As the time goes by on this crazy journey called: The World Race, I’ve met some pretty incredible people, seen some amazing things and experienced hilarious times. This list is the result of lots of thought and good times reminiscing. It’s grown quite big, with 11 countries and all…so I decided to break it up. Here’s part one of “The Best Of The Best: A Year In Review.” Part two will follow soon I’m sure as this month is slipping quickly away.
Bulgaria
- Favorite Memory: A picnic breakfast with Madlan at the park. Madlan is one of the sweetest ladies I’ve ever met; she’s so full of life! She shared her heart with us and we were able to give our stories as well.
- Biggest Challenge: Learning how to live in community with my team and how to give and receive feedback each day… And learning to work the German washing machine.
- Character Highlight: Pastor Yavor’s daughter, Sarah Kostov. This 16-year-old has such a passion for the things of the Lord. She loves Jesus and follows after him unashamedly. One day she will be an international missionary.
- Best Food: Raffy ice cream sold at carts on the street corners. Ferrero Rocher was the best!
- Worst Food: Drinkable yogurt. Think spoiled milk mixed with sour cream with a thick consistency. Yuck-o.
- Random WR Moment: Being told that instead of preaching in a church I’d actually be sharing a message on the street corner of a Gypsy town.
- What I’ll miss: Tuesday night pot-luck fellowships with the church. Everyone was full of joy and love regardless of the language barrier. We had a wonderful time dancing, playing games and forming some great friendships.
- Ministry for the month: Visiting church members, working at orphanages, preaching and evangelism in Gypsy villages.
- Spiritual Lesson/Revelation: Freedom to worship is a precious right. Some are not as fortunate to have this privilege.
- Prayer Requests: Pastor Yavor and his church as they continue to preach the truth of Jesus in a city still suffering from the effects of communism. Pray for Yavor and his team as they fight in the courts for religious freedom.
Team Rise Up with Madlan and Paulie at our picnic breakfast in the park!
With my workout partner, Sachi, and our trainer, Steve T.
Romania
- Favorite Memory: Singing in the park and feeling the Lord’s freedom in a real way.
- Biggest Challenge: Having patience and learning the power of prayer. We prayed and walked so much!
- Character Highlight: Irenka. A sweet homeless lady that we met in the park one day. She smiled so much and even came to worship with us at church.
- Best Food(s): Aniku’s goulash and Kelly’s homemade cinnamon rolls. Hands down, they were both fantastic!
- Worst Food: Cold fruit soup. Warmed up it was a little better, but the cold version was a challenge for me.
- Random WR Moment: Hitch-hiking in the back of a carpet truck to a local gypsy village for baptisms. We couldn’t find a ride home so we walked a good 1.5 hours down the highway with our headlamps in the dark!
- What I’ll miss: Spending time cooking, dancing and having good conversations with my teammates. We had a house to ourselves and were able to have fun playing in the cornfield, holding a murder mystery party and getting to know each other more.
- Ministry for the month: Prayer walking, preaching, praying, hospital visits.
- Spiritual Lesson/Revelation: Even when ministry isn’t always exciting and it doesn’t turn out the way I want it to, God can still use me if I’m willing to be used.
- Prayer Requests: The city of Targu Mures. It is a dark place still plagued by memories of communism and hardship. Pray for hope and light to invade!
Fun team time: Murder mystery dinner!
Sweet kids in the neighboring Gypsy village
India
- Favorite Memory: The boys waking us up in the morning. Blake was always one of the last ones up and they would come in, get right in his face and say, “Blake! Coffee! Coffee, Blake!” I loved spending time with them and our Lion King movie night as well.
- Biggest Challenge: Everybody stares at you. Not a just a glance, but a “let me stop walking and watch you for 5 minutes” type of stare. Sometimes I would get angry because people even stopped to watch us wait in line for the bathroom or brush our teeth. Can I get some privacy?!
- Character Highlight: Roshen. A 12-year-old orphan boy who translated our sermons for us and loves the Lord. He will be a great leader in his village one day, I have no doubt.
- Best Food(s): Mrs. Lily’s egg curry and the Spanish Vanilla cake at Caramel bakery!
- Worst Food: Jill’s birthday cake that in no way tasted like a birthday cake should.
- Random WR Moment: There was always confusion with our translator. One day we asked him about the peanut butter snack we had earlier that morning. What was it called again? He just said, “Ah!” and brought us the bucket of kerosene we’d been using to clean our paintbrushes!
- What I’ll miss: The joy of the kids all around India and their real love for the Lord. They loved to worship, learn and talk about God. It was refreshing and encouraging.
- Ministry for the month: Sanding/Painting a children’s home, VBS day trips, being loud and boisterous with the boys at Tanguturu
- Spiritual Lesson/Revelation: Spiritual darkness is very present and very much at work in the land of India. Satan has a hold there while people cling strongly to worshipping idols and following sacred rituals.
- Prayer Requests: ICM (India Christian Missions) and their work with the Tanguturu boys’ home and other CCH (Children’s Covenant Homes) houses.
