Almost a year ago when we were at training camp for the the world race, our squad leader Heather introduced the idea of 30 by 30. It was one of her life goals, to travel to 30 countries before she turned 30 years old. Heather encouraged our squad to consider it a challenge to travel and see the world and achieve this goal.
Throughout my life I have been extravagantly blessed with opportunities to travel.
At the beginning of the race I had visited 16 countries and I was excited to expand that list to even more. Now, at the end of the race, I have been able to visit 33 countries overall, 16 of which have come in just the last year! For a country to count in my opinion, one must fully, legally enter a country and make a definitive memory. Airport layovers in the international terminal don’t count!
This is also going to act as a cliff notes version of our year on The World Race.
If you would like to see video recaps, you can find those blogs on the home page and we plan on having Asia’s up as soon as possible. We have been blessed by our supporters partnering with us so that we could experience the work the Lord is doing around the world and be a small part of it. God is at work in every corner of this beautiful planet He created and we were called to go out and partner with the Holy Spirit in what He is up to. Hopefully this list will inspire you to see more of the world, explore all it has to offer, and seek to partner with God in his diverse work and creation!
In order of first visit:
1. The United States
2. Canada
3. The U.K.
4. The Caribbean
5. The Netherlands
6. Estonia
7. Russia
8. Finland
9. Sweden
10. Poland
11. Germany
12. Denmark
13. Japan
14. Mexico
15/16. Hong Kong/ China
I counted this trip as being in two countries because while China does technically have possession of Hong Kong, the locals still consider Hong Kong to be it’s own country. They have their own currency, government, economy, language, and unique culture. Here is a video further explaining these differences and the history of Hong Kong as an independent nation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piEayQ0T-qA
17. Indonesia
18. Serbia
Our first World Race country. We spent our first month in Sombor, Serbia, a small city in north-west Serbia. Our ministry consisted of leading church services and doing relational ministry and discipleship. We were able to get close to the amazing people who are doing ministry in Sombor and their friendship will remain with us. It was a great month, allowing us to bond as a team and see God at work in us and through us!
19. Hungary
During our ministry in Serbia, our team took the opportunity to take a day trip to the city of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. We toured some of the main sites of this beautiful city and I long to visit again soon!
20. Montenegro
Our squad trailed through Montenegro while we went to our next ministry site. Here we found something to eat and walked down to the shore, followed by an entourage of street dogs who just wanted to make some new friends.
21. Albania
In Albania our squad took its first debrief, staying four days in the capital of Tirana. Then we traveled to a farm to begin our next month of ministry. After only 10 days, we were informed that our squad would be moving to the Island of Lesvos, Greece to give aid at a refugee camp.
22. Greece
We spent a day in Athens while waiting for our ferry to Lesvos. We climbed the historic Acropolis, ate Italian food, and rode on the subway! Then in Lesvos our squad worked at a refugee transition point, feeding, clothing, and sending the refugees to another camp to receive their papers. This was one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences of the entire race and something I will never forget.
22. Macedonia
After our time in Greece, we traveled to Macedonia to meet with the rest of our squad. The city of Skopje is beautiful and a pleasure to explore in the brief time we had there.
24. South Africa
After our time in Europe had ended, our squad began its ministry in Africa. We would return several times as we moved through the southern region of Africa. During our time in South Africa we spent a rest time in Johannesburg, a debrief in Pretoria, and another time of rest in Durban. We also partnered with a church in helping them with their Christmas play, ministering to village children, and doing maintenance around the church facility.
25. Botswana
The first two weeks of ministry in Africa was “manistry month.” During this time, all the men traveled to Botswana to help a church located in the Kalahari desert to put a new roof on their church building. It was hot, dirty work, but richly rewarding and a great experience.
26. Zimbabwe
After our stay in South Africa we moved to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Our team’s ministry for the month was searching for other ministries which Adventures in Missions could partner with in the future. The Lord opened many doors for us and we were able to find many great ministries for the future. During this time, we were also able to visit Victoria falls. This weekend trip had us travel by rail to the falls and stay with a local church.
