A Year in Review:
Total Number of Countries Visited: 19 (11 original-DR, Haiti, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Tanzania, Malawi, Swaziland, Romania, Moldova, Ireland, drive through Mozambique, Zimbabwe safari stay in South Africa, layover in China, USA, Kenya, Qatar, and Turkey)
Favorite Continent:
Africa
Favorite Country: Malawi
Runners up: Cambodia and Moldova
Least Favorite Country: Dominican Republic
Runner up: Romania
Most Beautiful Country: Swaziland
Runners up: Romania, Tanzania, and Malaysia
Types of Ministry: Door-to-door evangelism, preaching, cleaning, painting, orphanage, slum church, organizing, yard work, sports camp, praying for sick, home visits, distributions, living in a local village with local families, harvesting rice, coffee shop ministry, Red-light district/prostitution/stop trafficking, thanksgiving celebration dinner, Vacation Bible School, manual labor, prayer walks, Christmas celebrations, hospital outreach, fundraising, volunteering, security, night evangelism, intercession, entertainment, living at girls dorm, babysitting, homeschool teaching, English teaching, Bible studies, village walks, ministering to pastors families, youth clubs, women’s ministries, children’s church, church conferences/revivals, teaching nursery school, street kids, hostel outreach, prison ministry, slums, dramas, special needs groups, HIV education, care points, trash dump outreach, nursing home, worship, guest speaker, farming, ATL (Ask the Lord), Art in the Park, homeless food outreach, “free prayer”, construction work, administration work, English Summer Camp, youth group, church worship team, VBS camp counselors, clothes organizers, car boot sale runners, office assistant, house cleaner, healing on the streets, artist…and I am sure there are more.;)
Favorite Types of Ministry: Prison Outreach, Teaching English, harvesting rice, homeschooling, ATL, physical labor, English Camp
Praying at the Prison in Malawi
Favorite Foods: rotee, empanadas, chapatti, shwarma, breadfruit
Least Favorite Foods: pad thai, soup, dill salad, durian
Most odd foods tried: shark meat, spider leg, fried fish, impala, porridge mix, ulster fry
Eating spider legs in the Russian Market in Cambodia
Number of Days away from home: 328
Number of Flights: 18
Number of Bus Trips: 37
Modes of Transportation: 18 (plane, private bus, foot, truck bed, car, song tow, tuk tuk, elephant, bicycle, public bus, taxi, van, ferry, dolla dolla, motorbike, cab, train, personal car)
Tuk-Tuk ride to New Years Eve celebrations
Number of “beds” I slept in: 28 (hostels, tent/sleeping bag, church pews/floors, bunk beds, hotel, cot, couch, etc.) This is excluding overnight flights/long bus rides, airport floors,
Critters I lived with: lizards, frogs, rats, cockroaches, flies, mosquitos, mice, bats, spiders, crickets, snakes, ants, monkeys, slugs, dogs, cats, bed bugs, birds, kittens, puppies.
Languages: 18 (Spanish, Creole, Thai, Tamil, Malay, Mandarin, Haakon, Khmer, Swahili, ShiTonga, English, Chichewa, Tonga, Africans, SiSwati, Romanian, Moldovan, Russian)
Currencies: 14 (USD, baht, ringgit, pecos, goeud, rael, shillings, kwacha, rand, emalangeni, lei, rubles, pounds, euros)
Favorite Debrief:
- Romania- rolling stones hostel, tight space, new continent, open food, prepare for future, awesome worship
- Haiti-hurricane sandy, nice place, open places to hang out, great food
- Malawi- Mufasa Lodge-good lodge, nice food.
- Cambodia- nice hotel, but split up, good beds and air conditioning
My Favorite Adventures: riding elephants in Thailand, beach in DR, Russian Market in Cambodia, Visiting Bahati Camp in TZ, Angkor Watt in Cambodia, Cliff Jumping in Malawi, Tattoo in Thailand, ATL in Romania, Paintballing in Moldova, Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, Slacklining and cliff jumping in Ireland
Hardest Parts of the World Race: Mice in our room in Malaysia, homesickness near holidays, learning community, never having any alone time, ice cold bucket showers, team changes, preparations for going home, cooking own food with different tastes, feeling the exhaustion, and missing just going to church.
Favorite People I Met: Thai mom that I lived with in Thailand, Wrey family in Haiti J, Emmi from Lighthouse in Action, Hector translator in DR, Oo translator in Thailand, Jennifer in the DR, Deva server in Malaysia, English class in Cambodia, girls at the dorm in Cambodia, Grace translator in TZ, Pastor’s family in TZ, Cox family in Cambodia, AJ from Butterfly, Stallone from Malawi, Gift from prison, Matthews a vendor friend, Noxolo from Care Point, Deanna from Rolling Stones, Members of K-squad, Campers/Volunteers at English Summer Camp, Elizabeth translator at camp, Danielle my best new Zealand friend, the slacklining group in Ireland and the lady on the plane into Qatar.
Slacklining Community that I loved in Ireland
Translators: Hector-DR, Oo-Thailand, Nam-Cambodia, Grace-TZ, Stallone-Malawi, Julia-Moldova, Liza-Moldova.
Number of months I used my tent: 2-Cambodia, Malawi
Number of months I used my sleeping bag: 9- DR, Malaysia, Cambodia, Tanzania, Malawi, Swaziland, Romania, Moldova, Ireland
Number of months I used my sleeping pad: 3-Cambodia, Malawi, Ireland
Number of Teams I was on: 4- Ahava, Gateway,(Team Travel Size) Doulos, FreedomBound 3:17
Months I was a Team Leader: 4- DR, Haiti, Thailand, Cambodia
Things I Missed the Most From Home: My family and friends, of course. Movies with my Dad, Hugs from family and friends, Dr. Pepper, Hot showers, Drying machines, Tootsie Rolls, birthdays, holidays, and engagements, fast internet, good coffee, my bed, being a phone call away from my sister, leaving on my own time, Mom’s cooking, My boyfriend.
Most Memorable Ministry Moments: Preaching for the first time, Praying through the Red Light District, Harvesting Rice in village in Thailand, Painting almost every month, teaching English, teaching homeschool, ATL at Prison, Youth Club, Care Points, Talking with Hostel owners, English Camp “Everything” Skit, Campers giving their lives to Christ, Discipling camp volunteers through translating, Worshipping at camp, prophesying over squadmates, healing on the streets.
Favorite Memories: Dancing in the streets of the DR with the girls on my team, watching Thai soap opera with my Thai Mom, Playing Sardines with our contacts daughter in Haiti, worship dancing with Morgan on the roof in Malaysia, playing with puppies everyday in Cambodia, Understanding some of the language in TZ, having the whole bus gasp in Africa when we saw giraffes on the side of the road, Spiritual Talks on the dock with Stallone in Malawi, Getting covered in hugs at the carepoint in Swaziland, Sharing tears with my campers after the “Everything” Skit in Moldova, Last church service in Moldova, Chilling out in a new community with the slacklining group in Ireland, Sock wrestling with squadmates in Ireland, Making videos during the race.
Dancing in the rain with my teammates in the DR
Worst Border Crossing:
- Cambodia to Thailand…6 hours standing in line, in sun, with packs, people cutting line illegally
- Tanzania to Malawi…12 hour sleepover at a closed border + 4 hour bag search
Best Border Crossing:
- Return to America!…I am hoping!
- Romania to Moldova…slept through the whole thing 😉
