Well, all I can say is: wow. The past week has been a complete whirlwind. We left our prostitute ministry in Phuket, Thailand on May 26th. Joined up with the rest of the squad for our debrief in Bangkok, Thailand. We stayed at the Avana Hotel for 5 days. We flew out of Bangkok on June 1st at 12:30am. We had a 3 hour layover in Nairobi, Kenya. Then we finally landed in Jo-Burg (Johannesburg), South Africa. We took busses to our hostel where we would be staying for a few nights. Let me just say that South Africa reminds me of Michigan. The weather is freezing. Well in all reality, it is probably around 50-60 degrees but we have been living in 100 degree temperatures for the past 5 months, so these temperatures are shocking to us. We all busted out our hats, mittens, scarves, boots and sweatpants. Winter wear! I’m having flashbacks from my past life of living in Michigan. Kind of weird actually. Some things I miss, but most I don’t.
We are currently staying in a ministry house in Nespruit, South Africa. It is close to the border of Mozambique (I think). We camped out all day in a bus station yesterday waiting to board our 10pm bus from Jo-Burg to Nespruit. We left at 10pm and arrived here at the ministry house at 3am this morning. Just imagine 52 racers, groggily waking up at 3am when the bus stops in a new town. We all pile off, trying to find our packs in a huge heap of 100+ pieces of luggage. Every racer aimlessly walking around, each having 2-3 bags strapped on their bodies waiting for the next set of directions in where to go. So we all pile our luggage on to the back of some pickup trucks and hop into some cars 5 at a time and are taken to a place of rest for the night. This is typical world race.
We arrive at this ministry house at 3am with warm welcomes and greetings from the staff. Once again, we unload 100+ bags, dig out our own luggage and find a room to sleep in. I was one of the first people to arrive at the house and one of the staff members told me to follow her. She took me to a bedroom with 2 sets of bunk beds. Wow, a real room…with CARPET! This is the first time on the entire race I feel like I am living in a real house. There are several bathrooms, and showers. We are allowed and ENCOURAGED to actually flush our toilet paper!! There is a huge kitchen, a dining room, and a huge living room. We can actually drink water from the tap! WHAT?? There are lamps, there is hand soap and bath towels in the bathroom. This is heaven. Who would have thought that we would be living it up in luxury in Africa!? I mean we are still in South Africa…but still.
I sit here in awe, realizing just how incredibly blessed I am. God is so good. It wasn’t until I laid in bed last night (well, 3:30am) that I realized exactly what all I gave up to live this live that God has called me to. I felt like I was fighting this internal battle in my bed. I feel like I am back in a comfort zone that I’ve lived in my whole life…but more than that, I feel beyond blessed. It’s so weird though because I no longer feel comfortable living in the comforts I once had (my entire life). It makes me uncomfortable and somewhat guilty. However, God reminded me that it is perfectly fine to no longer feel comfortable with these things but to not feel guilty and to just embrace the blessings He has given me for the next 2 days.
As of right now, we still do not really know how or when we are going to Mozambique. We are hoping to all leave by bus tomorrow to head to Maputo (the capitol) and then disperse from there to our separate ministries. Our ministries have already changed. Originally it was going to be 4 teams working together and the other 4 teams working together. Now it is 3 teams working in the bush, another 3 working in the bush and my team working with Luminous in Mupoto (I think) still at Iris ministry with Rolland and Heidi Baker.
We are all very anxious and excited to get to our ministry sites and start our ministry for the month. Hard telling what the next few days will bring, let alone the next 24 hours. We have been living moment by moment with things constantly changing and getting rearranged. We have lived out “flexibility” to the max this past week. It’s been crazy, adventurous and exactly what God has called us to. We are loving it.
Please pray for these things specifically:
· That we would get into Mozambique with no problems
· That we would all safely get to our final destinations once in Mozambique
· Team unity
· Adjustment to a completely new culture and lifestyle
