So it’s been a while since I last wrote, sorry folks. But being that I haven’t written
in the last three months, a lot has happened. For instance “Adventure of a Lifetime” by Coldplay. Yeah that has happened, it made it on my “long distance” playlist.
But in all seriousness, I last left you in Thailand, and on our last day in Asia we had yet again another team change. I am now on a coed team called Trés; the wonderful Christina is leading, our hombres are Jarred and Eric (from my first team), rounding up with Shaylee, and my best friend Allison(which was a lovely surprise). We packed and repacked our packs to comply with Air China’s 40 lb limit, and set out for China, where we froze our butts off as we slept in the airport in Beijing. We then jumped on a plane that had every movie Jackie Chan has EVER been in, and landed in the good old U S of A in Houston. And all I can say about that layover is I hit the food too hard too fast, leaving me sick on the flight down to Central America from eating Wendy’s and Cinnabon.
We landed and separated in Guatemala City, spent the night with another teams hosts, grabbed Taco Bell (at the guys persistent request), and headed south on a bus that we all slept through due to jet lag. Pulling into Río Dulce late, we managed to find a hostel, sleep, and waited until morning to call our host. We were partnered with a ministry called Blue Water Surrender in the very small village of Ensenada. Very small, they used a conch shell to assemble the village for meetings. I think the thing I learned from Guatemala is that there is no such thing as “pointless ministry”. I think it was around the time that I stood in a stuffy room, applying the third coat of white paint on a wall that would eventually get torn down, in the middle of moaning and groaning, did I realize that this ministry wasn’t ours. It wasn’t even Gayle’s or Luiz’s (our hosts for the month), it was the Lord’s, and there I was, in a stuffy room, sweating, and complaining about the work that I was giving unto the Lord. If our work is for His glorification then that makes it purposeful, no matter how big or small our task may be. Our work in Guatemala was a mix between orphans and manual labor, helping to build a house for refugees in the area. We lived on Lake Izobel, and that month lice, bed bugs, and chicken pox were all very real possibilities. I would say that the best/hardest thing for me that month was having to speak Spanish, my teammates since have picked it up, but that first month I was mentally exhausted, trying to remember what I learned in college, while keeping in mind that words and dialects change not only in every country but also in different regions.
Guatemala was also the month for PVT (Parent Vision Trip), and we only had ten racers who didn’t have their parents come to spend the week serving with them, so the parent less aka the faction less got to stay in Antigua for the week and found rest. Rest for me looked like walks down the cobblestone streets, a lot of time with Jesus over coffee, catching up with friends and family back at home, fundraising, and being able to spend time here and there with my WR family and their families when they would come to Antigua (they were being hosted in a city about 40 minutes away). I think I can say that Antigua is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve ever set foot in.
The squad then headed for El Salvador ( technically our tenth country) for Easter week, with the intention of practicing interruptibility. We spent the week,living life, while being mindful of who and what was going on around us, inviting the Spirit to move as he desired. A lot of us made friends with our surf instructors (I being scared of the ocean, and not a great swimmer, skipped on trying to surf), and spent time with them outside of the paid lessons. There were some who had the opportunity to baptize in the ocean. And at the end of the week, we had Easter service on the beach, with many of the people we had met during the week. I also had the chance to meet up with family of family, my sister in laws uncle, when in El Salvador right??
Bringing us to this month, Honduras. Both teams Trés and Ezer are at The Heart of Christ in Telanga, and again it is in a very small village. I think you can say this ministry is both an orphanage and a place of refuge for the physically abused. During the week we are helping in the classrooms with the kids, doing construction, helping around the house cleaning and cooking, or with the special need girls. There is something really beautiful about these kinds of ministries, where you can see so much of the Father through the ones He has called to be here long term.
This is our last week here in Honduras and as of today, I have 33 more days until touch down in LA. We leave for Nicaragua on Friday, our last country. I ask that you be in prayer not only for me but for all of us on U Squad as we finish this and begin to transition back. Also in fundraising, only $447 left to be fully funded.
A few days ago I woke up and was thinking about this year, and I thought about how I guess now two years ago I was praying about what to do, and the Lord said “one year”. I didn’t know what that meant, but instead of moving, I stayed another year in my small town of Yucaipa, and at the end of that one year I left to begin the race. And in this year I’ve experienced, as my friend Christi likes to call it, a thin space with my Papa. A place where there’s nothing but closeness with Him, where intimacy exists, and it’s been so sweet. Thank you for your continued support. I love you guys.
