Digging ditches and hobnobbing with billionaires

These past eight days Lisa and I have been in Hong Kong with about 80 World Racers, as well as our
cherished friends and comrades Seth and Karen Barnes, Andrew and Mike Shearman,
and about a billion Chinamen!

It was the end of the race for A and B squad, the exact
middle of the race for C squad and the D squad just got started in the Philippines. I
cannot tell you how these young radicals have gotten deep into the hearts of
each of us that are called to oversee and steward this amazing move of God.

If you follow their blogs at all you have read of the
miracles, the danger, the encounters with monks in the Tibetan Mountains,
learning to live in community, getting to know God through the eyes of orphans,
sleeping in trash heaps in Asia, missing family, seeing the world as an
awakened and alive American Jesus-follower.

When you have the honor to know
them at a truly intimate level, sitting with them for an hour or so and hear
their spirit, you simply want to give your life away as a Spiritual Parent.

The trip to Hong Kong was
very typical week in the life of Gary and Lisa Black. Preaching the word of God
in the mornings, sitting for hours in “Debrief” sessions and counseling with
the Racers all afternoon. All the while
living on $17 a day at a YWAM base in a village and going to a $200 a plate
dinner with the “Whose Who” of China.

We were guests of the director of the dinner so it was free, but the idea of
living in jeans and poverty during the day and in our best suits and dresses in
the evening at a 5-star hotel really defines how God uses us! Digging a ditch,
preaching to 20,000, talking to a young missionary in a village in China, hobnobbing with billionaires – the pay’s the same. Our lives are crazy and amazing.

Lisa and I would be perfectly happy and fully alive doing
this the rest of our lives. Teams A and B – we are so proud of you, now go live
the dream; Team C – you are coming alive and the journey has just kicked in; and
Team D – we cannot wait for you to teach us what Jesus looks like through your
eyes.

We love each of you and really mean it when we tell you that you have
parents in Africa that are on the journey with you. Andrew, Mo,
Seth, Karen, Chad and Erin: we get to do this
for life! Cheers.

If you want to know more about this journey of self-discovery and how to become part of this tribe we’re building, visit the World Race website for more info.