World Race 2016-2017 J-SQUAD
11 countries, 11 months, 15 plane rides, lives changed, Jesus Glorified!
I began my Journey in Lesotho, Africa where I worked with a ministry called Beautiful dream society. In Africa, once the children hit the age of 5, the chances of them being adopted go down dramatically. Beautiful Dream Society has a home for these children where they teach them about Jesus and give them an education. In the home, there were 8 children and 3 house moms that are also residents of Africa. I had the honor of getting to know the House moms there as well as leading a bible study for them weekly with my teammate. In addition to working with Beautiful Dream Society, We also worked with another organization called Sopheo. Sepheo is a school that was started for boys to get them off the streets. As long as these boys went home every night, they were able to come to school every morning. Each day they would hear about Jesus, receive meals and receive an education. Each week, I tutored them and thought them English. One of my team members asked one of the children what he wanted to be when he grew up. He said, “I want to be a man of God!” Since I left Lesotho, the school has grown and the Lord has made it possible for them to build a new campus giving them room to help more Boys.
Our team with our ministry host family
We then Traveled to Swaziland, where we stayed in a town called Nsoko. In Swaziland, I spent the whole month with the entire squad which is made up of 55 people. This was the first month I spent in a tent, which I absolutely loved. My tent quickly became an oasis for me and the place where I spent time with Jesus early in the morning. When we arrived in Swaziland, we were told that they were in a drought and had not received any rain in 3 years. The whole squad decided to have all night prayer burns. The Lord answered our prayers and brought rain to Swaziland for the first time in three years. Each team went to different Care points around Swaziland. These care points are for children and families in the community to come receive a meal. We served food to the children, played games with them and sang songs with them. We also were trained on how to do sports ministry which led to having a soccer tournament where boys gave their lives to Jesus.
At the care point in Nsoko
The third month was spent in South Africa where we became mothers to 11 babies ranging from the age of newborn to 2 years old. This home is called “Baby Hope House” and it was started to give abandoned babies a home where they can be loved and taken care of until they are adopted. I fell in love with these children and even considered making room in my bag to take them all home with me. 😉
My team with our ministry hosts
Its month 4 and we are headed to Asia. The first place in Asia that we went to was Vietnam. It was a different month than most as we did not have a ministry host. Instead, our job was to look for new ministries for Adventures in Missions to partner with in the future. These partners are called, “Unsung Heroes” which means no one may know they exist, but they are making a difference for the kingdom every day. In a country that is closed and where it is illegal to share the gospel with others, it was very difficult for us to find ministries to work with. The lord provided 15 new ministries by the end of our time there. We went into the streets to evangelize, shared the gospel with a young lady over coffee, sat with 20 college students teaching them English in the park and helped teach English at a coffee shop.
at the coffee shop
In month 5 I traveled to Cambodia with my new Team, “Tribe.” We worked at a school this month with a ministry called Bible Church International. I thought a class full of preschool children every day and I thought English to adults once a week. I will never forget the Joy that those kids brought me every morning. It was a very difficult month physically, but I loved the ministry. This was the 2nd month I was in a tent and the first month I learned how to kill large cockroaches. 😉
Our team at BCI with the teachers and children
One of my favorite months was when we stayed in Chang Rai,Thailand. We worked on an organic farm that was also respite care for woman who have been through Human Trafficking. We milked goats, built mud huts, hoed pineapples and planted vegetables. On Saturdays, we worked with another ministry that’s purpose is to prevent human trafficking by forming relationships with the hill tribes. We thought the children life skills, shared the gospel and helped clean their community. The last week we were in Chang Rai, we spent time with the teenage girls that were rescued from the sex trade by an organization called, “Destiny Rescue.” They go in to the bars and rescue the girls by taking them to a safe place. It’s during this 6 month program they will hear about the love of Jesus; learn life skills and experience healing.
ministry with the hill tribes
building mud huts
We are now in Granada, Nicaragua. This month we worked with “Reap Granada” which is directly affiliated with adventures in missions. Reap Granada’s mission is to establish and grow relationships while discipling and demonstrating the love of God by living in community and modeling lives dedicated to our Lord Jesus Christ. We worked on a farm doing manual labor, we went on home visits, we had an overnight conference for teenage girls and did jail ministry every Friday. I’ll share a story about this woman and her son that we met on prayer visits. She ended up accepting Jesus into her life after we told her about Him. The next day we brought her a bible.
with our friends at “Reap Granada”
Jail Ministry
Panama is my next stop! Originally, we were planning on going to Costa Rica which was our route to begin with, but at the last minute the Lord called our team to go to panama. One of my team members interprets sign language and this ministry works with a deaf boy, which is why our route was changed. We thought English at a women’s home this month. We went into the mountains to teach children English and help missionaries with a clean water project in the local community. We performed a drama at a youth conference and two church services to share the gospel. We watched four little girls for a couple that are full time missionaries in panama.
Clean water project with the missionaries
Jamaica was also another country in which we had no ministry host. Our team was assigned to find new ministries to work with in Jamaica. This was my second “Unsung Heroes” month. Forty-eight hours before we arrived in Jamaica, we did not have a place to stay. We were in contact with a lady in Kingston who invited us into her home and offered to cook for us 24 hours before we landed. This continued for the rest of the month as the Lord called us to a different city every 7 days. He provided every time exactly 24 hours before we left for the next town. Each of us live on 6 dollars a day and this includes food and lodging. We stayed in 2 homes, one bed and breakfast and in a mission house at the Caribbean Christian School for the deaf. We visited six cities, had 10 new ministry contacts and led two people to Christ. There is such a deep trust I have in the Lord because of this month. I saw Him provide for every need that we had.
leading someone to Christ at the beach
We spent month 10 in Port Au Prince, Haiti with a pastor and his family. His family of 40 people stay with him in his home. He owns 2 orphanages; one that is next to his church and one that is in the mountains. We prayer walked and did street evangelism. We worked in the orphanages, had two beauty for ashes retreats for the ladies and did prayer burns on Friday nights to pray for Haiti.
field day with the kids at the orphanage
My last and final month was spent at a ministry called Hope for the DR in Las Lajas. I spent month 11 with three other teams. We did physical labor, went prayer walking in the streets, Visited homes in the community and helped build a new playground for the children in the neighborhood. The people here are so kind and loving. Even if you have never met them, they will invite you in to their home and share whatever they have with you. This is something I will never forget about the DR!
The New Playground!
Many people heard about the love of Christ and accepted Him into their lives. Thank you for your support, your love and your prayers. I could not have done it without all of you! 🙂