27. Zambia
While visiting the falls, we briefly traveled to Zambia so we could swim in the Devil’s Pool. This is a small spot on the edge of the falls were the water is calm enough to swim. It was a terrifying experience but a once in a lifetime opportunity to hang off the side of one of the natural wonders of the world!
28. Lesotho
The country of Lesotho is the little known kingdom which exists inside of South Africa. It is a mountainous country featuring Africa’s only ski resort! Our team partnered with a church in the little mountain town of Mokhotlong. There we helped lead church services, aid in the construction of an orphanage, ministered to inmates at the local jail, went to the hospital to feed people suffering from HIV and Aids, and helped paint a mural for the church’s private school. It was an incredible month in a beautiful place!
29. The Philippines
We began our ministry in Asia on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Our entire quad was together and partnered with a church in the town of Bulacan. We helped lead church services and youth sessions. Our squad also had the amazing opportunity to share the gospel openly in the public high schools. Y squad was the first group of white people the town had ever seen, and so we were treated like the Beatles were when they first came to America. The students hung out of windows screaming, taking pictures, and asking us to dance or smile for them! Later in the month, the squad put on a festival in the town square with traditional dancing, Christian skits, and the gospel being presented. It was an incredible month being able to minister to such kind people!
30. Malaysia
After finishing up ministry in the Philippines, we moved to Kuala Lumpur for a debrief in the historic city. Debrief was filled with fish spas and shopping before our team moved to the northern city of Sungai Petani. We partnered with a church and helped them run their services and ministries. We also had the opportunity to teach at a school for children with mental and physical disabilities.
31. Thailand
We spent this month in Chiang Mai, Thailand and it quickly became one of my favorite months as well as one of my favorite places! We partnered with an organization which funds and executes various ministries throughout South East Asia. After our orientation, our team moved into the mountains to the town of Mae Cham to lead a VBS for the children while they were out of school. It was a blast playing games and singing songs with over 100 Thai children! After our two weeks in the mountains we moved back to Chiang Mai to work in the church and offices of the ministry. During this time Kristen and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary by going to a lovely dinner and playing with elephants! We loved our time in Thailand and look forward to doing ministry there sometime in the future.
32. Cambodia
Our month in Cambodia began with LDW (Leadership Development Weekend) in Siem Reap. We met up with our entire squad and enjoyed some much needed rest in the city before our team moved to our ministry site in Phnom Penh. We partnered with the International Theological College and Seminary by teaching school for the month and it was an amazing experience. We taught the students on making life purpose statements, elementary education, public speaking, college writing, and how to compose and present a sermon. It was a great blessing to be a part of educating future ministers of the Gospel in South East Asia in a country where only 40 years ago, higher education was punishable by death.
33. Vietnam
Vietnam was the perfect way to end our time on the World Race! We ministered in the city of Da Nang, a gorgeous beach town in the center of the country. There we worked in a language cafe, talking and building relationships with the young adults who came to improve their English. The students are hungry for something more, we had many opportunities to share the gospel, and the harvest is plentiful in Vietnam. God is moving and working in Da Nang and it was a blessing to be a part of what he is doing. We were also able to lead worship and preach at Da Nang International Fellowship, the only sanctioned expat church in the city.
After our time of ministry in Da Nang was completed, we headed to debrief with our entire squad at a beautiful ocean side resort (which is quite a nice change from our usual sleeping on the floor with no A/C). We were so blessed to have this time to be refreshed, debrief everything we have experienced, and say goodbye to our teammates. Tonight we leave to get on a plane to go home and are ready to experience God’s work back in the United States!
Thank you to everyone who has supported us financially, prayerfully, and practically throughout this entire process!
Each and every person in these pictures are people that you ministered to by partnering with us. We pray God blesses you as you blessed hundreds of people around the world. We will see you soon!
