If you haven't checked out part 1, you should!
What was the most challenging situation you’ve encountered? What was it? How did you get through it? What did God show/ teach you through it?
I have had a few challenging situations on the Race so far. During our first debrief in Granada, Nicaragua (Beginning of Month 2) we had a secret sharing circle. Over the course of three nights almost all of us got up and shared our deepest darkest secrets with our squad. That moment was hard for me because I knew I was going to have to lay out all the lies I truly believed about myself, the ones I told no one, in front of 50+ people I had only known for a month. But that moment was the beginning of my healing process. Instead of having 54 more people reject me, or agree with the lies, I had 54 people who became my encouragers. 54 people began to speak truth over me and over the course of the next few months God and I spent a lot of time working through the lies and replacing them with truths. It was NOT an easy process, but the freedom I feel now -knowing who He says I am versus living with the lies the world says I am- is the most amazing feeling in the world. Also in learning who I am in Christ, I am learning how powerful my words really are and how careful I need to be with the words I speak. We all have the choice to speak life or to speak death. My challenge now is to always be speaking life over people.
What has been your favorite country so far?
While I loved the family I lived with and our contact in Honduras (Month 3), Malaysia (Month 5) has stolen my heart so far on this trip. God did so much in my life while in Malaysia. Plus I loved the family with we were working with and our ministry was pretty much working in a preschool and loving on kids. I fell in love with those kids. It was just a fantastic month all around.
What actual project/ missions work did you feel was the most meaningful or impactful to the community you were working in?
I have 3 projects I feel were impactful to the community. The first was in Costa Rica (Month 1) when we held English camp twice a week. Jay and I were co-leading the class for the adults and they were so eager to learn. They wanted to be able to talk to the missionaries that came in and be able to get better jobs by knowing English.
The second was in Honduras (Month 3). My team and I were living on a mountain, with no electricity, with the most amazing family. We got to do house visits in the community and saw people get saved, one who had never even heard the name of Jesus before we went to his house. Also, because we had women from the community come in and help us, we saw women who wouldn’t have interacted before become friends right before our eyes.
The third was in Thailand (Month 4). The week we spent in the village at the end of that month, we were working on clearing land that will be used as a training center for girls getting out of the sex industry in Thailand. We bathed the land, the house we lived in, and the small community in prayer every day. We sang worship songs and read scriptures over the foundation of the land. We invited the presence of God to live there, and I know He will.
What are some of the things that surprised you in each country that you weren’t expecting (people, food, conditions, cultures, customs, etc.)
Costa Rica (Month 1): I was surprised by the amount of people I was surrounded by who spoke English.
Nicaragua (Month 2): Most “stores” were actually people’s living rooms with shelves and an extra fridge.
Honduras (Month 3): I was surprised by how one cooks and stores food when you do not have electricity. We learned really quickly why most of their diet consists of tortillas and beans. I was also surprised by how quickly we adapted to not having electricity.
Thailand (Month 4): It is really offensive in Thailand to touch someone’s head or point your feet at them. We sent the month constantly reminding people to sit with their feet hidden. Also, the Thai people are super, super friendly. Even when we couldn’t understand each other, which was often, they tried really hard to understand our need and help us get it.
Malaysia (Month 5): I was really surprised that the population was made up of not just Malay people but also a high number of Indian and Chinese people as well. Also, it was the first country where Islam was the main religion, so a lot of the women walked around with head coverings.
How much money do you need to be fully funded?
Funny you should ask, because my final deadline is rapidly approaching on July 1st and I am still $1,644 away from meeting it. If you can help me reach this final goal please click the "support me" link on the left side of my blog.
