Hello world!!!!! It has been so so long since I last updated you on everything and I am so so sorry for that – but it has been a pretty crazy time here on the race. Since my last blog post, my team finished our time in Guatemala, traveled to Belize for one last adventure, AND made it to South Africa!! I experienced so much change in such little time, making it almost impossible to process everything and share it with all of you at the same time. If leaving our ministry, our host, our little home, and a country we had been living in for so long wasn’t enough change, things with my team began quickly changing too. One of my teammates and most favorite people went home early from the race. The entire situation was extremely unclear to me and I struggled a lot with understanding why this would happen – and why now with all of the chaos. While trying to process all of my thoughts and emotions, I was flying to Africa with all 40 or so of my squad mates to quickly transition into the next chunk of the race. After only a few short days of rest, I suddenly had an entire new team of people that I would be living with for the next three months. My new team really is so so awesome and I am incredibly excited to be able to experience Lesotho with such an awesome group of girls!!! 🙂 Buuuut with everything my team had gone through together over the last three months, it was very hard for me to process that I would no longer be living in community with them. I knew that several of my teammates were struggling as well, especially with the unresolved situation of our friend leaving. It was very scary to think that I would soon be stripped of my comfort zone, where I felt very known and understood, and be thrown into a new place with all new people. This was exactly how I felt coming into this trip and leaving home, and it was going to happen all over again.
Luckily, I have had more time to think about the situation with both my old and new teammates during the time we’ve had here in South Africa. I know I still need to find closure on leaving Guatemala and my teammates, but having time here to rest has been so helpful as well.
Our entire squad has been together since we arrived in South Africa, and will continue to stay together until December 1st! I am so thankful to have everyone here after such a crazy past few weeks. All of our leaders have also been with us debriefing our time in Guatemala, which has been super helpful for me to talk about all of my thoughts. During this all squad month, we are working with Iris Ministries here in White River, serving in any way we can. So far I have been able to hang out with the world’s cutest kids, as well as get to know some awesome teenagers in the community. I have also been able to clean up around the area in order to bless those living on campus. My squad is living a short drive away at Africa School of Missions, and I finally have a bed and hot showers!!! I rarely have wifi, but please please continue to text me with any questions you have about what all I have done, or am going to continue to do here and I will respond ASAP!!
Final update!! On December 1st, when our all squad month comes to an end, we will all be traveling to Lesotho to serve for the two remaining months we have before Cambodia! My team will be living with another team of girls! I am super excited to get to meet our host and begin our ministry!!!! As soon as I arrive, I will post an update on exactly what I will be doing there 🙂
The actual last update!!! With all of the craziness going on here, I have also not been able to post much about fundraising. I still have a good amount to raise…and fast! By the end of this month, I need to have around $2,000 turned in to meet my final deadline. This sounds very scary, but I know that God has brought me this far and brought me on such an amazing experience, that He will continue to provide and help me get fully funded. If you feel led to donate, it would be very much appreciated. Please please come to me with any questions about what all exactly has been apart of this “craziness”, or if you want to know what exactly you would be donating too. It’s hard to show just how much this trip has impacted me and helped me grow through a simple blog, so I would love it if you reached out to me!! Also, please continue to share about my journey through my pictures and blogs to spread the word! I promise I will start doing a better job of showing you all of my awesome experiences for the months to come 🙂
