Okay, so I have a lot to catch everyone up on from the last month or so. Here goes…
Team Wellspring spent November in Iringa, Tanzania. After hearing stories from other squads about their time in Tanzania, I have to say that I wasn’t exactly brimming with anticipation about this month. The word “dread” may have more accurately characterized my thoughts. Lucky for me, my God is all about redeeming things…I think my time in Tanzania was actually my favorite so far on the race! We spent our time there working with a church called Evangelistic Assemblies of God, pastored by Jacob ChaCha. As we pulled into Iringa on our very first day there, Brittany Priess and I looked out the bus window and noticed a man standing amongst the crowd. We simultaneously looked at each other immediately and both said “I hope that’s our contact.” There is a peace and humility that radiates from Pastor ChaCha that can be sensed even from a distance. It truly was a gift that God gave to our team to be able to spend a month with this wonderful man of God and his family.
Our ministry in Iringa looked different everyday. We spent time working at orphanages, speaking at Universities, running children’s programs at church, or doing “door to door” ministry. During our last weekend in Iringa, our team split up into groups of two and travelled to neighboring villages to preach in churches and markets. Brittany Cox and I travelled together, and took advantage of opportunities to play with some of the village children.
One of the sweet boys we met in the village
Team Wellspring truly enjoyed our time in Tanzania (despite all six of us battling malaria…praise God for healing!). Through my team, I was able to experience so much of the Lord’s patience and joy during my month in Tanzania. I am so thankful for the way that Team Wellspring has encouraged me to seek more intimacy with the Lord, helped me to laugh when things get hard, and pointed out gifts that God has given me that can be used for His kingdom. This team has truly been a gift to me.
The girls of Team Wellspring: Brittany Priess, Brittany Cox, myself, and Jenny Hill
After finishing our ministry time in Iringa, we met all of Osquad in Nairobi for our second official debrief. We had a wonderful time reflecting on our last few months in Africa, and were able to spend some time with World Race director Micheal Hyndes and his wife Kathy. Time with the whole squad is always encouraging and refreshing.
At the end of debrief, we got some news…team changes. I have truly enjoyed my last few months with Team Wellspring, so I immediately had to surrender my attitude to the Lord regarding team changes. But, like I said before, my God is about redemption. He gave me a sweet gift of a new team that I love and believe will push me even further in this race. My new team is “Team Harmony”. Here they are…
Kris Tippett, Carrie Campbell, Tom and Casey Kowatch, Tyler Samuelson, myself, Garrett McNeill
I am so excited for the work that the Lord will do through Team Harmony. Just a few days ago, we traveled to Thailand to begin three months of ministry in Asia. This month, the guys and girls are split up so that the guys can have a month of “man-istry”. All the men are working together at an orphanage in Chiang Mai, Thailand while the women of the squad are in teams scattered all over Thailand. The girls of my team (along with one other team) are in Chiang Mai this month. During the day, we will be working at a Christian owned coffee shop near a large university (along with working with some of the university students). At night, we will be going into the bars in Chiang Mai’s teeming “red light” district and building relationships with girls who have been trapped in prostitution, sharing the truth that there is freedom and love available for them. Pray, as always, that we would make the most of every opportunity here in Thailand. Thank you so much for your constant flow of prayers and support!
Love, Angela
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captive and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1
