September. October. November.
Three months.
The duration for which I’ve been on this World Race journey. It seems so long and so short all at the same time.
In my few blog posts since the beginning of my race, I’ve mainly shared personal revelations I’ve gleaned from the Lord and His word. I will continue to do so, undoubtedly, but in this post, I’ll share the synopsis and some highlights from my life and ministry over the past three months of my World Race.
Month 1 – September – CHINA
My entire squad spent the month in Harbin, China partnering with Project China, which is “a disciple-making, church-planting, leader-training ministry to reach China with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.” We were led by a man named Jake T. during our time in China.
Jake reminded us of our call, as believers, to spread the gospel with boldness. Not to be covert 007 Christian “Agents,” but children of God seeking and desiring to make relationships with others and finding out if they desire to build relationships with us and also become children of God. So pure. So unadulterated. So simple. So Biblical. I loved it.
My team joined up with team Uniquely Knit for the month, and spent a lot of time building relationships and sharing life, faith, and culture with students at Harbin Institute of Technology.
I became especially close with “R,” our dear sister in Christ and our translator for our time in Harbin.
I also grew close with a young woman who lived in the apartment complex my squad stayed in in Harbin named Candy. One night, after having dinner with her and my teammate Libby, the most organic discussion about the things of God took place. I was able to share about the rich love of God.
That He makes you full of peace and isn’t condemning.
That His spirit dwells in us what we give our hearts to Him.
That He hears us when we call to Him.
At one point Candy got a bit flustered and said something along the lines of wanting to pray, but not knowing enough English. When I told her that, “Jesus speaks Chinese, too!” Her eyes widened with delight as she gasped, “He does?! What a good God.”
I’ll never forget that moment. Simple things I take for granted about my Lord are new deep truths to others.
I love Candy.
Photo by Lauren Schraa
After ministry had concluded for the month, the squad travelled to Beijing. There, I was able to visit the Great Wall, and the Olympic Park, where the 2008 Summer Olympics took place.
photo by Hailey Crump
Month 2 – October – THAILAND
Peculiar Treasures, my team, partnered up with teams Telieos and Throne Unveiled while serving with the ministry Lighthouse in Action in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
photo via Addison Fitts
In China, the Lord showed me that, for Thailand, I was to be in a place of prayer like I had never been in before. I committed to doing so, not knowing what it would look like.
Of the three components of Lighthouse in Action, Peculiar Treasures was assigned Love Acts – Bar Ministry. This looked like: prayer walking for an hour or so on bar street in the morning, prayer walking for a few hours in the afternoon and being intentional with the people we encountered during that time (ie, that street food vendor is so much more than a man selling smoothies, he’s a man for whom God longs), and a time of prayer and worship for an hour in the evening before some of us went out to the bars – those that stayed behind would intercede for those who went out (2.5 hours).
There you have it. I was literally handed the schedule to “be in a place of prayer like I had never been in before” by the nature of my ministry. Yay, Jesus.
We met these precious sisters during our afternoon prayer walk one day.
photo by Carolyn Bradley
What took place during the actual “bar ministry” was building relationships with the bargirls and lady-boys (who prostituted themselves to supplement their meager earnings at the bars) and merely asking them, “How are you?” as opposed to, “How much are you?” Omitting that one little word makes all the difference in the world. As the relationships are strengthened, and the precious women grow to know their worth, they often seek a way out from the bar life, and Lighthouse in Action is able to help. So awesome.
One of my favorite little people in all of Thailand is a precious little girl I’ll call “Kiki.”
photo by Kaitlyn Forbes
My team went to her family’s food stand for dinner many nights during the month, so she become quite comfortable with me, and would run up to me to be scooped up in my arms for a hug every time we dined there. Her smiles (and sass) brought my heart just the joviality it needed to be sustained and encouraged through our ministry, which was quite difficult and heavy for me.
During days off of ministry, I ventured to a couple of waterfalls
photo by Diann Reinhold
(I baptized my teammate Carolyn in the above waterfall! Here’s a link to the video she made about it!)
and befriended some elephants. Bliss.
Month 3 – November – CAMBODIA
This month, my team had the privilege of being a scout team, of sorts. Instead of being assigned to a specific ministry and serving with them for a month, we sought out new ministries and organizations that the World Race and Adventures in Missions (AIM) might be able to send teams to in the future.
Our ministry was to find what AIM calls “Unsung Heroes.”
A benefit of not having one main ministry contact for the month was being able to travel throughout the country, instead of remaining in one city.
Our team spent time in Siem Riep, where the Lord led us to a few churches and schools where He is mightily working and moving, and where World Race teams would greatly add to the work being done.
Then we journeyed to Battambang. There, the Lord guided us to several great people and their ministries. One morning, my teammate Kaylaynn and I went to a Christian-run café in the city that hosts a weekly prayer gathering of missionaries and mission supporters. I felt led to pray for all those present at the close of the meeting, and each of them thanked me for doing so. It was such a blessing to be an encouragement to those who are in the trenches of doing hard things for the Lord and not always seeing fruit.
Following Battambang, we spent time resting as a team for a couple of days on the shores of the Indian Ocean in Sihanoukville. There, I received much needed time to rest and seek the Lord with different intentionality, and I beheld the most beautiful sunstorm I’ve ever seen.
We concluded our time in Cambodia with several days in Phnom Penh. The Lord continued to bless our days with great success as He crossed our paths with people actively furthering His kingdom. During this month, I was so reminded that He is so extremely faithful to lead us; we only need to be faithful to follow.
Peculiar Treasures is my team. These five women have walked along side me through great days and hard ones alike since our Race began in September. I feel so blessed to call them my dear sisters in Christ and friends.
photo by Karen Shogren
From left to right, Libby Alcala, Kaitlyn Forbes, Lauren Schraa, Kaylaynn McAdams, myself, and Carolyn Bradley. They so bless me with their quirky personalities, deep wisdom, and passionate love for the Lord. I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect team with which to begin my race.
Many thanks to you for sharing in my journey. I so look forward to what lies ahead – the best is yet to come.
From my heart,
Erika Venese Wynne
