To my family, friends, generous supporters, and prayer warriors,
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Honestly, there are not enough words to adequately describe my gratitude towards each of you for your prayers and financial support these past 11 months. Getting to serve the LORD all over Asia was a huge answer to prayer and a dream come true and I could not have done it without each and every one of you.
Simply put, these past 11 months were nothing short of amazing. Asia is an incredible continent filled with insanely delicious food, vibrant cultures, beautiful scenery, and the most incredible people. Each place that we went was vastly different than the last but always some how managed to sneak its way into my heart.
Your support has meant the world to me. I want to share with you the ripple effects and the impact that your prayers and support have had on my life these past 11 months. I also want to share with you how your prayers and support are continuing to impact people and places all over Asia.
China: Your support helped an orphanage in China continue to rescue and save babies abandoned by their families due to mental or physical illnesses. New Day pays for any medical attention needed, and then works ceaselessly to get the children to forever families. The best part? They do this all with permission for the government in the name of Christ right in the middle of closed, communist country. This ministry relies heavily on prayer warriors constantly interceding for the ministry’s children and needs. Your support allowed me to experience first hand the power of intercessory prayer and to gain a deeper understanding of why prayer is such a crucial component in our relationship with God!
Mongolia: Your support helped a local church in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. Our instructions from the church leaders were simple: go out, meet people, and invite them to church. Let me tell you, this is so much easier said than done, especially when you are forced to go out in 15 degree weather in a country where you don’t speak the language haha. Despite the challenges we faced, through prayer, obedience to the LORD, and your generous support, we saw 2 of the friends that we made come to know Christ and were blessed with the opportunity to baptize them one of our last nights there!
Japan: Your support brought new English teachers to students in Osaka. Teaching English is one of the ways the missionaries we partnered with build relationships with the Japanese community. We taught English during the day and had the incredible opportunity to live with several different Japanese families throughout the month. Your support brought Christian missionaries into the homes of Japanese families and allowed them to both hear the Gospel through our words and see the love of Christ through our actions
Nepal: Your support helped bring the love of Christ to women trapped in sex trafficking in Nepal and provided English teachers to women who are fighting to stay out of the sex industry. Sex trafficking is a horribly large industry in Nepal. The earthquake in April 2015 is still impacting the country and has left many people devastated and desperate. Many women turn to this industry or are sold by their families into it out of this desperation. My heart shattered in so many ways this month as we went into to bars and cabin restaurants to talk with them. Your support allowed me to see first hand there is truly is power in the name of Jesus because his love is greater and more powerful this evil industry! Darkness can only be dark so long as no light invades it. But once light begins to shine in the darkness, the darkness loses it’s powerful. That is what is slowly happening in Nepal and what I am continuing to prayer for, that light would continue to invade the darkness there!
India: I have wanted to go to India for quite some time and getting to spend a month there was a dream come true. Ministry this month consisted of training to be a squad leader and visiting our teams at their ministry sights all over. One of the most impactful moments for me this month happened when I was sitting on a train heading back to New Delhi from our trip to the Taj Mahal (SO beautiful by the way!). I was looking out the window as the train pulled up to a station with a small temple next to it. Almost every person that walked by stopped, bowed down in front of the gods in the temple (it was filled with statues of various sizes and colors), marked their foreheads with red powder and continued walking. Sitting in front of the temple was a girl who could not have been more than 7. Her clothes were tattered, her body filthy, and she was begging for money for the people who stopped. My heart absolutely broke at the sight of the temple with the little girl as it captured both the spiritual lostness of the people in India and the extreme poverty many people live in. India, with 95% of .25 BILLION people being unreached is in desperate need of workers to come and share the love of Christ and your support allowed for 28 missionaries to do just that.
Malaysia: This month was probably the most challenging month on the Race. God taught me a lot about myself, leadership, and what true surrender looks like. There is true freedom to be found in complete realness and vulnerability with God. Let’s be honest, he knows everything anyway so we cannot fool him by trying to pretend we have it all together when in fact, we do not. He does not expect us to clean ourselves up to come to him. He wants us as we are, hot messes and all. God taught me all this and so much more on a rooftop in Kuala Lumpur at 3am when I could not sleep because the nightclub I lived above was still bumpin’. For the first time in a long time, I allowed myself to be completely real and vulnerable before God and he met me where I was. He comforted me, spoke truth into the lies I was believing about myself, and reminded me of how much he loves me.
