Team Dunamis:
William, Jason, Brandon, Sally, Lauryn, Amber, and Me
-Month 1: Ecuador-
Unsung Hero: Finding New Contacts for the World Race, and meeting extraordinary people working to further the Kingdom of God and tell their story! We went to Quito, Cuenca, Banos and Shell! Host we met along the way: Everyone at Casa Blanca, The Leak’s, The King’s, and The Zuniga’s
-Month 2: Peru-
All Squad Month: We were in Trujillo, Peru, working with Savage Ministries, assisting their organization teach English Classes, host a Vacation Bible School, help them prepare their facility for the upcoming school year, manual labor, and participate in church/worship services. Host: Joel and Maria Savage.
Team Dukan
Karissa, Laura, Angela, Eva, Cassady, Sally, Amber, Lauryn, and Me
And our honorary team mates: Sarita, and JJ
-Month 3: Bolivia: in 2 parts-
Part1: Manistry Month: Team Dunamis girls, combined with Team Awaken girls. We were in Rurrenbaque, Bolivia, working at a day care alongside The Capriles’ Family. We assisted with the kids, cleaning, and did art murals on the walls and grounds of the school to help it look more like a school!
Photo Cred: Eva Cranford
Part 2: Recovery: Following a tour of the river by motor bike with my team mates, that ended in an accident. I chose to take some time and go home to heal before we went to Asia. After the accident while I was resting one day there was a pop in my knee and increased pain. Also, Rurre was a really hot place and was difficult for a hurt leg with climbing stairs to get to our room or standing to paint. I went home for 2 weeks for some water rehab and rest to finish out the race stronger!
Photo Cred: Eva Cranford
Team Dunamis: Reunited
-Month 4: India-
We were working alongside Rise India, in Bangalore, India. Our host was also housing a YWAM outreach, so some days our team grew to add a few others, and in our house we were living with Team Unveiled! We took a tour of a variety of ministries that were of great impact in this community such as: an AIDS hospital, a Homeless shelter, Vacation Bible School in the slums, and an Elderly home.
– Sally, shared her ice cream with a girl begging for food and money, and then we went and bought her family some food for dinner. It brought about a special friendship that last the rest of the month!
End of Month 4 brought team changes: Team Victory
Cole, Brandon, Chance, Amber, Kelley, Kate, and Me
Month 5: Nepal
Following the 7.9 Earthquake our squad went to Kathmandu to help were we could. We delivered food and supplies in close by village area, we went to churches to encourage believers, and we prayed for many. While there we went to help with the reconstruction of a church that was in ruins following the first earthquake, during our lunch break, the earth shook and groaned, fear filled screams, smoke of houses crumbling and dust of land slides filled the air, reports were spoken that we were in a 7.3 earthquake. Some of us froze in shock, some of us crumbled to the ground overcome in tears of compassion, and some jumped into action leaping down the terraced mountain to assist nearby neighbors.
Photo Cred: Eva Cranford
Month 6: Unsung Heroes: Malaysia/ Indonesia
We were station for the majority of the time in Penang, Malaysia, seeking out new possible contacts to connect with the World Race or Adventures in Missions. It is a really neat ministry month, where we are able to sit and talk with many people in specific areas doing really great things for the Kingdom! We met so many great people changing lives in Penang and sharing the love of Jesus! While in Penang, we stayed in a few different Hostels, during one we met Anne, and she was from the Philippines. She came to Malaysia to work to help her family out, she became a slave for a family, they put her in poor living situation, refused to pay her, so she ran away one day, the handler who placed her there has hold of her passport, she is stuck without a way to get a new passport to return home, to her family, to her child. But, she see joy in freedom, and works hard all of the time to still give as much as she can to her child! Please pray she will be reunited with her child soon!
In Indonesia, we were also doing Unsung Heroes, but it looked a bit different, having been to Indonesia 2 times before, I contacted people I knew! And the doors opened up for incredible opportunities and beautiful relationships with so many people began! I also got to be reunited with friends that are really family, and have an opportunity for the Lord to redeem a relationship that when I left Indonesia the first time was really wounded. I also got to see a dear friend, who had accepted Jesus, and left her old life in Islam behind and sing praises to our King side by side in church! We prayed with Iranian Refugees, heard their stories, held hands, and joined their bible study one evening where I shared my testimony! It was one of my most beautiful experiences and months on the race!
At the Iranian Refugee housing, an old hotel, 1 bedroom per family with no kitchen.
