Occasionally [a] Musing

In 2002, Wonder Voyage still seemed a bit shaky.

After a summer of trips in 2001, Shawn was stopping shoplifters and cleaning up spills as a part-time mall security guard. It was a humiliating job, a startling contrast to the work he was doing just a few weeks before with Wonder Voyage. By 2002, Shawn was also working as an interim youth minister for two different churches to make ends meet. All told, he was working at least seventy hours a week. There was little other income: almost no donations coming in and still too few trips to support the year-round, day-to-day logistical needs of the newborn organization.

In spite of financial woes (which are not uncommon for nonprofit start-ups), Shawn still found a lot of joy. Even in his side jobs, he was still doing what he was uniquely good at: challenging people to grow in their journeys with Christ. Whether it was putting in a shift at the mall or filling in at a church office, God was there, working all things together for His glory. Personal relationships still took precedence over money and security, an ethic Shawn still maintained through a tough 2002.

It is actually a theme all too familiar to many of those who have come to work with Wonder Voyage. Our seemingly random paths – frustrating jobs, various failures, and dead-ends - somehow brought us to the doors of Wonder Voyage. We’ve all been at that place of feeling utterly humbled. And we are better for it. In the end, God takes all our situations, both the glorious and humiliating, our wondrous points in time and our moments in the mud, our victories and our failures and uses these circumstances to mold our lives into the image of Christ.

But our story now pauses with the separation of Shawn and Cheryl. It is a narrative best explained by Shawn, but it represents a major turning point, for not only his marriage, but the culture of Wonder Voyage itself.  (for the exciting conclusion, check in to ShawnSmallStories next week.)

Mike Flickinger has been leading Wonder Voyage trips for four years and works full-time as Shawn’s administrative assistant.  He has been commissioned to write this series of articles documenting the history of our organization. This articles covers 2002, the third year of Wonder Voyage.

Our Hidden Campgrounds

On a few weekends in the fall and spring you could venture into Flower Mound, a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Dallas, and see something strange. To get there, you would go past one of the nicest neighborhoods in Dallas, stately brick homes with multiple-car garages, big yards and rolling hills. You would drive until your path begins to look less like a street and more like a winding country road. At a particular bend in the road you could pull out, past four big orange barriers and down a half-washed-out gravel path. There you would see teams of hungry-looking teenagers and adults, fiercely competing in mental and physical challenges. Welcome to the heart of Expozure.

Shawn knew that Wonder Voyage was meant to be- that God wanted him to move forward; to plant the seeds and allow them to grow. But on September 11^th, everything changed. Our world was instantly different, and people’s view of the world along with it.

20 Tons of Trash

With the major terrorist attack after the end of the 2001 busy season, people were afraid to travel internationally. The subsequent loss of support, lack of prospects and lack of paychecks could have been the end of the organization in its infancy.

Around that time, Michael Fleming (who is now one of Wonder Voyage’s board members) came up with the idea of an event that could capitalize on the newly created Survivor TV show. There was something appealing about the survival game and WV had all the resources to create fantastic events: a dedicated core of volunteers, connections to local churches, and encounters that could easily be adapted to the new format. WV needed Expozure to help offset the rising staff costs and the huge amount of work that went into every trip.

Faith Lutheran 2008

The format was simple but effective. The participants would split into teams and they would compete against each other to earn points. The teams would be given very little food but they could earn more food by winning challenges, which they could either eat or trade for more points. All the games were designed to force teams to work together and allow different groups with different strengths to remain competitive throughout the weekend. Like Wonder Voyage’s summer voyages, the weekends would follow a strong theme or story. And the ultimate goal would also be the same: a true encounter with God for its participants.

So the first Expozure kicked off in the fall of 2001, with about fifty kids. It wasn’t perfect: the participants had to bring their own camping gear. The games ran a little rough. But despite all that the event was a huge success. Expozure was eventually able to meet

A Winning Team

WV’s office costs for the next four years.  Another benefit was Wonder Voyage’s partnership with the Corps of Engineers.  Since 2001, the Expozure teams have cleaned up 40,000 lbs. of trash and completed numerous beautification projects.

Since that first season in 2001, Expozure has hosted sixty-two events for 2500 participants. Most of the Expozure staff members have helped out on summer voyages and vice versa. In a sense, Expozure has extended the Wonder Voyage family. The birth of Expozure is yet another example of God’s faithfulness to WV. It was initially created out of desperation, but God has blessed it and used it in profound ways.

So if you are ever near Lake Grapevine and see groups of kids with multicolored bandanas racing around the woods- you’ve stumbled into the wilds of Expozure.

Mike Flickinger has been leading Wonder Voyage trips for four years and works full-time as Shawn’s administrative assistant.  He has been commissioned to write this series of articles to document the history of our organization. This article covers the Wonder Voyage year of 2001.

