Hello! I just wanted to let everyone know how I’m doing as far as being on the Race and where I am at on my funds for continuing on the race. Right now I am at $17,520 out of $18,017 which puts me at 97% funded!! I am so close!
Someone might ask why should I give money, or why should I support this mission? Well I hope what you’re about to read will help you understand the importance of the World Race from my perspective and what being on the World Race has been for me as far as the positives and what I’ve learned.
I started my Race in October 2017-
Month 1: Guatemala- I started out in my new team who I really didn’t know who they were. I was really good at holding in my emotions and feelings and pretty much everything in general. Maybe that was me being shy but I quickly learned how selfish I was being. In the past I’ve had some not so great friendships and I kind of felt like I didn’t really want to open up too deep about myself because I’m so used to my life being a chapter book, where a chapter ends and so does the relationship to those people. So I felt why bother. I had a talk with Soto and that’s where being selfish comes in. It’s selfish for me to hold back on what kind of friendships I could gain on my team just because I’ve had some lame friends in the past. It’s not fair to assume they will leave me or not to give them a chance to be a true friend. “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgement.” – Proverbs 18:1. My study bible explains this verse “not only is it selfish to remove ourselves from the fellowship of God’s people, but it is inconsistent with true faith and love.
As far as being in Guatemala, I wouldn’t have learned that one of my skills is evangelism. I met some really cool people that have a great heart for Jesus and not only did I visit with them, I prayed for them. They taught me about The love of Jesus and the happiness they have to live a life truly for Jesus. Some of them also prayed alongside with me. It was a bit of a struggle with the language barrier but somehow the Holy Spirit was right there with me and it went great! “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” – 2 Timothy 4:5
Month 2: Nicaragua- So far I would say that Nicaragua was my hardest month, I had no energy or drive to do anything. I barely pushed myself through ministry, we are in the middle of nowhere, it was very hot, it was our first month with no WiFi, and it was all-squad month, I was just getting to know my team of 7 and now all 22 of us living together. I was under attack and I had no idea why I felt this way and remember thinking, “it can’t be like this for the rest of the race, when will this end?” I remember reading through my bible, not that I can ask google to give me motivation verses, I had to search for it myself. But anything I read in my bible I could not connect to it. I couldn’t connect to life in the moment. I made it through and thinking about it now, I believe that it was the enemy just trying to throw me off path because it was the start of a change happening, it was the start that the enemy is losing me because I am not falling for temptations and sins. I’m not quitting either, it was the first month I felt “I don’t need to do this, I don’t have to do this, I could just go home.” I knew I didn’t want to quit and kept pushing forward. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” – James 4:7 This is the month where trust and faith have been put in my foundation in leaning on God always.
For Nicaragua I found my love for all-night prayers, sacrificing sleep to pray to God during the night. Since then I’ve had my team do an all-night prayer every month. It’s been amazing, and thank Anna for bringing that in Nicaragua. “Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” – Luke 6:12 Jesus took time away from all the healing the sick and raising the dead to spend time with the father in prayer.
Month 3: Panama- this was the month where issues I had learned came up from when I went on my first missions trip to Ethiopia in 2016. This is the month where my heart was just torn. I struggle with taking my life for granted and seeing that people barely have a life in other parts of the world so I felt guilt over where I was born and for the life I live. The first night in Panama, I met this little boy, Moises. He is deaf and 8 years old. He doesn’t have hearing aids, he knows some sign, but that night it was raining and dark, and I watched him trying to watch everyone to figure out what’s going on and it made me want to cry because I know what it feels like to be lost and not having people take the time to explain and help you. I had to hold myself back from crying. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” – 1 Corinthians 12:27
In Panama I worked really hard on positive thinking and thankfulness. I remember turning my prayers into thankfulness. Realizing that what I have and where I was born was a blessing from God and to use that blessing to help others that may not have access, not to just things but the love of God. I also learned that in along with me being deaf, I always felt like I been in the middle of the hearing world and the deaf world. When after meeting Moises, and Skyping Jackson from California, I can learn to use me being deaf to build the bridge between the deaf and hearing world. “I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. On the day I called, you answered me; my strength of soul you increased.” – Psalm 138:2-3
Month 4: Lesotho- the word I was immediately given by God was peace. I just had a sense that everything was going to be ok. I just wondered what God was going to teach me this month. This is the month I started having to bring in scripture to those around me. I remember the first time during village ministry I had to share a bible passage and what that passage meant for me. I shared and then I remember walking back home and feeling very discouraged about it. I didn’t have a ton of confidence with sharing the gospel to other people and actually knowing what it means. Have you ever read the parable of the sower? If not I encourage you to read Mark 4:3-20. Sometimes when sharing the Word, you might come across people who may take that word and ignore it, hold onto it for a short time, or it will plant a root and bear fruit. So no matter how we share the word, God will use us to help spread His good name and He will also be there with that person who is receiving the Word.
Also in Lesotho- by the end of the month, by the challenge of my team, especially Ashley, I was to give a speech in church. As I was talking in church, the translator was having a hard time understanding me, I know if it had been the Jess at the beginning of Lesotho giving that speech, I would’ve become discouraged and frustrated along with the translator but I continued and another translator came up to help. We got that sermon preached and it went really well. That taught me a lot about patience and also that God is with me. He wants his word to be shared no matter how it is done. It went pretty good. I realized God was preparing me for this by starting sharing in home visits in the village to preach in church! “I pray that his glorious riches he may strengthen you power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. – Ephesians 3:16. By the end of the month I had just a sense of peace that I didn’t need to worry so much about all the things I’d been worrying about in the past couple months.
Month 5: Swaziland- I just had my last day of ministry yesterday. The whole month working in the preschool, I kept wondering what my purpose was in this ministry. I was there with the kids but the teachers did the teaching and all they are suppose to do. We aren’t suppose to help being told that by our host. So I find myself just helping grade, tracing out letters and pictures for the teacher, and trying to help keep the kids to mind even though they wouldn’t listen. But yesterday morning, walking away from the gate I just felt a little sad to leave those kids. This was a month that I’m not sure exactly what I am learning, but maybe along the lines to be more childlike in my faith in God. Those kids accepted me as “Teacher Jess” right from day one. They are so innocent and language, skin color, nothing holds kids back in accepting others. They believe in what adults see impossible. I think God placed me here to have my heart change for me to be His child and have child-like faith and innocence and to believe in impossible things. I wasn’t there necessarily to change the life of the kids but for them to change my heart. “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 18:3
Now when it comes to all these lessons and struggles, that doesn’t mean that I have them figured out and I no longer have these struggles, but realizing those emotions and problems, it makes it easier each time the enemy tries to turn your thoughts on the things you struggled with in the past and wreck you. Building that foundation of trust, faith, and thankfulness with God can just set you to be stronger when the enemy attacks.
To everyone who has donated towards my trip, I want to say thank you so much. Thanks you for your help to be able to be a part of this opportunity. I cannot believe how much I’ve grown in the last 5 months in my spiritual walk with God. I want to let you know, if you’re able to donate, ANY amount is GREATLY appreciated!! Also another way for you to serve is through prayers, I ask for prayers in taking in what God has to teach me and prayers to become that innocent child again and to believe in the impossible. I pray for faith, trust and freedom , I’m working on those this month as well. Realizing that life doesn’t have to be full of what I’ve done wrong but what I can do to be better.
“Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.” – Esther 4:14
If you want to donate: if you go to to the top of this webpage, you will find a “donate” button. It’s a very easy step by step to fill in the blanks and to donate towards helping me finish out the race. Thank you. Thank you for your support in advance and thank you for your continued support.
