The Amazing Race - Quest Edition

God did amazing things through “The Amazing Race – Quest Edition” held recently in Brazil. Quest is an adventure camp setting used by TeachBeyond Brasil throughout the year to develop servant leaders of all ages using biblical and ethical principles.

From memory games, to strength and balance exercises, precision shooting, and some fun food challenges, we kept these couples hopping all day long. In our final meeting, hearing the stories of what God had planned for each couple was overwhelming! We could never have imagined how some simple activities would impact their marriages.

As each couple went through the Amazing Race, our station leaders observed every couple and took notes. At the end of the race, each couple was “rewarded” with a word that described what we as staff noticed in their behavior. It was a beautiful way to end the race - to be able to speak words of life into each couple. Then we allowed them to respond and share how God had worked in their lives throughout the weekend.

One man, who normally is very quiet and timid, shared with us that he realized the importance of him becoming the spiritual leader in his home. His wife sat beside him with tears of joy running down her cheeks!

Through tears, another woman told us that she has tried so hard to respect her husband who is away a lot of the time for work, and was doubting whether she was being the wife God desired her to be. When she received her “reward” from Quest, the word that described their marriage from our observation was “mutual respect”. She felt God confirming her actions towards her husband.

We chose the word “communication” for one of the couples, but when they heard their description, they burst out laughing! They went on to explain that just a few minutes before, they had decided that what they most needed to work on in their marriage was communication. We encouraged them by telling them we were considering them as our speakers for next year’s retreat.

It is difficult to share all that we saw, observed, learned, and enjoyed during this weekend. What a privilege to pray with these couples, some followers of Jesus, others not yet. It is so wonderful to see one couple’s story encouraging another couple. That is what the body of Christ is meant to do.

Scott and Patsy Buhler