Hello from Ometepe Island, Nicaragua!
We recently finished month 6 of the World Race and one of my favorite months of the race so far. Month six started with a long bus ride to the small town of Heidelberg, Western Cape, South Africa. We were greeted favorably by our host “mom & dad” Tanya and Phil. Our first day we spent relaxing, catching up on sleep from our overnight bus ride and visiting a few places around town. We quickly realized how much of a small town feel Heidelberg had and none of us took the friendliness of the city for granted.
March was “Manistry” month so all 8 of the boys on O-Squad were together doing ministry outside of Cape Town and the eight girls of the co-ed teams were a team for the Month. We stayed in a House that the church used for Missionaries. We appreciated being in a fully furnished home last month. We enjoyed the luxuries of sharing a room with only one other person, a washing machine, and a full kitchen with an oven. You bet we used that to make homemade chocolate chip cookies! Our host Tanya and Phil lived in the house with us, so it created an easy way of having fellowship with them and making a great relationship with our hosts for the month.
Phil is the pastor of a local church that we spent time serving and worshipping with. He and his wife Tanya have spent many years hosting World Race teams. You could tell from the way they interacted with us and allowed us to choose what ministry we did based on our skills and gifts. For me, that meant preschool ministry and attending weekly bible study. I find value in creating relationships and the quality of them rather than the number of contacts I can form in the month. I loved having that opportunity this month in the bible study but also through the simple ministry of going to the same café for wi-fi and always making an effort of encouraging the waitress, Elledine.
Our ability to rest last month came in a double portion which did me good coming out of a stressful month in Swaziland. During times of rest, our team had time to fellowship through team time, playing card games, movie nights and having an extended time of Sabbath. We also had the opportunity to visit Cape Town! All 8 of us packed into a van early one morning and headed to Cape Town stopping at the most southern tip of Africa and stopping at Betty’s bay which is home to wild Penguins. We spent our time in Cape Town visiting Table Mountain, Camps Beach and taking a tour of the City.
After another long bus ride, we made it to Pretoria, South Africa to participate in an “Awakening!” We met up with the rest of our squad and met a whole new Squad in a weekend of worship, teaching, activation, and fellowship! I led a breakout session on Sabbath and was encouraged by multiple people that maybe I’m better at public speaking than I choose to believe. It was an excellent opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and teach about something I too am learning.
After Awakening we started our longest travel day yet to where we are now! Over multiple days, four flights and a 16-hour layover in JFK we’ve made it to our island home in Nicaragua. Our month here looks different than any other month we’ve had so far, but I’ll wait for the next email to tell you all about that!
Thanks so much for staying up to date with this incredible adventure!
Prayer requests!
– Parent Vision Trip is quickly approaching! AND I CAN NOT WAIT!!! Please pray for all 41 parents making their way to Nicaragua! PVT is April 23rd – April 28th, please pray for open and receptive hearts, safety during ministry, and for a great week!
– Please pray God continues to give me clarity over what to do after the race
– Pray for endurance as we start the last half of our race
Love, Ashley
