South Africa Argentina

Your World Race journey will start in the large and diverse nation of South Africa. This nation is incredibly multicultural and it still healing from it's dark and painful history of racism and segregation. This country has 11 official languages, coastlines on two oceans and world famous mountain views. Racers in South Africa focus a lot of their time on evangelism through the school systems. You might find yourself discipling middle and high school students through sports ministry, teaching life skills or assisting with academic classes.

Next you will continue north to Zimbabwe, home to the Zambezi river that feeds into the world-famous Victoria Falls. This nation is still in transition after being colonized and suffers from large unemployment rates. World Racers in Zimbabwe focus on coming along the local church and join in with everything the churches do, helping with their services, meetings, outreach and offering uplift and encouragement. Community and relationships are central to life in Zimbabwe, your month here will be all about discipleship through sharing life together.

Next, you will head to Zambia. Our partners in Zambia are focused on church planting and evangelism. Most Racers will settle into a specific town or village and work with our ministry hosts to share the Gospel and plant Christ-centered communities in a focused area. There will be lots of opportunity to work with children, leading camps and events. Our partners have expressed a growing need for ministry for women. Women deeply want to share their voices in a new way, and you could be a part of empowering them to share their stories.

Your final month in Africa will wrap-up in Malawi, known as the warm heart of Africa. Malawi is considered one of the poorest countries in the world. You will be forced to slow down as their culture highly values people over tasks and to-do lists. Our partners in Malawi want Racers to help set the foundation for new believers to live their lives for Christ. They are really passionate about discipleship after introduction to the Gospel. So you can be confident the relationships you build this month will have great potential to make a lasting impact.

Next, your journey will take you to Vietnam. This incredibly friendly nation loves to welcome visitors from around the world. You’ll find it very easy to start up conversations, as people love to ask you why you’re there. You will also meet lots of travelers and expats and have the opportunity to share your faith and why you’re traveling with them. From serving the elderly community, to teaching English to working with orphaned children or serving in mission minded restaurants, this month will be filled with community, deep conversations and large bowls of pho.

Next you’ll head to Thailand’s modest neighbor, Cambodia. Here you will find delicious food, open air markets and bustling streets. Cambodia is struggling to heal from a dark and crippling genocide in the 1970s and is currently faced with crippling poverty and human trafficking. Much of the ministry this month will focus on investing in youth. You’ll likely spend your month reaching children through teaching English and the Bible. English is critical for the younger generations to find sustainable jobs and education to move forward.

Your next stop in Southeast Asia is Laos, one of the most ethnically diverse countries in the area - nicknamed the crossroads of Asia. Compared to its neighbors, Laos has remained relatively traditional. Laos is a closed country so it's mostly unreached by or unaccepting of the Gospel. In your time there you will come alongside the locals that are working to change that. You will assist local church planters both in sharing your faith and passing out the word of God, but also actually helping to construct buildings for believers to meet in. This month will be stretching and rewarding.

Your time in Southeast Asia will wrap up in Thailand, known for its stunning beaches, friendly people and bustling outdoor food markets. You will feel welcomed here, but you’ll quickly take note of darkness that plagues this region: human trafficking. In Thailand, you might find yourself under neon flashing lights and sharing a Coke with women in between their dances in night clubs. You might find yourself having difficult conversations with the tourists partaking in the industry and spending hours covering your teammates and the streets in prayer.

You will kick off the final leg of your journey in Peru where you will find many people still wearing traditional dress and speaking in different local dialects. The main ministry in Peru is planting churches in the jungle. Racers live with local people and share a daily routine with them. You could be leading locals in Bible studies, sharing your faith with families or simply helping prepare dinner. We also partner with an orphanage for children with special needs and a college ministry in Lima. This month will be heavily focused on relationships and community.

Next you will continue on to Bolivia. This nation is dense with jungle and mountains including parts of the Amazon rainforest and the Andes mountains. Everywhere you look there is incredible natural beauty. In Bolivia, we work with a lot of pastors passionate about evangelism and many of our partners focus on ministering to remote, unreached villages. You could likely find yourself hiking and camping for days at a time to share the Gospel with a community that has never heard it before. Bolivia is the poorest nation in South America and as the people are very ethnic, they experience a great deal of discrimination from other nations. Recently evangelism almost became illegal and this really left the local Christians frightened. You can be part of bringing encouragement and hope to this fragile nation.

Your final month on the World Race will wrap up in Argentina, a country rich with culture and nationalism. Argentinians believe they have the best of everything – the best wine and food, and they’re very proud to be home to the Tango and sections of Patagonia and the Andes Mountains. You will surely pass through Buenos Aires, a bustling city that will remind you of New York City. Our biggest partner in Argentina is Youth for a Mission (YWAM). They focus on youth and women’s ministry. They also love to take teams out to preach in the street – something we hope you have great confidence in by the end of the Race. Argentians are very social and love to catch up over mate. Argentina has the capacity to be a missionary-sending nation, our vision here is to empower them toward this.