Hey friends! First of all, I am HOME! Being home is so very surreal, strange, and beautiful. More on that later. First of all, here is a little glimpse of what my year looked like, from mileage traveled, to what ministry was like, to some of my favorite foods! Enjoy!
1 From Monclova, Oh to Atlanta, GA (12 hrs driving)
2 From Atlanta, GA to Korea (15.5 hrs flight)
3 From Korea to Beijing, CHINA (2 hr flight)
4 From Beijing to Harbin (20 hrs train)
5 From Harbin to Beijing (15 hrs train)
6 From Beijing to Korea (2 hr flight)
7 From Korea to Bangkok, THAILAND (5.25 hr flight)
8 From Bangkok to Chiang Mai (12 hrs bus)
9 From Chiang Mai to Mai Ai (3 hrs bus)
10 From Mai Ai to Chiang Mai (3 hrs bus)
11 From Chiang Mai to Poipet, CAMBODIA (13 hrs bus)
12 From Poipet to Siem Riep (3 hr bus)
13 From Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (8 hrs bus)
14 From Phnom Penh to Kampong Cham (3.5 hrs bus)
15 *Daytrip back into Phnom Penh (total 7 hrs bus)
16 From Kampong Cham to Phnom Penh (3.5 hrs bus)
17 From Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur MALAYSIA (2 hrs flight)
18 From Kuala Lumpur to Georgetown, Penang (5 hrs bus)
19 From Georgetown to Melaka (8 hrs bus)
20 From Melaka to Kuala Lumpur (2 hrs bus)
21 From Kuala Lumpur to Osaka, JAPAN (6 hrs flight)
22 From Osaka, Japan to Istanbul, Turkey (13.45 hrs flight)
23 From Istanbul to Tirana, ALBANIA (1.45 hrs flight)
24 From Tirana to Lezha, Albania (1.5 hrs bus)
25 From Lezha to Tirana (1.5 hrs bus)
26 From Tirana to Sofia, BULGARIA (12.5 hrs bus)
*Drove through MACEDONIA
27 From Sofia, Bulgaria to Istanbul, TURKEY and back (total 14 hrs van)
28 From Sofia, Bulgaria to Bucharest, ROMANIA (7 hrs bus)
29 From Bucharest to Dragonesti-Olt (2 hrs train)
30 From Dragonesti to Bucharest and back for PVT (total 4 hrs bus)
31 From Dragonesti-Olt to Bucharest (2 hrs bus)
32 From Bucharest to Brasov (4 hrs train)
33 From Brasov to Lviv, UKRAINE (11 hrs bus)
34 From Lviv to Uzhgorod (5 hrs train)
35 From Uzhgorod to Lviv (5 hrs train)
36 From Lviv to Warsaw, POLAND (9 hrs bus)
37 From Warsaw to Doha, Qatar (6 hrs flight)
38 From Qatar to Johannesburg, South Africa (7 hrs flight)
39 From Johannesburg to Ekufikeni, SWAZILAND (7 hrs van)
40 From El Shaddai Swaziland to Durban, SOUTH AFRICA (8 hrs van)
41 From Durban to Jeffrey’s Bay (18 hrs bus)
42 From Jeffrey’s Bay to Port St. Johns (9.5 hrs bus)
43 From Port St. Johns to Johannesburg (12 hrs bus)
44 From Johannesburg to DUBAI (8 hrs flight)
45 From Dubai to USA (15 hrs flight)
46 From NYC to Washington DC (1.5 hr flight)
47 From Washington DC to Columbus (1.5 hr flight)
48 From Columbus to HOME (3 hrs)
Approx TOTAL HRS of Travel… 403.65!
Almost 17 days of moving travel from location to location!
There were 48+ stops from Sept 4, 2013 to Aug 1, 2014!
15 countries!
Over 53,000 miles! (That’s more than double the earth’s circumfrence!)
Methods of transportation this year:
Plane, Train, Bus, Taxi, Tuktuk, Shuttle, Van, Elephant, Motorbike, Bicycle, Ferry, Songtao, Subway, my feet
What did I do this year?
