Don’t Rush the Journey, Part II

Georgia Debrief and Prayer Burn

It’s crazy that Georgia is ending, and I am writing this blog on the bus ride towards Armenia. It’s been a hard but important month that the Lord used in powerful ways. This is what it was like to wrap up our time here and also to surrender to the Lord as doors close (while others open).

A few weeks back, I wrote about being in a wilderness season (https://bretthaas.theworldrace.org/post/walking-through-the-wilderness). Basically wrestling with the Lord as He has called me towards being a pioneer and an explorer who cultivates new areas that have been unreached with the Gospel. Plus bringing my home community along for the ride and empowering them. The Lord has been faithful towards this vision, but it is being carried out in a very roundabout way. After more ministry in Batumi, we debriefed at the same city and discussed with leadership what took place with my squad. It was also fairly packed as we got to have a virtual zoom call with parents. It was a super special moment of sharing testimonies with them about what the Lord did on this trip and showing them the Gospel at work.

That pattern of closing and reopening doors happened as our ministry in Batumi began to wrap up. More bad weather arrived, which caused planned trips to northern Georgia to be shelved. Was this bad weather going to continue into debrief? Yet it began to break, and out came the sunshine. Praise God! Beautiful memories were made, like getting to ride a 5 person e-scooter down the far side of Batumi’s boardwalk with close friends from the squad. We soaked up our last moments as a ministry team before changing teams at debrief. And God opened one beautiful door as a group of Belarussian Christians and I took a trip to the Botanical Gardens. We prayed over one another, and it was a beautiful opportunity to learn about the Belarussian church along with talking about life as a missionary.

Yet at debrief, our Squad was presented with a vote: either go to Kyrgyzstan after Armenia or go back to Romania to help with Ukrainian refugees. I felt that this was going to be a very decisive moment for our Squad and our Race. Personally, it was very impactful to me. Our Squad Mentor, Ari, challenged us to pray over the vote and be led by the Spirit as to where we should go. Central Asia, especially Mongolia, has been an area that I have been very excited about visiting for many years. This is the area that I had in mind of serving when committing to the Race in 2019. It’s mountainous, rugged, and filled with nomadic people groups who need the Gospel. Yet deep down, I felt called to die to my wants and desires. God has cultivated this squad with a deep love for those who are hurting and towards ministering to refugees. The war between Ukraine and Russia has triggered millions of refugees to flee into Europe along with an exodus out of Russia (https://bretthaas.theworldrace.org/post/stories-from-both-sides-of-the-war). Because of this, I decided to vote for Romania. The results were released, and over 80% of us supported being rerouted away from Central Asia and towards Romania to help with the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

On one February 2020 day, my parents and I were at AIM (Adventures in Missions) headquarters in Gainesville, Georgia, USA. An open house commenced, and we talked with staff about what the World Race would look like. The snow turned the campus into a picturesque winter wonderland, and we prayed over the upcoming Race and prospective missionaries. A couple of months later, the world slowly began to emerge from a hard lock down due to Covid-19. The day after I pushed my launch date for the Race back a year, I hiked in the woods near my house. At the end of a lengthy gravel road and a hike, an overlook opened up with a waterfall and views towards Grandfather Mountain. I knew this would be a season of waiting, and I spent a lengthy prayer session there. It is at this time that the Lord challenged me to not rush the journey and to trust in His timing (https://bretthaas.theworldrace.org/post/dont-rush-the-journey).

Once the debrief ended in Georgia, we found ourselves on a twisty drive and a hike up to a mountain retreat center where we held the prayer burn. We pressed into the Lord and prayed over our Squad together. It was such a powerful time filled with reconciliation, deliverance, and worship. It’s also beautiful how God used the church we worked at while in Batumi to cultivate this connection in order to be able to stay here. However, just like that day in 2020, a similar situation came to pass. At the prayer burn, I continued to process and absorb the weight and impact of our decision (and guidance from the Lord). Despite ministering in Central Asia (with significant trekking / village outreach likely a key component) being one of my main goals of the World Race, it’s not going to happen in this season of life. But that’s ok!

The Burn represented a beautiful time of examining God’s goodness and trusting in Him. I looked back and saw His goodness throughout the Covid waiting period and how He brought lots of unexpected opportunities (like serving in Alaska). He also led me through Scripture about trusting in Him and stories of those who demonstrated great faith (Hebrews 11). As a squad, we fought for one another and prayed together. I poured myself out, and they poured right back into me. I shared my challenges, and they prayed over me. I grappled with the fact that AIM (Adventures in Missions) has been transitioning away from the 11n11 (11 countries in 11 months) World Race format for a while now. God is doing new things, and they are adapting to a new global climate. It’s a bittersweet thing because the World Race like it used to be is coming to an end. In my mind, I wondered, “Why would God do this change?”. Perhaps I was grieving a bit more than I realized. It also appears that AIM right now is shifting its focus towards established partners as it engages more of the younger American Christian youth. Yet the organization plans to continue pioneering the Gospel in the far reaches of the world. It’s just going to be different in the future.

And so, at the end of the Burn and heading into Armenia, I find myself at another waiting period. While I am continuing to pray about exploration and ministry in Central Asia (and other areas) in a future season, I am trusting in the Lord and waiting for His timing. I am also continuing to trust Him as He brings about my calling towards fruition. Yet at the same time, in unexpected “detours” like this, I also look forward to unexpected opportunities that He will bring. We had refugee training in Georgia, which will help equip us for ministering to Ukrainian refugees in Romania. We also will be seeing many old friends from Romania while there, which will be a special blessing! In Armenia, the city of Yerevan is ripe with ministry opportunities because many Russians fly there before going to different places because of the war. And at the end of the Race, we plan to break off into groups and explore different parts of Europe and the Middle East while keeping our eyes open for ministry.

Please continue to pray for us as we finish out the Race. Please pray as we embrace the changes that God has brought to our route, and that we will continue to be open to His opportunities. We are also planning to be back in America at the end of June (where I plan to settle back in Boone again). While we are beginning to plan our futures after the Race, we are also excited to continue to serve out on the field in these last 2.5 months. Here we go!

BELOW: Like taking a super sketchy bridge across the river, God challenges us to trust in Him as we take steps of faith through the unknown and the uncertain.