$2,120 in Anonymous Donations…
9 1/2 months of fundraising…
6 countries visited…
and my life transformed…
I am FULLY FUNDED for The World Race!
That is $15,500!
Because we are half-way done with the Race and I am fully-funded, I'm going to give ya a re-cap on all that has happened in the last 6 months traveling the world.
While on The World Race we've lived in 6 countries.
We have now slept in 23 different locations.
We've hitchiked, ridden horse-drawn carriages, taxi'd way to much, had our own car and ridden at least 9 other forms of transportation.
We've celebrated Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years AND the Chinese New Year away from family.
2 of Sweet Aroma's finest have stayed in the hospital.
We have drank WAY to many cups of instant coffee.
Christin and I have seen The Hobbit in 3D… TWICE.
We've made countless memories,
our lives have changed more than we can know and we still
have 5 more countries to go.
The journey began 8 months ago in Georgia at Training Camp :
I remember the first night of training camp – my 24th birthday, laying in my tent in the pouring rain, wondering what the heck I had signed up for. It was a sleepless night, of the reality of this adventure pounding on my heart.
Had God REALLY called me to the nations?
Did He REALLY call me to live out of a backpack for 11 months?
Jesus, in fact, called me on this adventure. He provided everything needed for me to come. He knew that it may be nothing I wanted, but everything I needed.
And 6 weeks later… we launched out of Chicago and landed at our first destination in the mountains of Guatemala
Where we served in the mountain village of Patzibal at a local health clinic and school. We taught English and painted the clinic while loving on the beautiful Mayan people of the village.
Favorite memories of Guatemala :
Living in Patzibal for a week at a clinic in the mountains.
Freezing in our hammocks at night, cooking on a small propane stove, hiking to "waterfalls" in the morning.
Going to Lake Atitlan for a weekend retreat.
Honduras
was next, where we shipped off the island of Roatan! We spent the month gardening with the organization "Friendships".
Favorite memories from Honduras :
Serving with the local feeding program on the island.
Reinacting "Jurassic Park" with Christin and Carly while picking fruit.
Doing a photo shoot at the local girls home.
Oh… and the beach was pretty fabulous, too!
after Honduras, was the beautiful nation of,
Nicaragua
where we partnered with a local pastor and lived with him and his family. We painted the buildings of a Bible Institute, built a cement wall and shared at the local churches.
Favorite memories from Nicaragua :
Living with a beautiful Nicaraguan family!
Singing, painting and laughing.
Celebrating Thanksgiving with my Sweet Aroma and Nicaraguan family.
The end of Nicaragua is when we added the newest member of Sweet Aroma!
Jacob Saul Portillo!
The Philippines
was next, and who knew that it would be a month that changed us all. We partnered with an incredible pastor in the poorest slums of Manila. We fed countless kids, put on a youth rally and loved on the people of the slums during the Christmas season.
Favorite memories from The Philippines :
Loving on baby Ayesha and her family and seeing her come to LIFE.
Feeding hundreds of malnourished children.
Celebrating Christmas in the slums.
Thailand
was nothing like The Philippines, but a true breath of fresh air!
We did manuel labor and loved on the girls of a home in northern Thailand,
who have been rescued from being sold into the sex trade.
Favorite Memories from Thailand :
Living in the mountains!
Mixing cement and burning down the woods with the hilarious Thai workers.
Speaking in British accents and wandering the city of Chiang Mai to find a hotel room with my Sweet Aroma girls.
And now we are living in
Malaysia
This month we are sharing the Good News with our fellow friends here in the country.
Favorite memories from Malaysia so far :
We have a car!
Living life with the people of Malaysia – simply building friendships.
Hiking through the rainforest to Turtle Beach.
To say the least, my life has been transformed. If I ended the race today, I would not go home the same person as I came. But the reality is, I have another half to go! And I am SO excited to continue to step into all that the Lord has for me.
It turns out that when you give your life away, you actually find it.
Let the giving away continue.
This is what I was made for.
Thank you, THANK YOU to all of my faithful supporters in prayer and finances! YOU are the ones that are making this crazy adventure possible! And it truly IS changing the world!