Roslin and Saut my brother and sister from Indonesia, a beautiful reuniting, and sweet time catching up! Like old times, but we each had grown and matured so much! Hopefully it won’t be another 7 years before I return again!
Month 7: Thailand: Remember Nhu
For the first part of the month Team Victory, partnered with Remember Nhu, an organization that works to prevent children being sold into human and sex trafficking. They rescue the children and house them, provide schooling and a safe place to grow up. The organization goes into the villages to educate people and help families where they can. They are fighting to rid Thailand, and many other countries in this world of the trafficking of humans for any reason! One of the villages we visited, had made it where families can not sell their kids into the trade, but if they want to go on their own they can. They have seen how working hard at farming can produce a greater financial stability than sending their family to the sex trade and those families that have farmed have beautiful homes that show daily that farming is better for them! We go to hang out with the kids, play games and go to church with them. We also were able to help the organization through manual labor where we helped Bud, the handy man, clear a plot of land.
Then during the end of the month, we had the opportunity to have our parents come to do ministry with us for a week! So, my mom came for Parent Vision Trip, it helps our parents see what we do, day in and out on the race, helps them catch the vision of ministries, and see some of what the Lord has been already working out in us while we have been on the race for 6 months! It was such an incredible experience that I got to spend some quality time with my mom in Thailand! Those of us with parents in for PVT took our parents to Remember Nhu, to show them what our specific ministry was like during this past month, and so they could meet Team Victory, it was my favorite day of the whole month! Watching our parents sit on the ground playing games with the kids, and hanging with some of our host was really neat!
Month 8: Cambodia: New Hope Orphanage
While in Cambodia, we worked at an orphanage, full of kids that stole our hearts! We held 2 weeks of Vacation Bible School, painted murals on the walls, and spent free time with the kids. They loved to play, help, and learn. We sang songs, learned scripture, and spent a lot of time hugging and cuddling with these kids. And even had a muddy soccer match, that mainly consisted of kicking mud at each other more than a soccer ball!
Month 9: SaPa Vietnam: Harvest Ministries
Team Victory, was the first World Racers to ever go to SaPa, which is as far north as you can go in Vietnam, before crossing over to China. It is a mountain area that is known for being the home of the Hmong, Black Mong tribe people. We hiked, to see what the culture was like, we hiked a lot really! But, we also were able to help harvest rice with the family, we taught English, and Cole taught guitar lessons. It was a hard month, physically with such great demand on our bodies hiking up and down mountains. It was an uncomfortable month, living in tents inside of houses, living near pigs, and in conditions we are not accustomed to. But, we had the most incredible views and we knew we were such a blessing to that community with what we were able to share through ministry!
Following Vietnam, we had team changes to finish out the race with!
Team: 100% FGB:Flame Grilled Beef/ Fully God Breathed
– We were at Burger King when we were choosing team names, so we attached a more spiritually focus name, but really its Flame Grilled Beef! But we loved our team name…. A LOT!!! Go Beef!
Nancy, Anna, Jennifer, Lauryn, Kelley, Katie, and Me
Month 10: Malawi: Living Waters Church Ministry
Welcome to Africa! We spent our month staying with a Bishop of a Pentecostal church and coming along side of the church helping where we could, or going into the community to evangelize. We went to women’s ministry fundraisers, to youth group, spoke at new believers Sunday school classes, encouraged a group of High School students and shared our testimony in the girl’s ministry. We were stretched culturally, some of us loved it, and for me it was my hardest month, but I learned so much while in this country and through all of the people we had me. This is the country I saw the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in greater ways than I knew was possible!
Evangelism day, and giving a bible to a woman who had accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, the first time we had come to this market to tell people about Jesus!
Month 11: Zambia: YWAM
We MADE it to month 11!! What?!?!?! was are expression majority of the month… most of the year I thought it would never come. I spent 2 weeks of our 3 weeks in ministry sick with the Flu, so ministry was intermittent for me, but it was still incredible! This month was one of my favorite for ministry and overall! We got to come alongside 2 different churches and go evangelizing and encouraging their congregation. We joined with a YWAM missionary named Doreen, whom is an Addictive Behavior counselor, who is involved in reaching so many people through counseling, prisoners, women in villages, addicts,and helping in a girls home. We joined her each Wednesday night to help her in the girls home. I got to use my Recreation Therapy Skills to encourage the girls, and speak truth into their lives! I loved doing my vocation and using it to also bring God Glory! We also went into a village, to go and encourage believer and pray with them, thats what is shown in the picture below!
FINISHED!!!
HOME!!! God Bless AMERICA!!
