16 days left on the Race!
Over the course of this month I am continuing to reflect on the past 10.5 months, the beautiful people God has allowed me to meet, and the things He has allowed me to see. This is the second blog entry in a series of end of the year blogs highlighting memories from each ministry, my teams, and adventure days. I hope you continue to enjoy my trip down memory lane. This blog highlights some of my favorite adventure days! Each month our host would allow us to have a few days to explore the city we were doing ministry in and see some of the popular sites. I have gotten the opportunity to see world famous attractions, a seven wonder of the world, and a lot of not so well known hidden treasures of the world. I hope you enjoy this blog and again thank you to my prayer warriors and financial supporters. None of this would have been possible without your beautiful partnership.
Month 1- Albania
Month 1 we were in the capital city of Tirana, Albania. This is a big city with many of the comforts of home, like PIZZA! This was a fun night! We went out with some of our friends from the church we were working with to their favorite pizza place. It was so good!!!
Month 2- Romania
Month 2 we went to a Salt Mine! It was basically a cave that was made entirely out of salt. I got to ride a Ferris Wheel inside the mine, row a boat through the river inside the mine and explore this beautiful creation with some awesome people! Oh and yeah I licked the wall. It was salty! It’s a tradition! Why not??
Month 3- Greece
The three pictures above are from the day we went to the life jacket graveyard and level 1 camps. While in Greece our ministry was to work at a government run refugee camp. On one of our off days former racers, who now work at the camp full time, took us to see where the refugees first get off the boats from Turkey and where they store all the leftover life jackets. It was heartbreaking to see how many people are displaced and to hear the stories of so many broken people just trying to survive and make a better life for their families. One of the saddest things I’ve seen, but also very eye opening as well. The refugee crisis is very real and something that should not be taken lightly.
The picture above is from our 24 hour layover in Athens! We got to see the Parthenon, the first Olympic stadium and sample authentic Greek food. Athens was a great layover stop!
Month 4- Malaysia
This crazy bunch started our mountain trek at the crack of dawn. It was the hardest mountain I have ever climbed, but the experience and the view were so worth it! It was my first time free climbing boulders. We were tired but we made it!
Month 5- Thailand
We rode bareback, fed, and bathed elephants at an elephant sanctuary! This was truly one of the best experiences on the race! I will never forget this amazing day!
Month 6- Myanmar
Most of our off days in Yangon, Mynamar were spent relaxing at unique cafes! This one has smoothie bowls and mint tea! Maybe not the most adventurous month, but still a good one!
Month 7- Lesotho
We hiked down a mountain into a low valley to play in this beautiful waterfall! The trek back up was quite the adventure too!
Month 8- South Africa
In South Africa you have to experience a Braai! It’s a special bbq that they pride themselves very much! We had a fun afternoon and all got to take turns learning this South African skill!
Month 9- Zimbabwe
I bungee jumped off a bridge overlooking Victoria Falls! Victoria Falls is one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World! This is by far my favorite adventure day of the race!
Month 10- Haiti
Towards the end of the month in Haiti we went to a beach resort! Sun and FUN!
Month 11- Dominican Republic
The Lord brought these two amazing ladies randomly at a frozen yogurt shop and we have become fast friends! We went to Los Tres Ojos (3 Eyes National Park) and explored the three caves. We took a boat ride through one of the caves!
Stay tuned for more blogs highlighting other types of memories from this past year! See you in 16 days.
