We’ve officially started the World Race!
On Tuesday morning, we flew to Atlanta for Launch – the last of our training. It was amazing to be re-united with our squad and teammates! We had missed them since training camp in July.
We stayed at Iglesia de los Cielos Abiertos, a church in “Little Mexico,” a part of Gainesville, Georgia that made me feel right at home in the Latin culture I adore. For three days, we stuffed ourselves full of $1.19 tacos, worshipped, received practical training, and slept like sardines in the church sanctuary.
After taking a bus to Atlanta, we spent yesterday at Safe House, a homeless outreach ministry that is doing amazing things with at-risk children, families, and adults. We were thankful yesterday to get some time to relax and explore the city. My wonderful husband and I ventured out for a date night. For our last supper, we enjoyed some delicious seafood – something we will really miss!
At 5 am this morning, we loaded up all (and I mean all) of our things and rode the subway to the Atlanta airport, where we flew to JFK in New York City. Today, we have 11 hours to hang out at JFK before flying out to Warsaw, Poland. In Warsaw, we have another long layover and are excited about getting to explore the city. After that, it’s on to Bucharest, Romania, and then a train ride to our final destination: Arad, Romania, on the far Western border near Hungary.
Jack and I will be serving with Team Shemah (our team of four others) at a Christian camp this month. We’re not sure what the specifics of our ministry will look like yet, but we can’t wait to find out!
Beyond the initial excitement of travel, God has been stirring in our hearts in new ways, uniting our team and preparing us to work together. For now, we will search for entertainment in airports… something we may become very adept at these next 11 months. 
We are hoping to add more pictures to our blog soon – until then, check out our Facebook album (viewable by anyone) by clicking here.
P.S. Anecdote for today: A friend on our squad just asked if we have a joint blog. Our team leader, the clever Peter Owens, responded, “Uh … duh. They have a joint life!”
