I just found out that I will be heading to Haiti on Feb 2nd and I will be working with a different team this month, Team Spectacle (you can look them up on the world race website and read their blogs throughout Feb to keep up to date with what we are doing). We will be doing door to door evangelism for the first week and then planning vacation bible school (VBS) for the children throughout the 2nd week and then just continuing our relationships throughout the remainder of the time I guess..not really too sure yet. Im sure God will reveal it all in time and I am completely fine with that.
We will then be coming back to Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic around March 28th or so and have our debrief until March 3rd. On March 3rd we will be flying through Miami and then to LA, Cali and will be staying in LA overnight. They informed us that we would be able to see family and/or friends that evening if we have anyone close by. We can go out on the town and shop and go to dinner and be free for the night to do whatever we want. That will be nice…I think. So…friends and family..start booking your ticket to LA on March 3rd so you can come see me for the night!! Haha jkk I would love to see family or friends if I had any in LA, but I am actually kind of thankful I don’t b/c I really think it is going to be weird to be thrown in to LA after living how we have been living. From such a simple lifestyle, in the midst of third world countries to BAM! the chaos of the American lifestyle. I think it will be quite overwhelming for me and I may want to just hide in my hotel room or house that night (wherever we are staying), but we’ll see. I also think that if I were to see any family or friends, I would not want to continue on with the race. The thoughts and desires of going back home have already crossed my mind a lot and to be thrown back into the comfort of family/friends or anything from my past life will only intensify my desires to not continue. I honestly wish we weren’t stopping in LA, but maybe it will be good for us. Who knows.
We will then leave on the morning of the 4th to head to Bangkok, Thailand. From there we will bus over to Cambodia. My team, the Gentle Warriors are going to be working with this ministry called “Rubbish Mountain.” We will be living and working in the slum and literally be living in a dump. I remember looking on the “video” page of the World Race website several months ago and saw that a previous racer posted a video of her team working at rubbish mountain. I distinctly remember watching the video and having the images pressed into my brain. And now I’ll be living that out. I encourage you to look for that video on the world race website.
Ever since we started praying about what ministry we would end up partnering with in Cambodia, God had already laid it on my heart that we were going to for sure end up at Rubbish Mountain, even though we had a few other choices. However, it just hit me hard again when Jenny Brown (one of our squad leaders) told us that we were for sure going to Rubbish Mountain. At first, I felt this extreme heaviness weighing upon my heart. But then I went to the room and laid on my bed in prayer and I started journaling my thoughts. God then gave me peace and excitement for the upcoming months.
I know that the next few months will be extremely dark and heavy, yet completely filled with God. I know that we have been called to the darkness to be the light and I know that with going into the darkness, there is so much oppression and deep sadness and heavy burdens to be carried, yet so much room for God to work through everything. That is what gives me hope and encouragement, knowing that I will never have to carry the full weight on my own…knowing that God will be one step ahead of me the entire way.
I have daily been praying for brokenness for myself and for my team. And I know that God has heard my prayer and is going to answer it in some huge ways this year. Last night as I was praying, for the first time I found true joy in the darkness that I will be facing. Up to this point (my teammates can testify, especially Renee) I have been holding on to great fear of what is to come…because I know what is coming. However, I am now at a place where I cannot wait to experience the true darkness and evil of this world so that the fullness of God will be revealed and through the works that He will do in and through us, all glory will be given to Him.
