Hello friends. I apologize for my lack of blog activity over the past couple of months. Please don’t equate my lack of activity to ungratefulness on my part. Your financial support and faithful support though prayer are never forgotten by me. You are the reason I am able to obey God’s calling to share the Gospel with the nations, and your prayers and messages of encouragement help me persevere. From the depths of my heart, thank you.
Thailand was a beautiful busy month in which we taught A LOT of English in about eight different schools and churches, and I could never get settled enough to write. Cambodia was a very hard month for us, and to be honest, I checked out; it was all I could do to get through each day. All of us got sick at some point, some to the point of hospitalization, so those who weren’t at the hospital had to cover the other’s English classes as well as our own. I’m still trying to put words to everything that happened in those months. Once I do, I’ll post some blogs about what ministry looked like in each of those countries with more detail.
After trekking through 6 airports in 4 countries on 3 continents over 4 days and crossing the International Date Line, [most of] D Squad arrived in Bogotá, Colombia. (Two are still in Cambodia, as one is awaiting a medical release after a motorbike accident, and two are in the States seeking medical treatment.) I am pretty excited about Colombia and S. America as a whole. The new continent and culture and the fact that I can sort of understand the language are welcomed changes!
We are serving with YWAM in the center of Medellin (“Med-a-shean”) at a home for at-risk kids called Mercy House; there are 19 boys and 22 girls aged 5-18. We are the first World Race team to serve with them, and our month will consist of hanging out in the house with the kids doing fun camp-like activities, helping send them off to school and do homework, sharing meals with them, and assisting in the kitchen.
On our second day in the city, before our ministry officially started, we were invited to celebrate one of the girl’s Quinceañera – an elaborate 15th birthday party that represents the transition from childhood into womanhood. Think of it as a mix between a Sweet Sixteen and a debutante ball, complete with formal wear, waltzes, a candle ceremony, and cake. It was an honor to share in this day with her, and I look forward to getting to know her and the other kids over the course of this month.