Thailand/Burma: This month was one of my favorites! Your support brought the Gospel to kids living in a small village on the border of Burma and Thailand. Your support allowed us to put on a summer program for them and allowed us to be the first foreigners to ever stay in this village for longer than a day. We spent our days playing games, teaching English, having community swimming parties in the river, and being the hands and feet of Jesus in any ways that we could. Your support also played a part in bringing my PARENTS to Thailand! My ministry with them included talking with Buddhist monks, loving on the local kids, and bringing light and love of Christ to women working as prostitutes at the bars each night.
Cambodia: Your support took me to another one of my favorite places on the race: A Greater Hope Orphanage a few hours outside Phnom, Pehn. This orphanage is home to 37 of the sweetest, goofiest, and most hilarious kids in all of Cambodia ;). Your support allowed us to live at the orphanage and spend the month loving and serving this orphanage. Another huge part of our ministry was doing home visits to people all over the village. Your support allowed us to meet so many families and talk to them about Jesus. Many people in Cambodia know a small bit about Jesus (basically that he is a powerful god) but they do not know him as their ultimate savior. Your support provided opportunities for us to answer their questions about the differences between Buddhism and Christianity, share our testimonies, pray for them, and tell them about how powerful and wonderful our Jesus is.
Vietnam: Your support brought aid to a small café that provides jobs to deaf men and women in Vietnam. Over the years of working at this café, the men and women who work there have come to know the Christ! One man is even trying to become a pastor so he can better tell the people of Vietnam about the love of Jesus! One of the most impactful moments for me this month happened when I was sitting at a local sandwich shop waiting for my lunch. This young Vietnamese girl was managing the shop and came and sat down next to me. The first words out of her mouth were “Are you with the World Race?” She had met other racers prior and told me she was a believer. With a voice full of conviction and compassion, she told me she was glad I came. “Vietnam needs more missionaries because Vietnam needs more of Jesus. Please keep praying for my country. Please pray for us.” So that’s what I did. A bit teary eyed, I prayed for her and she prayed for me. I left there encouraged and humbly reminded that we as Racers need to make the most of our time in each country. People are praying day and night for more workers to come to their country and thanks to your support, for the month the LORD places us somewhere, we are able to serve as those workers that have been prayed for.
Philippines: Your support brought discipleship to the crazy awesome and vivacious youth group of Moriah Baptist Church in Bulacan. The students in the youth group are on FIRE for the LORD and your support provided new opportunities for them to share their faith with their neighbors and friends! A huge part of our ministry was going door to door all over the community, sharing the Gospel and inviting people to church. We saw over 15 people come to know Christ and many people come to the church for the first time! How cool is it to know that your support played a vital role in 15+ people coming to Christ in the Philippines!
Indonesia: Your support brought Christian missionaries to a small village up in the mountains of Indonesia to partner with Peace Generation, an organization started by one Muslim man and one Christian man, aiming to see a generation of young Muslims raised up to be people of peace. Your support brought us into the home of the sweetest Muslim family during the Ramada holiday. Your support allowed us to build friendships with Muslims in Indonesia and break down prejudices Christians have against Muslims and Muslims have against Christians. Your support also brought encouragement to local believers in Indonesia! This month was incredible! Indonesia has the largest population of Muslims in a single country. Getting to be there during Ramada was culturally an incredible experience and allowed my squad and I to learn more about the Islamic faith, which helped us as we built friendships with people over the course of the month.
These past 11 months have been absolutely life changing and I am humbled and forever grateful at this opportunity your partnership, friendship, prayers and support gave me!
Be on the lookout for a new blog coming soon about what God is calling me to next and ways you can continue to be apart of the work that He is doing all over the world!
Thank you again and God bless,
Hallie Canada