Team Rise Up with our Tanguturu boys!
Sarah and I at the Bay of Bengal in our matching culturally appropriate swimwear!
Nepal
- Favorite Memory: Sushila, an 11-year-old Hindu, volunteering to pray and lifting up the purest, sweetest prayer I’ve ever heard to Jesus. Glory to God!
- Biggest Challenge: Taking the initiative. Most days we created our own schedule, so it was tough to know what or how to teach. We just made up our mind to love well and pray hard through it all.
- Character Highlight: Furlamu, a sweet girl who didn’t speak much English. She had a beautiful smile and caring spirit.
- Best Food: Chicken chowmein from the restaurant across the street.
- Worst Food: Vegetable mix with our rice and dal bat. One of the veggies had some prickly spots that were chewy and weird.
- Random WR Moment: Going to a “picnic” where the Nepali people brought speakers, gas stoves, huge bowls of rice and raw chicken to cook. In all there were 3 goats, 2 cows and a stubborn horse that showed up. One cow even ate some of the tomatoes from a bowl!
- What I’ll miss: Mingmar, Sushila, Sagar, David, Sudip, Abisek, Manisha, Phulmaya, Rupali and all the other kids at Happy Home. And Shrijana who told me to never ever forget her name. I promised I wouldn’t.
- Ministry for the month: Teaching Bible in the morning and anything else in the afternoon, loving on orphans and some pretty sweet Hindu kids.
- Spiritual Lesson/Revelation: God answers prayers. This should be a given, but the Lord handed us a silver platter in Nepal. We went in thinking we wouldn’t be able to preach the gospel in a Hindu orphanage and the Lord had different plans. We were asked to teach the Bible because the kids didn’t know much about Jesus!
- Prayer Requests: That Christ’s light would invade all the walls of Happy Home. Pray that the leadership would become believers and that the children can come to know Jesus as well.
With Rupali 🙂
Sweet note from Sushila
Kenya
- Favorite Memory: Dancing before the Lord like a crazy person with the women at a local women’s conference.
- Biggest Challenge: Dealing with homesickness and plans of what to do after the Race.
- Character Highlight: Bishop Moses Walmalwa. Moses is one of my favorite people who is so strong, but gentle. He loves his family, his churches and his Lord. I learned so much from this patient man. He is also quite hilarious and we shared many jokes throughout the month.
- Best Food: The barbequed sheep we shared on our last night in Kitale. It was slaughtered in our backyard and served with a feast as we celebrated together.
- Worst Food: Funny tasting sour cream from a local restaurant.
- Random WR Moment(s): Talking with an 80-year-old Kenyan man about snow. He was intrigued by snowstorms and weather in Canada and the northern U.S. … And the time that we got to help make bricks by stomping in a mud pit!
- What I’ll miss: Spending time with Moses, Rosalyn and those in their home. Most of all I miss Vincent or Vinny, the cute 3-year-old with lots of swagger and lots of love. His smile would melt your heart!
- Ministry of the month: Anything and everything… Moses wanted us to find ways to serve Christ every day. Prison visits, preaching, hospital visits, kids’ homes, house visits and evangelism.
- Spiritual Lesson/Revelation: Be observant and don’t miss people. There are so many opportunities to love and serve. Moses encouraged us as we ministered in each new place.
- Prayer Requests: Moses and Rosalyn are looking for partners to their ministry and are also praying for a second job for Moses as they support many children at school.
Girls at a children's home where we made bricks, mudded a wall, and sang songs to Jesus!
Two of the most wonderful people I've ever met, and their whole family of which I truly feel a part.
Rwanda
- Favorite Memory: Going swimming with the team the day after Christmas. We tried to teach Steph and Ben how to dive and got to eat some wonderful pizza and pasta as well. Not to mention there was time to Skype home!
- Biggest Challenge: Everything. Rwanda was a tough month spiritually, physically and emotionally. It was the mid-way point of the Race and Christmas time. It was also very hilly terrain and we walked miles a day.
- Character Highlight: Maureen, Pastor’s 16-year-old daughter who loved to swim and check out the city with us. She was always serving us and laughing alongside us.
- Best Food: Sweet potato fries
- Worst Food: Fish. The whole fish: skin, bones, eyeballs and all!
- Random WR Moment: Christmas night our team watched Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken, one of Ben’s favorite movies. It was made in the 90s and it was about a girl who rode a horse off a platform into the water for a traveling circus! And…we went to “The Best of the Best” restaurant for Steph’s birthday.
- What I’ll miss: Maureen and Rosy, two of Pastor Robert’s daughters who took care of us all month!
- Ministry of the month: Evangelism and Bible study
- Spiritual Lesson/Revelation: Be careful not to get distracted by enjoyable secular things. These things aren’t necessarily evil, but they take away from time with the Lord.
- Prayer Requests: The country as a whole as it continues to heal from the genocide that happened only a few decades ago.
Two ladies receive their new Bibles!
A little spirit yell after I conquered the valley for the last time. Ben and I decided to jog the whole way up.
To be continued…
