THE WORLD RACE
I
am wrapping up the last leg of the journey here on the Race. This has been such a beautiful year in my
life. Although, it is hard to close this
chapter of my life I am excited to get home and be with family and friends that
I love so dearly. I am also excited to
see what the Lord has for me next. For
now, I just want to share things the Lord has done these past few months.
We kicked off our first month in
Central America in Nicaragua. After
overcoming jet lag we jumped into the many different ministry
opportunities. We divided our time
between a senior center, a disabled children’s school, praying for people in local
neighborhoods, and attending various churches.
It was a good month of staying busy doing ministry but also having time
to spend with the Lord. During that
time the Lord really taught me of my value as His daughter and how I am royalty
to Him. This is such a valuable lesson to have learned. Now, I find I function more out of His love
for me instead out of a desire to please Him.
Next we headed to El Salvador. For about three weeks prior to arriving I had been excited and praying into what the Lord was going to do this month. Sure enough, it turned into one of my
favorite months on the Race. We ended up
partnering with a group that had been planning evangelism campaigns. At the events we did dramas and prayed for
people. Many people were healed from
various illnesses and it was just awesome to come alongside this team. This team also enjoyed blessing us by taking
us to the beach and pool. There were no complaints with that as it was about
100 degrees every day. It was a very hot
month but I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. We saw the Lord move and made some amazing
friends.
Then we packed our bags for one last
trek and headed to Puerto Barrrios, Guatemala.
With anticipation building to return home, staying motivated for the
last month proved to be a challenge.
Despite that, we had amazing opportunities to love kids at an orphanage,
pray for people (including meeting and praying for the mayor), fundraise for a
local church, and most importantly have fun. I had the chance to go to Tikal
the Mayan ruins and that was incredible.
The Lord has been moving even in these last few weeks, giving me faith
and peace as I prepare to transition back into American culture. We
have one last stop of Antigua, Guatemala for our final debrief before heading
home!
As of
now, there are no definite plans when I get home. I am open to where the Lord is calling
whatever that may look like. I have seen
so much this year and will take a little time to process it all and then be
ready to go where the Lord leads. Please
be praying for the transition home and wisdom for the next path to take. Thank you all for prayers and support this
past year. I am honored to have such
amazing people that surround me and encourage me. I have been so blessed to be able to serve
God this year and to learn of His most intimate love. Blessings to all and much love.
To see pictures from my experience this
year visit…http://picasaweb.google.com/richalissa
