Month 8 of ministry is here. A wave of nostalgia from the last 7 months hit me today. Below each month, you’ll find one of my favorite photos from the month, the first words and phrases that come to mind about the month, and my “favorite ______.” Enjoy the snapshots of the past 7 months, the most eclectic, adventerous time period of my life thus far.
My travel route: USA, El Salvador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Hondurus, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Thailand, Kenya.
Month 1 Guatemala
[At Pastor Luis’ house]
[mural at Marco’s]
[The “random, eclectic month.” Welcome to the World Race. Launch in Antigua. El Tizate. Construction. New WR connection: Fidelis Owesome. Marco and Clara. God’s provision. Painting houses. Quilting. Painting yellow boxes. Open hands. Visit at a bamboo farm for bamboo houses and furniture. Water filter ministry. God’s confirmation of the October race. Visiting the “pastor upstairs” at the Mayan village in Colban. Slivers of heaven. World map mural. Adapt to change overload. Moringa. white van.]
Favorite ministry moments: Praying over a Mayan woman at her home’s foundation, being a part of the first worship service with electricity at Pastor Luis’s church [worshipping and prayer in 3 different languages . . . a sliver of heaven]
Favorite fun memory: Roasting marshmellows at Vulcan Pacaya.
Favorite food: My homemmade guacamole, Forest and Carol’s tuna salad and homemade rolls [we used this recipe for Thanksgiving dinner at Cicrin]
Nugget of wisdom: Ministry is not confined to an organization. Ministry is found in the small moments throughout our days.
“Stretching moment”: Translating my first sermon at a youth gathering. I read outloud almost an entire chapter in Spanish that had words that I’ve never heard of before. Talk about on the job training.
Lessons: 1) Living in community is like a marriage. 2) Try to understand where someone is coming from before you discount their opinion. You never know what wisdom that you will glean.
Month 2 Nicaragua
[Amalia and I on Thanksgiving]
[Team Lovebound. Ometepe Island. Spending the night on a ferry boat. Cicrin Children’s Home. Gardening with Roberto. Quality time with Cicrin youth. Painting sunset mural. Runs around Ometepe Island. Climbing 2 volcanos within 3 days. Vulcan Concepcion the highest volcano in Central America and Vulcan Madura. Lots of pinatas. Visit at the deaf school. Pinata party at the deaf school = one of the most risky games that I’ve seen. El ojo de agua. Sharing American holiday, Thanksgiving, with 84 people. Beginnings of my friendship with Haile. Incredible sunsets. Servanthood. Connected with the youth and Cicrin staff. Translated for Bible studies. Felt alive. Loved using my giftings for the kingdom. Debrief in Granada. Broke my toe and it was healed miraculously].
Favorite ministry moment: Julietta and other youth sharing their stories with me. God continually gave me favor and allowed them to trust me in such a short time.
Favorite memories: Thanksgiving shopping adventure. Dragging 53 lbs of frozen chicken and 40 lbs of potatos in a suitcase through the streets of Rievas]. Teaching Julietta how to paint and to make homemade rolls. Salsa dancing with the girls on Thanksgiving day.
Favorite food: Thanksgiving dinner 🙂 and Roberto’s flan and squash cake
Nugget of wisdom: Extend hospitality. Teach a child.
Lessons: Be intentional. Sharing your culture is one of the most honoring things that you can do.
Month 3: Costa Rica and Panama
[In the Chiquita banana fields]
[On the way to the jungle upstream class 1 and class 2 rapids]
[Our first “wild card month.” Lots of travel. Rick and Teresa Dickson and their amazing hospitality. The Dickson family are an example of God’s provision thru the church and are connections to Birmingham and my home church family Brook Hills. Going to “jungle.” Traveling to the jungle on a shabby canoe with a motor and a bucket up class 1 and 2 rapids. Urban jungle prophecy fulfilled. Hiking through the Chiquita banana fields. Sharing the Gospel with kids and families through Gospel bracelets given by Forest and Carol in Guatemala. Volcan, Panama. Guabito. Church plant in Changuinola. 27 people and 1 bathroom. Translating. Bat flying into Christmas eve service. Tamalas at midnight at Christmas. Pastor Mora’n. Team Pneuma remains together throughout first team changes. “We are family!” Squad reunites in San Jose, Costa Rica.]
Favorite ministry moments: waking up to prayer meetings.
Favorite memories: River bathing, canoeing up class 1 and 2 rapids
Nugget of wisdom: We all have the capability through Christ and by His grace to impact our communities for God’s kingdom.
Lessons: Church is the body of Christ. Buildings are not always necessary.
