Mission of a lifetime

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Robin Barnes is on a 11-month,...

HOLLY, Michigan – It’s hard to keep track of Robin Barnes’ whereabouts these days as she has criss-crossed the globe from country to country over the past eight months. In the process, Barnes says she’s having a life-changing experience as she takes part in The World Race, an 11-month, 11-country mission trip with the ultimate goal of producing leaders for the next generation.

Barnes, 23, is a 2005 graduate of Holly High School and a 2009 graduate of Central Michigan University. She said she made the decision to join the World Race after reading about the organization in a magazine.

After going online and reading what current racers were blogging, Barnes said she began to realize that the trip would be the next logical step. “Complacency can, at times, be a problem in the American church, and this trip is designed to combat that,” Barnes said.

“It was a way to find out more about God and myself and to really see God move around the world,” Barnes said. “Jesus told us to go out and do all of these incredible things in His name, and I wanted to do that.”

And so it began last August when Barnes embarked on her journey, first traveling to Galway, Ireland where she took part in city beautification and street evangelism.  “I met a mother and a daughter there, Carol and Angela, who continue to have a huge influence on me,” Barnes said. “Carol is so on fire, so sure of God in herself – I loved talking to her.”

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One of Barnes' stops in the Wo...

In one-month intervals, Barnes would continue her mission, stopping in Romania, Montenegro, Israel, Turkey, Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

With two places yet to go, Barnes says so far, it’s a three-way tie when it comes to her favorite stops along the way.

“It would be between Turkey, Kenya, and the Philippines for different reasons,” she said.

Barnes said daily activities in Turkey were difficult because it’s not a country in which one can openly be a missionary. Barnes said much time has been spent spreading the lie that missionaries come to eat Turkish children.

“The people are very fearful of anyone they suspect of being a missionary,” Barnes said. “So we used the word, “worker” to refer to a missionary and had to tell people that we were simple there to visit and tour the city.

Truth be told, Barnes said while in Turkey, she and her group helped other full-time “workers” there, babysitting their children so that they could focus on home visits and taking the time to learn the Turkish language. 

While she loved the parks and lush greenness of Nairobi, Kenya, Barnes said it was the openness and receptiveness of its people that made Kenya such a special place.

“People were very open and receptive to our speaking to them about God and Jesus,” Barnes said. “They would ask questions they had, or just talk to us about their experiences with religion and church.”

The downside of Nairobi, according to Barnes was the group’s close proximity to Kibera, a huge slum located within the city.

“We were about a 20-minute walk away and visited several times to talk to people and pray over them,” she said. Barnes said one woman had requested that they pray for her baby who had been stolen. “After questioning our pastor, we learned that child abduction is not uncommon in Kibera,” she said. “Learning that really broke my heart.”

Describing the Philippines as “amazing,” Barnes and the group are on a three-week visa, making it a short month for the racers.

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Robin Barnes will return to t...

“We are staying at an orphanage that houses 26 of the cutest kids in the world, one of which is a 1-month-old little girl,” she said.  Other times, Barnes says she participates in sports ministry by playing basketball with the gang, and attends afternoon “feedings” for the kids. “We perform a skit and sing songs to the kids who then get soup and meatballs,” she said. “For some, it is their only meal of the day.”

Barnes said the country that has challenged her most so far was Uganda. “We were in a very remote town, and our village had no electricity or running water,” she said. “The staff often talks about ‘abandonment,; I finally came to understand that concept while in Uganda.”

Rarely alone and having to do everything that required light by 7 p.m., Barnes said most of her “comforts” including listening to her iPod and eating chocolate were not longer available to her.

“Seeing the high level of poverty, learning that most of the girls quit school by the age of 12 or 13 to get married, and discovering that 70 percent of the town is HIV-positive made it a difficult month,” she said. “It is one thing to read about AIDS statistics, and another to look into the face of a beautiful little girl and know that she is slowly dying.”

Looking back at the last eight months, Barnes says she’s already learned a great deal about herself.

“I believe that the lapse of any 11-month period results in change,” Barnes said. “But we like to say that the World Race is like a pressure cooker, and you just get a lot more growth in a short time because you are with a limited set of people and are forced to confront issues.”

Some of those issues, Barnes said, involve the daily use of sarcasm, sorting out deep-rooted beliefs, and coming to terms with guilt.

“Sometimes it’s hard to see all these things and not feel guilty for the things I’ve been so blessed with,” she explained. “But what I’ve learned is that I should be extremely thankful for what I have instead of feeling guilty because guilt only makes me unhappy and doesn’t help.”

Barnes has two more countries to visit before she returns home in time for Holly’s Fourth of July fireworks – Cambodia and Thailand.

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Being away for nearly a year h...

“I suppose most of what I miss about Holly revolves around people,” Barnes said. Food-wise, Barnes said she can’t wait for a Villager’s Restaurant cinnamon roll or helping of homemade French toast. “I’m also excited to see everyone from the First Baptist Church of Holly again and to take walks with my dad around our neighborhood after dinner.”

While it was tough for Holly Area Schools Superintendent Kent Barnes to say good-bye to his daughter last summer, he says he has no regrets.

“Robin found this venture to follow her faith and beliefs,” he said. “I am so very proud of Robin – she has put her faith into action and has seen the world in a manner that most individuals can only imagine.

“When I read her blogs, I must confess, I get a little teary-eyed,” he said. “My little girl has become a wonderful young lady who has worked diligently to be the best she can be, and I can’t wait for her return so I can listen to the many reflections she will have.”