Well hello from another continent!
I am in the beautiful country of Uganada, living in a little village called Mokono on MONTH FOUR of my race! Before I jump into Africa and how much I love it here and how amazing it is, I thought it would be good to fill you all in on Central America and the three months I spent there! I am going to use this blog to sum up Central America, and to tell you all the amazing things I encountered and was apart of while there. I am going to fill this blog with my thoughts on each country, the good times and the harder times, and the way God used me through each of them! I hope you have your passport handy, it is going to be a long ride!
First stop: Honduras
My first stop of the race I was in a town called La Ermita, working with a ministry called Heart of Christ. I have written about Heart of Christ in my last blogs, but here it a little refresher. The main goal of Heart of Christ, is to seek justice for woman and children who have been victims of abuse. Gracie and Lee Murphey started this ministry to reach out to woman and children and stand as their advocates. They remove young woman and children from harmful situations, and have a childrens home that has housed many children who have been made victims at such a young age. We were living at the childrens home and were apart of the childrens everyday life. My team and I helped with meals, teaching, general care, and of course lots of play!
The hardest part of this month for me was hearing the heaartbreaking stories these kids have, and figuring out how I fit into the equation. These kids have been through so much and I was not feeling qualified or worthy enough to be with this ministry and these kids. This month God showed me the meaning of redemption. He reminded me of my freedom from my own abuse, and he showed me how he redeemed each of the kids at this home. He took the bad and turned it into something so beautiful, something that will bring His Kingdom, and something that was suppose to bring darkness but in the end brought light and hope.
In Honduras, the scripture that was placed on my heart was the passage of Isaiah 61, part of it reads:
“The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on ME, because the Lord has annointed ME, to preach good news to the poor. He hass sent ME, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lords favor and the day of vengence of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion-“
(these are just the first two verses but I encourage you all to read the whole passage)
You see, I am worthy, I am annointed and so are you! We have the spirit of the Soverign Lord upon us! Man, its so good!
Just for fun, I am going to share my 3 favorites about Honduras!
1. One of my favorite things about Honduras was the kiddos and all of the sweet little moments with them. You know, those sweet snuggles and contagious laughs.
2. Our last week in Honduras we met a sweet lady name Kim Pate. Kim does ministry right up the road from Heart of Christ and she is the most selfless and generous person I have met. She would open her home to us and would always have the best american snacks to share with us! She invited us to a bonfire she was having with her church and it was so much fun! We worshipped, we laughed, we danced, oh and we roasted marshmallows!
3. Another favorite about Honduras was a day we were able to do disaster relief after horrible floods that damaged homes. We ended up laying concrete on two homes in the town that had been damaged. This day was one of my favorites because we not only got to help people, and pray for people, but we had so much fun while doing it.
Next stop: Guatemala
First thing about Guatemala, was month one debrief in Antigua! Oh I love Antigua, Guatemala so so much! Not only is Antigua beautiful, and filled with yummy food, but it holds some lifechanging memories for me. Debrief is a time where the entire squad gathers together and relaxes, rejuvenates, and reflects before moving onto another country. During this time, we had sessions led by our awesome coaches, mentor, and squad leaders and it was really a time to grow and to share that growth with the squad. For me, God really spoke to me at debrief. I really grew in vulnerability at debrief, but I also grew in my relationship with Christ in a more intimate and deeper way.
Debrief is also about bonding and making memories together as a squad, and we had some awesome memories in the beautiful city of Antigua.We explored the beautiful city, I crashed a wedding, I ate good food, and we hiked a volcano! We hiked up a volcano and then roasted marshmellows when we reached the top! This will always be an unforgettable memory for me!
