Hi everyone! It’s been a while since I wrote my last blog (it’s been difficult since my computer broke in Peru) so I wanted to update y’all on what’s going on. The coronavirus has been something we have been watching for a long time, but we never expected it to have such a large impact on the world. As such, the leadership at AIM decided to bring everyone home due to the uncertainty of the virus and how governments around the world are reacting to it. This has really impacted me because I was not ready to leave the field and there was so much more that I wanted to experience. However, I know that God has a plan for us in this season and that He is still working through us wherever we are. So for now, here’s a summary of the things I did in the past couple months:
After training camp, I was on a team with three guys, and our team name was Cohesion. We traveled together for 10 days to get from Cuzco, Peru to Iquique, Chile (where we had our first debrief). On our way, we stayed at an orphanage in Arequipa where we helped them reorganize and paint a room. From there, we stayed in Tacna for a night before crossing the border into Chile. We stayed in Arica for a few days and got to enjoy the beach. After that we went straight to Iquique and had a debrief with the whole squad. It was so much fun to see and hang out with everyone again (even though it’d only been 10 days =). Then leadership surprised us all with team changes!! So now we’re a team of 5 (3 guys and 2 girls) called team L.U.S.H (long story). They gave us some more training and then we were on our way. Our two squad leaders also decided to join our team for a while before the next debrief in about 20 days. We stayed in Iquique for a few more days then headed to Calama. This was one of my favorite cities because of the opportunities God gave us. We were connected to a pastor who gave us housing and food, as well as an itinerary for what we should do each day. Every day at 7am we went to the church and silently prayed for about 30 minutes with other members of the church. We met a guy there who hosted a local Christian radio station and we were asked if he could interview us to explain what we are doing in Calama and to encourage the Christians in the city. The pastor asked for one of us to give a devotional after the morning prayer and I eventually agreed to do it. I prayed about it and God told me to give the devotional on the armor of God. It was such a cool experience and God spoke through me and taught me things I hadn’t thought of before! It was a little hard getting used to pausing for someone to translate (since everyone spoke Spanish) but I’m so glad I had the courage to walk on stage and trust God with my words. We also met Aida, who makes delicious homemade empanadas and sells them by the river every day. One day we spent the whole day with her, helped make the empanadas and went to the river with her to sell them. It was so much fun!! I loved this city and the people we met. Although the weather was always super-hot and sunny, but I guess that’s to be expected in the Atacama Desert (the driest desert in the world!). After Calama, we went to San Pedro, where we did some fun adventures: such as biking to an overlook where we could watch the sunset and see thousands of stars in the sky! We stayed in San Pedro for a few days then went to Coquimbo for a week. It was such a beautiful city and we met a bunch of cool people. I really loved going to the beach one morning and working out next to the water. The sound of the waves and the feeling of the sand was incredible. Afterwards we went to Santiago for our debrief. It was such a refreshing time where we could rest and rejuvenate. The house we were staying at was a pretty big property with a lot of land and fruit trees. We could go anywhere and be alone with God. We also got the opportunity to go into the center of Santiago and pray for the city and the country as a whole. After debrief, we went to Mendoza, Argentina where we stayed for about a week before heading to Buenos Aires, which was such a cool city! The architecture of the buildings was incredible and the city was bustling with people. We got to take the subway to different areas and met many different people! Buenos Aires was the last city we stayed in before heading home.
When I decided to go on the World Race Unscripted, I honestly had no idea what to expect. There are no hosts to provide ministry opportunities and no one really telling us what to do. We decide where we go and what we do each day, and there are very few restrictions. What I’ve discovered is that this route focuses on listening to God and allowing him to dictate how our day goes. We weren’t taught how to find people to minister to, we were taught how to live in a foreign country and to listen and hear the voice of God. The Unscripted motto is “ministry is life, life is ministry.” This means that living your day to day life is a ministry in itself. You don’t have to leave the country or go on organized missions to serve God (although it’s a lot of fun). We’re just called to be present and available for God to use us at any time. Maybe that means simply starting a conversation with your waiter at a restaurant or saying “good morning” when you walk into work. God uses the little things to work in people’s lives just as much as the big things. This is something I will continue doing here at home and I want to encourage everyone reading this to listen for God wherever you are and know that God is using you to change lives even when you don’t realize it.
