Dear Friends and Family,
I want to apologize for not being as diligent as I should have been with writing informative blogs. I could make excuses of there not being good wifi or not having enough time but truly I have been lazy and I have had a tough time putting into words what I do each month. I dont think some people would believe my life sometimes ha So in a series of blogs I wanted to catch you up on the past 8 months of my race. It may be long so I’ll split it up into Central America and Asia. Bear with me if you want to know what I was doing in each country and what I feel God was teaching me in these past months. So here we go….
GUATEMALA
Ministry
: I worked with an organization called Nueva Generacion, empowers youth to become leaders for Christ. They teach Christian moral based curriculum in high-schools and have youth rallies and youth nights on Fridays. The teachers were on strike while we were there so we helped translated curriculum from Spanish to English for future missionaries to help teach. I also volunteered in an elderly home. We worked in the occupational therapy room where I played chess, drew, danced, and spent quality time with these sweet abuelitos (grandparents) They are mostly left there by family who don’t want to take care of them. It was such an honor to get to practice Spanish or just listen to them ramble on. I also got to help put on a youth rally at a school for 250 kids. My team did skits, shared testimonies of God in their life, and we played games. We had the opportunity to visit churches and to pray in smaller communities for people and attended prayer meetings. I got to practice a lot of Spanish this month!
Accomodations
: A 4 bedroom missionary center bunkbeds, then we spent a week on the floor of a local woman’s home, and slept on the floor of our contact’s house. We had showers that would sometimes have hot water. We hand washed all of our clothes. We cooked our own meals. Lots of stir-fried rice with eggs and veggies and beans. We also perfected French toast.
Other Experiences:
Hiked Pacaya Volcano, went to Monte Rico Beach with black sand, learned how to salsa dance, got to make homemade tortillas and traditional dish, pepian. We took a bus without a/c to Honduras and it was only suppose to take 10 hrs and it took 22 hours because our vans broke down.
God: I was a wreck when I arrived in Guatemala. Stricken with fear and anxiety. I had left all my comforts and control. I quickly realized I was not in control of my own life and that it wasn’t all about me. I lived with 14 other people this month. I had to get used to my new team. I realized I didn’t really have a relationship with God not a good one. I went to him when I needed him but I didn’t really seek him everyday and ask him for help daily. I quickly realized that would be crucial on this race. I was so scared of what was to come and what God was going to put me through. Many people kept talking about spiritual warfare and healings and it freaked me out. But one day while we were staying with this local woman, I just sat and cried and prayed over and over God give me joy give me joy give me joy. Something shifted. I started to have a better attitude. The knot in my stomach and my throat dissipated. I started loving where we were and everything about our lives. God gave me joy and peace. I hadn’t felt that in a long time. I was seeking him more and asking for more of that joy. He helped me let go of home for now.
HONDURAS
Ministry: Heart of Christ a refuge for young girls who have been victims of rape and/or incest and their children. It is also home to children with disbabilities. Gracie, our contact, works with the Honduran government to rescue girls and to combat rape and incest that is rampant in this country. She takes in the children no one wants and shows God’s glory through them. My days there alternated between babysitting 3 three year old boys, 3 toddlers: 2 one year old girls and 1 two year old boy; and 2 little girls with cerebral palsy. Then the other days I did construction, mixed concrete and laid cinderblocks to make a 5 foot wall aroudn their back property. We also did visit in the local community to find familyies to be recipients of assistance and to pray for their needs
Accommodations: Lived at a big ranch house/center. We were surrounded by green hills. A few people stayed in bunkbeds, others in hammacks, and I slept in my tent! It was sometimes cold at night but when the sun came up my tent turned into a sauna. We had showers inside that sometimes had hot water. We hand washed all of our clothes. We cooked our own meals. Each team took turns cooking for all 47 of us! My team made lasagna and oven baked s’mores 🙂
Other Experiences: This was an all squad month so I lived and ate with 47 people. Hiked large hills behind our house, hiked to a big cross on the hill, created and ran a fun run 5K with my squad; had a wonderful Valentine’s day Dinner given by our guys on the squad, we made the guys breakfast and did a night scavenger hunt. I got stopped by cows walking to church one day.
