 |
| Hitch Contents |
|
 |
|
By Gavin Tyte
Print
Email
From Alice Springs, I joined my sister on an interestingly named ‘Sahara’ tour. This was a three-day camping trip to the 1000ft high Ayres rock, Kings Canyon and the Olgas. The trip cost the mighty sum of $190.50. Certainly this kind of tourist camping was not something I was used to and I felt a little annoyed at having to shell out to do something I could do for free. However, the trip was fun and a gentle introduction to outback life for the canvasly challenged city folk.
After the trip, I said goodbye to my sister and from Alice Springs I hitched south. As I stood by the edge of the road, once, every half hour or so, a strange looking car would trundle past. The cars – each driven by a single driver - were odd shapes, angular and covered with what looked like mirrors. These were solar powered cars and what I was witnessing was the Solar Challenge, a 3000km race from Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south. Each car had a support crew that followed in a Land Rover.
As I stood waiting for a lift, over the period of a few hours, I watched the cars go by. Then, at a junction about 500 metres away, I saw one of the cars go the wrong way. There was nothing I could do to alert the driver and the car trundled down the wrong road. I kept my eyes open for the support crew, and about five minutes later a Land Rover approached with the Star Electronics Solar Challenge Team logo painted on the side. I stood in the road and hailed it down. “Your car has gone the wrong way!” I called out, and I pointed to where the car had gone. The driver of the Land Rover quickly turned around and sped off following the side road that the solar powered car had taken. About twenty minutes later the solar powered car returned to the main highway and drove past. The support car drew up. “Thanks mate, can we give you a lift?” I agreed.
I hopped into the back of the Land Rover and we followed the solar powered car. It was then that I realised my mistake. Solar powered cars go about 30 miles per hour. This was going to be a long journey. The support crew were monitoring the solar powered car using laptops. Despite the fact that they must have been on the road for days, there was a general air of excitement. This was a race and a serious business. After about an hour of painstakingly slow progress, both cars pulled over. When I asked why we had stopped, the team told me that it was so they could re-charge the solar powered car’s batteries before sunset. We piled out of the Land Rover and the team went to work setting up camp. The solar powered car’s panels were lifted up and angled towards the sun to maximise the sunlight. I thanked the team for the lift and then stood on the edge of the road waiting for my next ride.
To be a member of a Solar Challenge team, you have to be of a certain character. You have to be committed to the whole race and be willing to see it through. You have to be patient as the progress is sometimes painstakingly slow. You have to be equipped and have technical expertise and be ready to make repairs or do what ever is needed to keep the car on the road. You also have to be able to work as part of a team. Each member has a job to do. The success of the mission depends on each person fulfilling his or her role.
The apostle Paul in the Bible describes the Christian life as if we are running a race. He talks about the kind of character we are going to need if we are to win this race – we are to be loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled. He also talks extensively about how we are to work together as a team, and that each person in a church is like part of a body, vital to the functioning of the whole. Does this sound like church to you? When I thought of church, I thought of old ladies sitting in pews and Songs of Praise. Yet, the apostle Paul talks very little about church buildings or services. What he describes sounds far more exciting – and is much more like what I saw in the Solar Challenge team - a team with a purpose and a job to do.
Are churches groups of people committed to the whole race and willing to see it through? Are the people patient when the progress is painstakingly slow? Are the people in church equipped and do they have the technical expertise to make repairs or do whatever is needed to keep the car on the road? Are the members working together as part of a team? If so, this sounds like the kind of church I could be part of.
View Comments (0)
|
|