Month 4: the Philippines
[Welcomed for a Filippino organic meal]
[Continent change. Longest travel days of my life. New Faith Children’s Home. 5 teams. Malaybalay. Shifts at Children’s home. Bedtime duty. School duty. Nursery Duty. Prison Ministry. Planting sod for future soccer field. Construction project. Literally followed the footsteps of my friend and September WRer, Janel King, who served at New Faith during month 1 of her race. Beginnings of my friendship with Aimee. Runs with Aimee to monastary. Eating belut. Invite to a filippino organic meal. Prayer times with Bri. Worship with squad at KIM in Manilla. Bonfire worship in Malaybalay. Filippino wedding. Kids International Ministries.]
Favorite ministry moment: Conversations with Kee-kam at the prison
Favorite memories: 1) Reading bedtime stories to the kids. 2) Riding in the van with the kids on the way to school. A few of the kids would ask me to ride with them in the mornings to school. 3) Winning a 4K for my age group with Christina and Aimee. We had a three way tie. :), 4) scuba diving.
Exotic food: Belut [Fertilized duck egg. Yes, I consumed an entire egg. It had reached the 17th day of development. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.]
Month 5: Thailand
[After church at the ACC]
[Culture debrief at YWAM base in Bangkok. Ran into a friend of a friend [Jeremy Hunt and Claire from Samford] . . . Story of my life on the race. Eating crickets in Bangkok. Our ministry: teaching English and yardwork at the ACC. Takupa. Seeing the tsunami memorial. I lived near the city that my friend Anna Smith lived for 6 months. Pastor Wasaan loved spoiling us with . . . Mangos and sticky rice. Chai yen tea. Thai food. The best 3 in 1 instant coffee. Going to the beach. Elephant trecking. Going to James Bond Island. Surprise cooking class at the ACC. Night markets. 2nd Debrief.]
Favorite ministry moment: On the last day of class, one of our students asked me who Jesus Christ is. Opac, the ACC director, shared his testimony with her of how he survived the 2004 tsunami and came to Christ.
Favorite memories: Dinner with Ann and Sinn, going to the beach, elephant trekking
Favorite food: Fried rice with shrimp paste, fried chicken with sticky rice wrapped in a banana leaf, mangos with sticky rice sprinkled with sesame seeds and drizzled with coconut milk, curry chicken, cashew chicken, pinapple fried rice, pad thai. BEST FOOD OF THE RACE!
Nugget of wisdom: God blesses obedience. We may not understand why we are called to do something until the final hour.
Lessons: The world is in pressing need of a relationship with Jesus Christ. Spiritual poverty breaks my heart. Prayer as a spiritual discipline.
Month 6: Malaysia
[Krystle, Bri, and I after a hard day of work at the farm]
[2 days in KL for cultural briefing. Peter and Carol. Plans changed again. No AIDS clinic for ministry. Too dangerous. Melting pot of cultures. Week ministry in KT. Call to prayer. Spent time with an amazing family- the Isaacs and Cherion family, new friendship with Nadine. most diverse month so far. from working near the beach to a hillside. bamboo jungle and organic farm ministry. leech city.]
Favorite ministry moments: Sharing my World Race experiences wtih the KT church. Seeing my squadmate Allan step up in boldness and sharing the Gospel with Muslims.
Favorite food: Meals at Auntie Grace’s house and at Nadine’s house.
Nugget of wisdom: Be flexible. Life happens. Plans change.
“Slivers of heaven” moment: Worshipping with a culturally diverse church body
Lessons: Strive to have a balanced life. Don’t be afraid of failure. Continue to walk in obedience. Don’t take for granted having friends my age who are believers.
Month 7: Cambodia
[Phnom Penh. My heartland. New family. Dusty roads. Beauty from ashes. Solidified more in my identity in Christ. I felt like I used my giftings the most since month 2 in Nicaragua. One on one conversations. Led small groups. Taught English. Feel alive again using my gifts for the kingdom. Spoke at a youth service. Art with Ruth. A calling to serve in SE Asia again. Visit with Heather in Siem Riep- another connection to my church family in GA. Hungry generation for Christ and truth. I see hope for Cambodia through the local church. New friendship with Heather in Phnom Pehn. God refreshing my purpose and vision for my World Race journey. Harvestors. Need for more harvestors to come to the field. Prayer meeting. Visiting the killing fields and S21. Seeing the contrast between Cambodia’s tragic history and the vibrancy in the youth of the local church. This generation will change Cambodia.]
Favorite food: Birthday lunch at Blue Pumpkin
Favorite ministry moment: Going to the provinces outside Phnom Penh. Serving alongside the Harvestors. Visiting an orphanage run by a couple who runs their ministry by faith.
Lesson: Finding my identity in Christ will show me my identity in the body of Christ. Ultilizing my giftings makes me feel the most alive.
Here is the rest of my route:
Kenya (month 8), Uganda (month 9), Tanzania (month 10), and India (month 11)
Until next time . . .
