Hi Friends!
Long time no see! Things have gotten very busy here on the World Race, but also simultaneously have slowed down.
It’s crazy to think that in a month and a half, this journey will be over because it has started to feel like my real life. I think that’s a part of the reason I’ve been neglecting updating all of you amazing subscribers. Blogging doesn’t feel like a natural part of life, so its kind of slipped through the cracks! I don’t take your support lightly so I want to apologize for my lack in updates. You all deserve to know all the awesome things God is doing and what I’ve been up to!
When I updated you last, I was in Costa Rica working with Zoe Future Leaders (a.k.a. an awesome guy named Edgar). That month we lived in the Mountains on a vegetable farm. One of Edgar and his team’s desires is to help local pastors learn how to grow an organic garden, in order to bring in more income for their churches. The first week we were there we were able to work tending the garden.
The last half of the month was my favorite. I think my favorite ministries on the World Race have included those that allow us to come alongside the host and help them in their actual lives. Ive said it before, but it’s very rare that we can come into the lives of the actual ministry and make a huge difference in a month. But we CAN come alongside the host, the one who works 24/7 to make a difference in their ministry.
We were able to help Edgar move out of his house and into his new house, and he literally wouldn’t have been able to do it without us. We would spend almost all day packing up his house and then every night we would cook an amazing meal (with mostly ingredients from the garden) and spend time together. This was definitely one of my favorite months.
After a 12 hour travel day, we landed in Panama for month 9.
My team and I were based in Playa Las Lajas, the beach town of my dreams.
We were able to come alongside Danny and Heather, our hosts for the month. They have a house church called “Bethel” that disciples an amazing little community. We had the opportunity to go on to the reservations to work with the native Panamanian kids. The education systems in Panama are definitely lacking so it was amazing to see these kids faces as you presented them with something they’ve never learned before. They were so hungry to learn, they just aren’t always given the opportunity to.
I always try to keep my instagram highlight updated with what I am doing, so if you want to know more about my time in Panama click here.
At the end of Panama, we all headed to Tocumen International Airport to fly to Colombia. This was our first flight since arriving in Latin America. Typically we would take a bus between countries, but it is next to impossible to travel by bus from Panama to Colombia as it is very dangerous and mostly indigenous tribes.
We then arrived in Medellin, Colombia for a week long debrief. It was honestly one of the best debriefs I’ve had on the race. It was equal parts restful, fun, and life giving. We were able to work through hard things as a team and a squad and are better because of it. We also just had a lot of fun hanging out and exploring the city. Vessels of Joy, my first team, was also able to meet up for dinner and it felt like coming home.
For some reason I am still unclear on, none of us were able to go to our ministries until the 8th. Because of that, we moved to a different hostel were we did a week of ATL (Ask the Lord). This is where we would wake up every morning, ask the Lord what He wants us to do, and do it. We were able to hand out sandwiches and pray for the homeless, I met a new friend named Alexandra, and we even did a flash mob!
It’s funny, because this amazing couple named Brad and Deb that we met in Panama told us about how they always used to go hand out sandwiches to the homeless in Seattle. When they told us, my spirit was like “LETS DO THAT!”. I figured that meant when I get home to America, but as soon as I stepped foot in Medellin and saw the sheer amount of people in need, the Lord was like, “Why wait?”
Right now, theres an extreme economic crisis in Venezuela. Almost all of the families we’ve met on the street have been refugees from Venezuela. They have no way of getting jobs and providing for their families. It’s heartbreaking. So, I spent most of my time during ATL pursuing these families.
This is our post-it wall where you could check out what everyone else felt the Lord calling them to do and jump on board if you wanted to!
After ATL, all of our teams went our separate ways to meet up with our official ministry hosts for the month. This month we are working with YWAM Mercy House, an orphanage for kids! We get to help with cooking and cleaning and just loving on the kids. So far I am loving it and am super expectant for what else the Lord will do this month!
Check back soon for more updates!
THANKS!