It was in 2001, the second year Wonder Voyage’s existence, when I found myself huddled and shaking against the cold stone altar on a hill in the south of Wales. My family and I were halfway through our second straight summer in Ireland, leading voyages for churches from the States.   We had a two week gap until the next church group arrived so we decided to take a brief holiday in Wales. We arrived at Ffald-y-Brenin, a superb retreat center perched atop a hill overlooking the magical Gwaum Valley. Thankful for the retreat, we were ready for a much needed rest.  The next day, as I explored the property, I came upon the circular chapel.  Built in an ancient Celtic design, I marveled at both the simplicity of the architecture and the depth of peace that resided in the small room.  The most striking feature was the altar.  It was literally the top of the mountain.  The chapel had been built to encapsulate the rocky peak.

As I sat in silence drowning in my thoughts. The last two years had been spiritually, physically and emotionally exhausting.  Sitting there, I found myself praying the same prayer I had prayed hundreds of times since I started Wonder Voyage. “Lord, if you are ready for me to be done with this, to walk away, and start something, anything else just give me the word.” Wonder Voyage was a dream significantly bigger than me. The responsibility of creating and executing spiritual journeys was invigorating yet utterly terrifying. I would often wake up from some sort of night-terror having to do with me missing some vital detail on a trip which caused an avalanching disaster.  The whispers of the naysayers of my past telling me I wasn’t qualified enough or spiritually ready boomed in my ears with every major decision I had to make.

Sitting in the chapel, without any distraction or any sound, I started to shake.  As I lay upon the stone altar the dam of my soul broke as tears poured onto the rock. Once again I prayed, “Lord, if you are ready for me to be done with this, to walk away, and start something, anything else just give the word.”

For some reason, this prayer that I had spoken hundreds of times was, at this moment, a final act of desperation. In my heart, I wanted the voice of God to clearly release me from Wonder Voyage.  I loved the concept and leading trips. I rejoiced in seeing lives changed. But I knew it was too big for me to handle. Walking away would be much easier than moving forward. This may be hard to believe, but the empty room suddenly filled with a Holy Presence. My tears dried up and I clutched the top of the mountain as if I was about to be pulled off it by some gigantic hand and crushed. I did not dare open my eyes. In my heart, a clear declaration rang over and over again. A hurricane of words tore at my spirit as I held on for dear life. I did not hear the words.  I just knew them instantly: “Enough Shawn. You will never ask me to release you again! Go forward and be what I have created you to be!” The atmosphere softened as I vowed to never doubt the call to pioneer Wonder Voyage.  One final questioned echoed as a parting shot from the Lord. “Who will be in control of Wonder Voyage, Shawn? Who will you trust?” So on that day it was settled. Wonder Voyage would move ahead as long as God remained a hold of the reins.

This year Wonder Voyage celebrates 10 wondrous years of existence. We have taken thousands of people on pilgrimage and mission adventures to over 40 locations around the world.  We are debt free and have given over 1.3 million dollars worth of service hours. Our staff has grown to over twenty gifted individuals who are some of the most experienced and creative trip leaders in the world. As we continue to trust God the future looks unbelievable with the birth of Boundless Expeditions and the creation of ShawnSmallStories.com.  Who knows where that trust will lead us?

2000 came to be the year that the word “pilgrimage” would define Wonder Voyage. The bulk of the year was filled with challenge after challenge and it could have easily been Wonder Voyage’s last. Although the voyages were successful for the churches, everyone on staff was emotionally and spiritually drained as they tried to create a new way to lead mission trips and pilgrimages. For all its difficulty, however, 2000 defined what Wonder Voyage would become as an organization.

Keith in the Comoros (Shawn is the camera man)

Up to this moment, Shawn had an idea in his head of what pilgrimage was: a sacred journey prompted by God. He felt the journey was transformational to the soul and the spirit. Somewhere along the road you would visit holy sites, learn from them, and return home with a new and healed heart. All of our pilgrimages today carry these elements, but a key ingredient was still missing.

Enter Keith Wheeler. For over 20 years, Keith has been visiting other countries carrying a huge, rough hewn, wooden cross. To date he has been to over 180 countries. He carries it on his shoulder from point A to point B. Many times he doesn’t exactly know where point B is. He simply walks, obeying Christ’s call on his life, and very literally “taking up his cross” and following Jesus. In 2000, Shawn was a member at one of Keith’s supporting churches, and Ken Janke (one of WV’s current board members) urged Shawn to travel with Keith on one of his voyages. Though reluctant because of the busy summer he had come through, Shawn agreed to leave for Africa for seventeen days, joining Keith and attempting to learn about pilgrimage.

