vega from Virginia down to Honduras, meet Karen there and go through training. It sounded like an adventure! Off I went.
I decided to drive as far as I could without sleeping. I stopped at the Mexico border and took an hour nap in the car before crossing into Mexico and making it as far as Veracruz. From there I drove to Palenque where I saw the incredible Mayan ruins.
Leaving Palenque, I discovered a spectacular jungle waterfall called Aguas Azules. 27 years later, I met the first World Race squad at Palenque and Aguas Azules.
Driving further south, I was amazed at the beauty of a river valley leading into Guatemala. On my one-week road trip, I picked up 11 hitchhikers. Here I picked up an 11 year-old boy. I remember asking him if he realized how beautiful his homeland was.
As I crossed the border into Honduras, the Vega began losing power. Soon, it was dying on me. It crawled along, but at long last, I made it into Tegucigalpa. And there was Karen waiting for me! She and I had just gotten engaged and were preparing to go to Indonesia.
It was an idyllic time. And our first year of marriage in Indonesia was filled with adventures. Soon I was immersed in the world of microcredit – helping poor entrepreneurs start their dreams, create jobs and build the kingdom.
What I learned is that God has children around the earth – widows, orphans and those in need. He’s looking for us to go and care for them. The first journey I took was just a first taste of a life where we get to run his errands knowing he will back us up. In contrast, the world offers us a boring life focused primarily on meeting our own needs.
A better life is on offer. Maybe it’s time to consider taking your own kingdom journey. What’s holding you back?
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You have the same tiny jean shorts my dad had in some pictures we looked through!! Wild! Haha.
Ahh this sounds like a ton of fun and god is so good!
Great story Seth; also a great lesson learned. Living for God and his purposes really makes life rich. Only by the grace of God, Gail and I have 37 widows and single moms that we feed each month. We were pulling out of our driveway a couple of weeks ago heading towards Mexico. We were pulling our box trailer but all it had in it was tools and a few clothes. We prayed before we took off and before we could make it to the end of the driveway a Pastor called me and asked if I needed some food for Mexico. We went to his church/food pantry and he loaded us up with about 1500 lbs of great food items. Then a friend of mine in Harlingen gave us 1000 lbs of pinto beans and 1000 lbs of rice. We are now distributing it to the widow and moms. This has been a great example of Gods provision. I know He care for these, the least of the least. God bless you Seth.
You and Gail are an inspiration, Richard! Thanks for practicing what James 1:27 calls “true religion.”
What a wonderful story of adventure and risk with God!
Amazing!! Thank you for always saying “yes” to life’s journeys and not living primarily self-focused. Can’t wait to see/hear about the people you meet and impact down the road as well!
Also, the cutoff jeans shorts are something you should bring back haha
Thanks, Kenneth. Yeah – those shorts are like the mustache – great back in the day, but better left there!
Great story! I love the way God has us do a “lap” early in our lives, and then we go back to the “track” later as leaders and world-changers, kind of in awe of how God prepared us for the season.
Wonderful stories backed by a wonderful life! God bless you Seth!
Thanks, Justin.
An incredible story of adventure, bravery, and trust in the Lord. And.. I love the photos!