God: God gave me peace and joy. I still question the healing and spiritual warfare. I got to be alone in my tent and I got to listen for God. I got to spend each morning listening to worship music on the bus and that was a great way to center myself. I believe God was just seeking me to just get to know him. Our contact did devotions with us and asked us “Do you believe?! Really?! Do you know God’s Promises?!” I often thought “I dont know! I dont know all of his promises so how can I say I believe them.” I fought my mind alot, I let the rational when out when I should have been trusting in God. I saw healings like a woman named Ramona, who couldn’t lift her arm or leg from arthritis but after we prayed with the Holy Spirit she threw her hands up and said ” hallelujah. ” I also was confronted with the question “Do I need to be baptized again? In the spirit or as an adult?” I was brought up with infant baptism. I was searching God in this question? God showed me there is much for me to learn about him.
NICARAGUA
Ministry: UnSung Heroes – We traveled around the country searching out new contacts for future World Race teams to come serve. We met with many organizations and stayed with many generous families and people. They are friends and family now.
Accommodations: Well I slept in many different places – the floor of a house, bunkbeds at 2 mission centers, a barbershop, a hostel, a bed in a house with mice 🙂 ,and a hotel.
Other experiences: Went kayaking and on a boat tour of Lake Managua, visited a ministry on an island with a volcano and got to stay in a b&b right on the beach, swam in a natural spring pool, went madarin organge picking on a farm, practicing spanish more and more.
God: I broke this month. On the floor of the room in the barber shop, face down crying. I laid it all out to God. My fears, my wants etc.. I realized I can’t do it on my own. I desperately need God. I realized that I turn to my mom before I turn to God. This month my team and I asked God for specific prayers and he answered them all. God showed up. We asked for free housing and got it with free meals, a loving family, and trips to the beach. We asked for God to give us life long friends and homecooked meals. We got both of those. We still talk to friends from Nicaragua. One of my teammates prayed to see people from home and God answered it. God also shattered some lies I was believing that were eating away at me. Lie #1 Because I came on the World Race I have to become a missionary. False. God calls us on the race for different reasons. He has given me a heart for missions and missionaries but not necessarily to become one. God called me on the race to get to know him on a deeper level. Lie #2 I have to do x y and z to be a good Christian. I was comparing myself to all my teammates and how they had a relationship with God. Lie #3I have got to have my crap together and have it all figured out when I get home. False ha this is a life long journey I’m on. I’m going to be learning, stumbling, reaching, and loving God for my whole life. God knows the plan.
COSTA RICA
Ministry: Zoe Leaders, Glory Christian School. I worked in a church that had a school, youth group, and outreach. I assisted in kinder classes, organized a devotion book, cleaned the school, painted a mural, assisted in sunday school in the local communities, volunteered at an elderly home, did park evangelism through dance and just sharing and praying with people.
Accommodations: I slept in the art room of the school. We cooked our own meals in an outdoor kitchen. We got to cook some southern favorites like fried pickle and fried chicken. We had fresh fruit and vegetables at our finger tips. The funny part of cooking is that there were huge beetle bugs that would attack you while you cooked so your spatula became a weapon. haha
Other experiences: We became good friends with many American missionaries that serve inthe church and school. We babysat for them, hung out, helped bake for bake sale. We got to have a feel for what ministry could be at home. I also got to go ziplining through a cloudforest. The most specialtime was going to visit my cousin Julie at her home. I took two teammates with me. It was relaxing and refreshing. I got to celebrate Easter with 50 other missionaries at a mansion.
God: We had devotions everyday and I was challenged by what God does for us and what he calls us to do. The beatitudes are powerful.God showed me this month what ministry in an everyday setting can look like. We worked at a school and went and did ministry on the weekends or at night. We had real conversations and fellowshiped and challenged one another in scripture and life. I also felt God confirm that I am suppose to be a teacher. I was sitting in on the kinder class reading a childrens book and started to cry. I missed my job. I wondered why God made me leave it.
Stay tuned for Asia update! Thanks for all your continual prayers! God has done such a good work in my life!
– Jennie
