In the last 9 months I have seen many things. I have pitched my tent beside and among some of the world’s poorest people. I have seen poverty and desperation in forms I never dreamed possible. I have held the sick, the dying, the hungry and the forgotten in my arms. I have also seen God in so many people in so many ways. I have seen love, hope, and joy rise from the darkest corners of oppression and desperation the world has to offer. I have had my breath taken away countless times by the beauty of God’s creation all over the world.
I have prayed for random strangers I encountered on the street or in the market place. I have laid hands on the sick and begged the Lord for healing. I have witnessed nations crying out to Jesus. I have been invited into many a humble home
for tea spending hours interacting with someone that doesn’t speak the same language as I do. I have been humbled time and again by the pure generosity of someone literally giving me all that they have to offer. I have lived, laughed, and cried with many of God’s chosen: His church all over the world.
for tea spending hours interacting with someone that doesn’t speak the same language as I do. I have been humbled time and again by the pure generosity of someone literally giving me all that they have to offer. I have lived, laughed, and cried with many of God’s chosen: His church all over the world. In China my team brought the power of Jesus and His Holy Spirit to people that may have never experienced something so powerful and truthful ever in their lives. In Africa I lived in the bush with the Turkana people and witnessed life…from goats to the constant battle with Malaria. In India I worked and loved on boys that society viewed 
as rejected, unloved, and forgotten. I saw how God was going to use THEM to change the nation of India. In the Ukraine I worked alongside missionaries that were giving all that they had to till the hard, rocky soil to bring truth, to plant seeds. I was able to stand beside them and encourage them in their work, even if no fruit was ever seen. In Romania I lived life with a community of people, the gypsies, who were considered to be 2nd class. I climbed the hills and picked lilacs with children, and then experienced the joy of being a kid again as we played in the grass together using our imaginations to make make-believe come alive. I experienced a Gypsy/Romanian church that was hungry for more of the Lord-so hungry that services lasted 4+ hours because they wanted all of the Word they could get there hands on. I picked wild flowers and sat with a woman that had a tumor on her stomach that gave her the appearance of being 9 months pregnant…just keeping her company. In Germany I am witnessing a generation that is searching for truth, searching and questioning what they really believe. I am bringing God to people who have everything they need..people that think they don’t need HIM.
as rejected, unloved, and forgotten. I saw how God was going to use THEM to change the nation of India. In the Ukraine I worked alongside missionaries that were giving all that they had to till the hard, rocky soil to bring truth, to plant seeds. I was able to stand beside them and encourage them in their work, even if no fruit was ever seen. In Romania I lived life with a community of people, the gypsies, who were considered to be 2nd class. I climbed the hills and picked lilacs with children, and then experienced the joy of being a kid again as we played in the grass together using our imaginations to make make-believe come alive. I experienced a Gypsy/Romanian church that was hungry for more of the Lord-so hungry that services lasted 4+ hours because they wanted all of the Word they could get there hands on. I picked wild flowers and sat with a woman that had a tumor on her stomach that gave her the appearance of being 9 months pregnant…just keeping her company. In Germany I am witnessing a generation that is searching for truth, searching and questioning what they really believe. I am bringing God to people who have everything they need..people that think they don’t need HIM.
Yeah, I have seen and experienced a lot, but to be honest the biggest miracle is ME. I am not really the same person I was 9 months ago. In the last 9 months the Lord has put me through the fire and refined me. I have been set free from the chains of rejection, shame, and doubt. Gradually, God has peeled away layers of my heart and has touched some of the deepest, most painful areas bringing healing and restoration. I have learned where my TRUE identity lies- in Christ and in Him alone. I have lived life in a community of 48 other people-people that are now family who God has used as a mirror to reveal to me my own issues of pride and selfishness.
God placed me in a family of 48 other people that I genuinely LOVE with all of my heart- a family that has taught me and continues to teach me how I will really and truly love my future husband someday. I have learned that there is NOTHING in this world that is too big or hard for the Lord to handle. I rest in the truth that no matter what comes my way, Jesus will be there to hold my hand and walk me through the fire to reach the other side.
God placed me in a family of 48 other people that I genuinely LOVE with all of my heart- a family that has taught me and continues to teach me how I will really and truly love my future husband someday. I have learned that there is NOTHING in this world that is too big or hard for the Lord to handle. I rest in the truth that no matter what comes my way, Jesus will be there to hold my hand and walk me through the fire to reach the other side.
The journey is far from over. This CHAPTER is coming to an end, yes, but the JOURNEY is just beginning. I know and understand that there is so much more God is going to take me through-hardships and persecutions that will teach me FAITH and TRUST in HIM. There will be mountains and valleys, tears of joy and tears of sadness. I eagerly look forward to the last 2 1/2 months left on The World Race as well as the places God intends to take me in the future. I am in His hands and there I find true contentment.
