The time has come to post a final blog to thank my supporters who have supported me financially and with prayers. What better way than to recap all the big things God did this year through my time on the World Race!
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Restoration – Australia
– Homeless ministry (first time I prayed with people who were possessed, written about in this blog)
– Church reconciliation ministry with YWAM: volunteering and bridging the gap between churches
– Pancakes and Chai in the Park with YWAM: engaging strangers of Byron Bay
Empathy – Indonesia
– Youth ministry: teaching English to children of all ages via Bible stories
– Village outreach: Sharing Jesus with multiple mountain villages in Bali & praying for healings
– Team time: Discovering our personal growth through community with each other
Identity – Sri Lanka
– Ask the Lord: Introduction to “Faith days” (Luke 10, Matthew 10 – God provides a way)
– Church Engagement: Each teammate preached a message and participated in an Easter themed song/dance skit for the church
– Passover: Celebrated together
– Discipleship & Baptism: Met multiple people to share gospel and one of them was baptized this month
– Personal Growth: Studied all of the New Testament
Joy – India
– Village Outreach: House to house prayer, worship in the street, teaching in the churches
– Miracles: I personally witnessed one person delivered from possession and another healed from deaf hearing
– Testimonials: A friend drove Nora and I through his village to share with us the miracles God is doing there and we met a man that used to be paralyzed
– Baptism of Holy Spirit: I learned about this in India and received new gifts from God at this time as well (along with about 50 other people)
– Convo with Sudia on the roof: Sharing nearly the entire Bible story for 2-3 hours with a local who had not heard of any of it
– Spontaneous Worship: Stuck on the side of the road for 6 hours so we played worship music for the nearby village
– Personal growth: Learning about the prophetic
– Travel: 3 days travel from Nepal to India in extreme conditions (this is the nittiest gritty of the Race)
Adventure – Nepal
– Trekking: Two day trek through the mountains, sharing the gospel and Nora and I praying with two Monks, dancing with a group of Nepali women
– Mountain Village: Camping in the village, joining and encouraging women at the local church, teaching in the local church, healings, showering in the jungle
– Personal growth: Endurance through sickness, Christ-like love and generosity for the poor (Learned by my experience with the street boy and the chicken wrap in this blog)
Strength – China
– English ministry: Teaching the locals & performing song/dance skits
– Community: Participating in a traditional Chinese dinner with about 20 other people
– Personal growth: Perseverance through homesickness
– Fun times: Hanging out the sunroof with Tristan and my whole team following a local to a swimming hole but instead getting stuck in mud up to my thighs!
Hospitality – Kazakhstan
– Bible camp: we helped prepare the camp for a week of fun and learning
– Teaching English
– Engagement: Planning fun events at the parks, ballet, museums, karaoke with students, etc
– Hospitality: Enjoying Big Almaty lake and catching a ride back to town with other visitors, potlucks, amazing roommate’s
– Personal growth: I did a Galatians & TORAH study and it was amazing!
Rest/Patience – Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia
– Miracles: God healed a woman’s ankle on monastery mountain!
– Personal growth: Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and boldness in speaking to the people in the monastery (written in this blog)
– Fun/restful times: Hiking in Bishkek, Yurt camping/stars/Italian friends, Horseback riding, Wine/cheese/bumper cars in Baku, Communal cooking in Baku
Investment – Turkey & Greece
– Video ministry: Shooting a Turkish video series about the Bible for Muslims
– Baptism: Our one woman church was baptized this month!
– Holy Days: Celebration of the fall holy days (written in this blog)
– Bible History: Visiting Troas, Assos, Thessaloniki & Athens (written about in this blog)
– Personal growth: I read through all the prophets- which means I finished reading the Bible all the way through! I also started learning worship songs on guitar.
– Fun times: 24hrs in Santorini with Fei
Reliance/Trust – Spain
– Camino ministry: 13 days investing in people we met on the Santiago de Camino (Linda, Joann, James, Andrew, Derek, and more)
– Personal growth: Testing my limits and learning the specific places I still have room to grow
– Study: Joining G42 leadership school for a few days, sitting in on classes & being in Mijas
Love/Depth – Morocco
– Applying the Race to Life: Knowing and loving on our neighbors
– Discipleship: Connecting with people around the city (stores, neighbors, coffee shops, etc)
– Team time: Loving each other above and beyond (Example: Tyler and Nora’s birthdays- scavenger hunt and bonfire on the beach)
– Fun Highlight: Lennie jumping & rolling off the train
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This year was incredible and God did some really cool things around the world through your generosity, so THANK YOU for being willing to support me and my teammates as we sought to be obedient to His call.
You must be wondering, “So what now?”
Well… about 6 months ago I was praying all day about where God is calling me after the World Race and I heard, “Move to Nashville for two years.” Totally random, totally out of nowhere… so, that’s what I’m going to do.
BUT God likes to turn the tables a little bit sometimes and as I was developing a vision for life in Nashville, he called me to something else first: The Center for Global Action.
It is a 5 month mentorship program for learning how to apply what you learned on the World Race to life in America.
– How to positively influence a culture at your workplace, school or church (really wherever you go).
– How to approach conflict/confrontation confidently
– Be challenged/kicked in the butt for 5 months to take initiative wherever you are
God showed me that The Center for Global Action is clearly a stepping stone I need in order to be successful in my vision for life in Nashville later. SO I cancelled all my plans in order to move to Georgia NEXT WEEK.
If you’d like to learn more or support me in this next step, you can follow this link to my new blog.
Thank you all for joining my journey!
With love,
Ariel