With Shawn, Keith took the cross to the island countries of Africa, including: Seychelles, Madagascar and Reunion. Some of the places where Shawn and Keith walked were frequently unfriendly to Westerners. And worse, they were hostile to the cross. Their religions included Hinduism, Animism, ancestoral worship, and Fundamentalist Muslim. From day to day, Shawn never knew where he was going next, or where he would eat or where he would sleep.  For the first time in all his travels he felt like a complete foreigner. He ventured into places where he was not welcome. Following a guy carrying a cross made him feel even more strange and uncomfortable. But on this journey to Africa, Shawn discovered what Peter meant when he addressed the early Christians as “as aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11).

The Fairytale Landscape of Mauritius

In that place of complete discomfort, God was present in a tangible way. Shawn was forced to rely upon Christ for every single moment of every single day. Through the danger and hardship, Shawn heard from God in ways that strengthened his faith and helped him put the upcoming years in focus. Pilgrimage was no longer theory to Shawn.  It had become reality.

Shawn went from walking the path of a pilgrim to discovering a true pilgrim’s faith. In going on his own voyage to Africa, Shawn learned the meaning of what it was to be a pilgrim. This complete reliance upon Christ has helped define what makes Wonder Voyage so unique. We plan our trips, make our arrangements and calculations, but at the heart of what we do is the knowledge that we are aliens here and we are in God’s hands. We journey as pilgrims- all the time- not just when we’re out traveling.

Mike Flickinger has been leading Wonder Voyage trips for four years and works full-time as Shawn’s administrative assistant.  He has been commissioned to write this series of articles documenting the history of our organization. This articles covers 2000, the first year of Wonder Voyage 2000.

Ask anyone even years after their Wonder Voyage trip what they recall about their journey and chances are their answer will be an encounter moment. If not the most endearing quality of Wonder Voyage, Encounter Moments are unquestionably the most memorable.

Combining a variety of elements such as a unique location, storytelling or journaling, and encounter moment employs the full senses of the traveler. Sometimes planned but more often spontaneous, encounter moments are defining memorable events that illustrate to our voyagers that God is present and active in their lives. Often, these moments become face-to-face encounters with Christ that leave life-long transformation in their wake. Anyone who leads a Wonder Voyage has a multitude of encounter moment stories that keep them encouraged. But when was Wonder Voyage’s original encounter?

Ireland was the location of our first trips starting in 2000. Teams from the U.S. joined us throughout the summer exploring the beauty of south Ireland, serving a local church in the town of New Ross and learning about Celtic Christianity. Our first team from Dallas First Assembly arrived in Eire and we were a bit nervous. As the director of the organization, I knew we had to introduce the Wonder Voyage experience in an unexpected and dramatic manner. A split second idea spurred on by a piece of local history changed everything.

Close to where we housed the team sat the hidden entrance to the old Mount Elliot train tunnel. The bare limestone passageway ran a mile underground ending at a red bridge over the brisk River Barrow. It had been in disuse since 1963; the tracks were long ago stripped away, making it appear like the dark cavern of a mammoth troll. As the small group of students gathered at the entrance of the passageway, a curious hush descended. A musty smell like old wet clothes crept out of a hollow of darkness loosely covered by years of creeping vines.  The gaggle of teens, chattering like a murder of crows just seconds before, felt a wave a excitement and fear. Quite suddenly, the unknown sat just ahead.I explained that we would walk the tunnel in absolute darkness and complete silence.

As we staggered down that pitch black warren, the lack of sight enhanced every sound: a steady drip of water from the cavern ceiling; unsure echoed steps; the quickening breathing as fears of the unseen built in the group.  In three minutes all vestiges of the afternoon sunlight disappeared. We were totally blind to our surroundings. By the time we reached the middle of the tunnel, now a half mile under the earth, the majority of the group was unnerved. But they trusted that there was purpose to this odd exercise.  Stopping the group in the dark, I spoke about the power of unhindered worship. What would a song of praise be like without the distractions that normally barrage us?

Many on the team with beautiful voices started to sing in the darkness, unfettered. With no sight of another, all inhibitions were consumed leaving every person free to sing with their whole heart. Voices bounced off the yawning walls and echoed in angelic tones.  For the next half an hour the singing and praying continued unbroken, spontaneous and rapt with a fullness of joy impossible to describe. As our time of worship ended, and the flashlights burst on showing us the way to the Barrow Bridge, the group remained hushed, sheltered in the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Michael Fleming, the pastor of the group whispered in my ear, “That is what I call a genuine encounter with God.” That conversation convinced me that moments like this should be common place on all our journeys.  Although we cannot orchestrate Go’s presence, we can surely invite Him to meet us any way He pleases. If we provide the opportunity, He might just show up. That day, in a dark musty Irish tunnel the encounter moment was born and the little team from Texas realized that their trip would be unlike anything they imagined.

The Birth of the Encounter Moment is a part of the article series covering the Wonder Voyage Years.   The Encounter Moment was created in 2000 on Wonder Voyage’s first official overseas trip.