China- Partnered with Project China (China’s Underground Church Movement). We were involved with University Outreach, discipleship, and connecting the body of Christ.
Thailand- Volunteered with Lighthouse in Action and worked in their coffee shop/restaurant, prayer walked in the red light district, and visited Mae Ai and prayed for and loved on children at risk of child trafficking.
Cambodia- Volunteered with University of the Nations in Kampong Cham where we taught English and music. We fed, bathed, and loved on kids in two different slums. We also did prison ministry and prayer walked.
Malaysia- Our team had the ministry of Unsung Heroes this month. Our ministry was to find and connect different ministries and organizations with AIM so they can send teams in the future to partner with their ministries.
Japan- We partnered with local long term missionaries in Osaka and volunteered with children’s ministry, street ministry, University outreach, evangelism, and we set up a 24 hr prayer night.
Albania- We partnered with Lezhe Christian Academy where we tutored and built relationships with the students, supported the full time missionaries on staff, assisted with music club, and went on prayer walks.
Bulgaria- We partnered with Mission Possible outside of Sofia. We reached out to the Roma Community and brought them food, helped prepare for an annual women’s conference, and helped sort produce at a food bank.
Romania- We partnered with RESO Ministries in Draganesti-Olt. We went on home visits bringing elderly encouragement and meeting needs, we sorted and distributed clothing to people in need, children’s ministry, helped clean houses for elderly, helped in a vineyard, taught music, and we had a week of ministry with our parents that came for the Parent Vision Trip.
Ukraine- We partnered with local long-term missionaries (International Teams) and ministries in Uzhgorod. We volunteered in an abandoned baby ward in a children’s hospital, visited English club with local students, visited two orphanages, preached in many churches, visited a nursing home, and built many lasting relationships.
Swaziland- Our squad partnered with El Shaddai Children’s home. I worked in medical clinic sorting supplies and assisting the nurse, mentored/tutored a child for the month, and went on home visits in the community.
South Africa- We partnered with Victory For All in Jeffrey’s Bay. We helped lead a VBS program for over 300 young children in the community.
FUN FACTS
Animal Encounters
This year I came across elephants, monkeys, spiders the size Texas, millions of cockroaches, mischievous geckos, water buffalo, an incalculable number of chickens and roosters, HUGE ants, a massive bee that I seriously think could kill a rhino…(good thing I killed him first), a huge crab (found heading into our house one morning in Cambodia), baby snakes (SUUCESSFULLY made its way into our Cambodian home), lice, mountain goats (or as Kari Anna would say, “donkey thingies”), dogs (stray dogs are around every corner), cats without tails????, Rats the size of cats WITH tails, a sneaky scorpian (eeks!), mice (our constant annoyance in Swaziland), rats, ostriches, horses, dolphins, whales, a baby donkey named “Annabelle”, hour old baby pigs, baby ducks, a baby cow, and so many more…
“Bazaar” foods
Moon Cakes (China), durian and durian Fro Yo (China), Fried Tarantulas (Cambodia), Cow tongue (Japan), All sorts of raw fish (Japan), Takiyaki (octopus – Japan), Nato (Fermented sticky beans – Japan), Turkish Coffee (Albania), a Bulgarian drink that kind of tasted like dirty feet, chicken feet (South Africa)
“Bazaar” foods we didn’t dare try
Fried Maggots, fried baby chickens, fried snake, pigeon roast
Favorite foods
Cashew Chicken (Thailad), Garlic Chicken (Thailand), Pineapple Fried Rice (Thailand), Rotee (Chocolate Crepe-like desert – Thailand), Flattened ice cream (Thailand), Smoothies (Thailand), Chipati (Malaysia), Butter Chicken Masala (Malaysia), Naan (Malaysia), Bubble tea (all throughout Asia), Byreck (Albanian savory pie), Rooibos tea (South Africa), Pop (African “pourridge”), Bobotie (South African minced meat), Biryani (South Africa)
Staple Foods on the WR
Rice, noodles, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Nutella, bread
What an amazing year! As I continue to process, more and more memories surface that bring me so much joy and some tears. Thank you to everyone who helped to make this year a reality! I am so grateful for this incredible full and profound year! More to come!
