What is the weirdest food you've tried?
The weirdest foods I have tried are the ones that we like to call “mystery meat”
Or you know that goat that I was carrying around and playing with earlier. It’s now dangling upside down from a tree letting in bleed out. Obviously that’s no way to treat a friend. I don’t make friends with the local animals anymore because they always end up as my dinner.
Another weird food is just the combinations that we get fed
Every single day in Rwanda for lunch and dinner we had rice, noodles, French fries, ‘mystery meat’, soup, a vegetable, and fruit for desert. And this literally was EVERY lunch and dinner.
In Moldova… I ate duck for the first time. After watching it be slaughtered and plucked and ugh, it was not a good smell (boiling bleeding duck) yeah… but it was our beautiful going away present and I enjoyed it.
Has it changed how you pray? Has it changed how you approach prayer? Trials?
YES! Before the race, I really only prayed when I needed something, or when I felt convicted of my sins. And now I have learned that before you can seek God’s hand… You must seek His face. He is worthy of every ounce of worship and thanksgiving you can give and now I always come into prayer, even blessing the food at a meal, with complete thankfulness and joy about the sacrifice that He made for me. And then begin asking God what He wants my prayers to be about… Especially about healing. How can I expect the impossible if I don’t ask for it? How can I expect the Holy Spirit to move if I don’t invite Him. God is always there, but He really loves it when we just invite Him to come and to join us. The WR has completely changed the way I pray.
What's the strangest cultural nuance you've encountered?
Every country has some crazy culture shock to offer me. For instance here in Vietnam, it’s absolutely normal to see people on bicycles with squid hanging off the back of them, just riding around looking for people to sell to.
In Tanzania the men are attracted to ‘knee pitts’ you know the back of the knee, so we had to be sure to keep our legs covered as not to make any men stumble lol
OHHH and how could I forget. There are boobies everywhere! In Africa, in Asia, I mean seriously! We cannot show our knees but have mercy if we could walk around shirtless and nobody would think twice about it…
The women around here just breast feed all day long, it’s super awkward when you are out doing door-to-door evangelism and a 3 year old walks up and pulls out the woman you are talkin to’s tit and you have to keep a straight face even though you wanna bust out laughing “welp I guess it’s lunch time!”
What are some of the life changing events you've been a part of?
I am truly blessed to have seen actual real life miracles! In Uganda I was witness to the lame walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, and literally being God’s hands by casting out demons. It really is beautiful and amazing to see all of these things, and even hear of all the other miracles that my squad-mates have seen as well.
The greatest event though was seeing the power of prayer. I was able to pray alongside hundreds of people fighting for my daddy’s cancer to be healed and I was able to see a miracle happen from Africa all the way to America.
What was your favorite ministry experience?
My absolute favorite ministry is definitely going on crusades in Uganda. The power of the Holy Spirit is so amazing! And I love getting up in front of a crowd of unbelievers and just pumping them up and telling them that if you don’t ask for the impossible, how can they expect it to happen? Watching witch doctors come bow before the Lord and surrender their lives to Him. Watching an amazing pastor in Uganda speak so much life that people literally fall down in the Spirit. I would go to crusades and revivals with that amazing group of people forever!
If you could, which country would you go back to first?
America… No just kidding! I would go to Nepal for its beauty, Rwanda for it’s amazing generation that rose up and reconstructed itself after a horrible genocide… people there are incredible! And Uganda… I have always had a heart for KONY and INVISIBLE CHILDREN since I started college and actually going to the places and meeting the people and the children, I would definitely go back there first.
Have you eaten monkey brains yet?
Honestly, it’s possible…. “Mystery meat”
What is the weirdest thing you have seen?
The weirdest thing I have seen is a demon manifesting in a human. It’s weird, and scary, and weird… But so cool to see the outcome once it’s been casted out!
What's (if any) your concern for coming home and jumping back into "everyday" life?
I am very worried that I will go back home and be complacent. I want to continue rising up generations and commissioning them to GO. Bring the Kingdom. Live. Pray. Love. But a small part of me knows that when I go home, I have to finish school, go back to work and I don't want to fall back into routine "AMERICAN DREAM" life… I have to try and find a community that supports me and loves me no matter how many times I fall.
My biggest fear is that people will look at me under a microscope and watch my every move, just because I went on this "big mission trip" now anytime I mess up, it will practially be on the news… I am just a human, constantly in a battle of Spirit Vs. Flesh. And I have high grace for everyone, and I am there for them when they fall, but I just hope that people will do the same for me.
Thanks for all of your questions! If you have anymore just let me know :]
