World Race has officially begun!!!!!! It feels so amazing to finally be starting what I have been anticipating for so many months! Last night I met my squad at LAX and we took a red eye to Guatemala, and we are now in Antigua ready for a few days of training, preparation and lots of team bonding. Antigua has already been so great to us! It is such a cute, quaint town with all cobblestone streets and flowers that grow on the roofs of buildings. My teammate Kenra and I wondered around for hours today just enjoying the beauty and new culture. My Spanish is waaaaay out of practice but it’s been fun to try and remember enough to hold a conversation. We are staying in an awesome backpackers hostel and are blessed with beds to sleep on and even a shower!! Living it up large thus far. The next few days will be spent here in Antigua and on Wednesday my team of 6, Transformation Station, will head to Los Robles to work with an amazing ministry there – more info on that to come!!!
This is our cute little hostel!!
3 things i've learned so far in Guatemala:
1. Ennunciate the espanol!!! At the market I thought I kept saying 'I only have dollars, ok?' to the vendors. Instead I was saying 'I only have pain, ok?' No wonder they were confused.
2. It's ok to be friendly here!! Say hi to everyone, always.
3. Don't flush the toilet paper. If you do, bad things will happen.
Top 3 questions asked leading up to leaving:
1. So, what’s in your backpack?
After walking through the airport for 10 min with only my daypack I made the executive decision to ditch some stuff once I got to LA. It was way too heavy and a little excessive. My father won’t be surprised by that statement because he’s been telling me this whole time I had way too much stuff. Clearly he was right, but let’s not tell him that.
Here’s a rough list of what’s in the packs:
Tent, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, pillow (at this point my bag was already full and there was still a lot more to go… yikes!) clothes, shoes, hair goodies (yes I brought a flat iron. It just felt right. Haha.), toiletries, netbook, camera, kindle, as much gum as I could stuff in any random pockets, rain cover for my pack, rain jacket, a little craft kit because I can’t go a year without colored sharpies, bible/journal…. I’m sure there is more but those are the highlights. And there are def a few more frivolous things but I can’t tell you about them because I don’t want you to judge me too harshly. OK, fine. I brought nailpolish. People in Africa like pretty nails too, ok?
So that’s it! It’s funny how having so little can still feel like so much. I think it will most def be good for the soul.
Here's the before and after:
2. Where are you going again? I got lost after the word ‘race.’
Guatemala. Cambodia. Nicaragua. Thailand. Cambodia. TBA in Asia. Malaysia. Kenya. Uganda. Tanzania. Malawi.
I would love your prayers for these countries, the people in them and the things that will happen while we are there. I am SO pumped to experience all these different cultures and meet people from such a variety of lifestyles. I can’t wait to share some Jesus love and see who God brings into our path!
3. How much $$$ do you still need?
I am so excited to tell you guys that after several incredible donations the last few weeks and an amazing monthly donation from a sweet friend I am officially FULLY FUNDED!!!!!! Man it feels good to type that! Thank ya’ll so much for your generosity and believing that this is an opportunity that the Lord will bless and use for His good.
Thank you all for your prayers this past week! I am feeling SO much better! The Lord is so good and has provided me with relief and healing – no way I would have been lugging this backpack around if he hadn't!!!! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day today, no matter what country, state or time zone.
