Beautiful – A Post By Tim Hendrickson – World Racer Extraordinaire

For those just joining my blog, my wonderful brother Tim is preparing to head out on the World Race – an 11 month mission trip that will take him to 11 different countries. This trip requires a great deal of funding as this will be his entire spending and costs for almost an entire year – an entire year of plane rides across the world, of food being eaten and shared, of supplies being used and given to those in need, of training to prepare these fine folks against all odds, and for all transportation and needs around each country. He is still in need of raising $12,000 more to be able to make a difference in ALL 11 countries. Even just a single dollar can make a world of difference.

To donate and read more about him and this organization, visit http://timhendrickson.theworldrace.org/

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So I just experienced one of the most insane weeks of my life… And yet my first attempt at blogging about it made it seem boring. So Ima try this again and I’m praying that God will help me to explain just how amazing this past week has been.

First off let me say just how pumped I am about my squad. There truly is something special about these people and after meeting them I can now see a little more of the big picture as to why God called me to this Squad particularly. There were no mistakes made when God crafted this squad together. Every strength and every weakness purposely constructed for His glory. He shaped us in ways that He sees best for shining light into this broken world and it is so incredible to know that He is using me to be a part of that.

This past week was packed full of challenges that have opened my eyes to just how difficult this new season ahead of me could be. But that’s alright because among even the toughest of challenges I had to face this past week were some of the most beautiful moments that I never would have been able to experience otherwise.

While trekking through 19 miles of one of the Appalachian Trails hardest sections through both hail, pouring rain and at some points 30-40 mph wind gusts I was faced with the realization that this whole world race, living out of a backpack and tent for 11 months thing wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought it would be. Fun is not a word I would use to describe this and yet it was so worth it. As the other men and I pushed the limits of our bodies, a bond was formed between us that will not be shaken. We know that through the good times and the bad we have each other to share one another’s burdens and to work together when the going gets tough. We no longer need to hide our weaknesses from each other like the world tells us we are supposed to do because when we expose our weaknesses to the light it is Jesus Christ who shines through. And I believe there’s more power in that than we realize.

At training camp we all experienced a new way of living. I have heard the word “community” many times at church and our pastor does a great job of influencing us to live in community with each other as The Church. But even so, I was not prepared for the level of community that I would embrace at training camp. Each day my squad and I were presented with new challenges all the while being stretched mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. But once again, through each new challenge, whether it was having to share a single plate of food between 8 people and having nothing but our hands to eat with or having to hold a piece of firewood over our head as we swam across a lake, there was something beautiful being formed through this all. A deep level of community was formed. These people became my family and we knew that we were there for each other no matter what challenge we faced.

And, inadvertently, that was put to the test. One of the girls just so happened to lose her car key on the bottom of the lake. So on the last day, after all the other squads had already packed up and left to go home, D squad was still working together on one last challenge. What seemed so impossible was made possible because of two things: love and faith. Troy was the first one to join the search for Kaylas lost car key (yes one single key) and it was out of love for his sister that he dove to the bottom of the lake dozens of times searching for the key. And it was by faith that the rest of our squad waited and prayed together as Troy, Kayla and a few more squad mates dove time after time until by the grace of God Troy popped up from the water cheering and having a ginormous smile on his face. This is something I will never forget. What seemed like an impossible task wasn’t quite so impossible when our only hope was God.

And what a beautiful moment that was when he popped up with that key. It seemed to be a common theme throughout the week now that I think about it. Challenge after challenge and trial after trial each revealing something more beautiful; something worth it all.