Now onto ministry, which was just as fun! Month two, we lived in the Mayan jungle and worked with a ministry called Hearts in Action. Hearts in Action has a lot of different parts, but the main goal of Hearts in Action is to reach the younger generation and share the love of Jesus with them! They have a school on the property called The Jungle School, which reaches a lot of kids in the community. This month was all squad month, so my entire squad was in one location doing ministry together! Our ministry included, a lot of construction and maintenance jobs. Our squad worked on over 20 projects, all benefiting the school, and the property of Hearts in Action. Projects like, creating a library in the school where kids (who are first generational readers) have the space to find books to read and learn. We also did a lot of maintenance projects, painting, helping with their business that helps bring money into the school, helping with a conference, organzing, and just jumping in wherever we were needed. It was a lot of work, but so rewarding to be able to see everything we accomplished at the end of the month.
My 3 favorites about Guatemala!
1. We did a prayer walk in the Mayan Jungle our last night in Guatemala and it was the most amazing thing I have ever expeirenced. We had the opportunity to pray for other countries, and it was so touching and such a cool moment with my squad but then also personally with God.
2. I just loved being with my entire squad! It was fun to be able to get to know each of them on a different level. We also had a pretty awesome “Squadsgiving”.
3. Being in the Mayan Jungle was not too shabby. We did a lot of hiking and a lot of different work in the jungle, and it was a really cool expeirence.
Last stop in Centeral America: El Salvador
Month three of my race, I was living on the beach in the beautiful city of El Tunco, working with a church called La Red. La Red, is also known as the “surfers church” which was just as cool as it sounds. The part I loved most about this church is it all started because our hosts brother wanted to minister to his surfing buddies, but then a lot of women and children started to come so they made it a church! We worked hands on with a ministry within the church called La Cacita. La Cacita is a summer program the church started to keep minister to kids and keep them out of trouble while they are on break from school. It was a 5 week program that we had the pleasure of spending 3 weeks with. Monday through Thursday we would teach the kids English, life skills, art, and computer skills then feed them and send them home! It was so much fun and so rewarding! We also would spend our Friday’s at the local orphanage just loving on the kids and playing, I loved this part so much as well, I mean who doesn’t love snuggling babies!
The most growth I had on my race so far would be in El Salvador. In El Salvador, we were in a beautiful area, living on the beach, exploring different things, and I was able to really connect with God through the ocean and the nature around it. The greatest thing I learned in El Salvador was how great God’s love is for me. I have known ever since I was little that Jesus loved me, but I never really thought too much into it. I sang the song “Jesus loves me, this I know”, but I don’t think I really knew, at least not how much he loved me. It was not until I was hit by a giant tidal wave that I understood, the amount of fierce love the father has for me. It sounds silly, I know but bare with me. There is this song we sang at training camp and part of the lyrics go “like a tidal wave, crashing over me rushing in to meet me here, your love is fierce”, and it was not until I was climbing a huge rock in the ocean and I was knocked down by a tidal wave with so much force (enough to keep me under for a few minutes, and enough to dislocate my elbow) that I finally got it. HIS LOVE IS FIERCE. It overflows, it is so strong. I will be posting a later blog about this, because I could go on for hours, for now I think you get the point!
El Salvador was so amazing, it is hard to sum it up in 3 favorites, but I will try:
1. I just loved, loved, loved living on the beach and all the little adventures that came from that. We would climb out to “the rock” (yes the rock I mentioned above), I went walking one day and came across some cool caves, and lastly I learned how to surf which was so fun!
2. I really enjoyed my time at the orphanage. I am not sure if I am allowed to have favorites, but this little guy named Mateo was my favorite by far at the orphanage. He was deaf and just tugged onto my heart strings. When I found out he was deaf, I signed to him with the words I knew and he started kicking his feet and giggling…oh it was beyond precious.
3. Christmas was also one of my favorite things about El Salvador! We stayed up all night watching Christmas movies, then we set off fireworks at midnight, made and ate a very tasty brunch, and just drank hot cocoa, played games and enjoyed each others company. It was the greatest!
Well, there you have it! Central America was amazing and I can not wait to see what God has in store for me the remainder of my race! Stay tuned for an Africa post coming soon!
I am still in need of funds in order to stay on the race, with my final deadline being January 31st. I fully trust that the Lord will provide, and ask that you would prayerfully consider supporting me financially as I follow His calling! Thank you for all your prayers and support!
