The middle of this month marks the half-way point of this 11 month experience. As a result, I’d like to recap what the journey has been like so far…
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October: Guatemala
Teams B.R.A.D.Y. and Hineni found ourselves thrown into the Race as we got our feet wet by doing multiple ministries, as opposed to focusing on just one type, during this first month in Puerto Barrios. We began to identify the growing pains for each team and discovered that our primary ministry was found in building relationships with the staff and volunteers of Casa Verde Ministries and Radio Fe Love. It was a hard month, emotionally, for me, but one that I had to go through in order to move my entire trust back to the Lord.
November: Nicaragua
Our opportunity to love on kids was high this month as we worked with New Life Youth Center in Jinotepe. When we weren’t doing door-to-door evangelism in the barrios or building a soccer field on the Youth Center property, we found ourselves playing soccer, jump rope, chase, being jungle gyms or hair models, singing, teaching and photographing the kids of the surrounding communities. We were challenged when a good, but broken, brother reached a breaking point. The Lord showed His faithfulness and protection, but our team had to fight to see it for ourselves, for our brother and for the team.
December: Costa Rica
Despite being surprised by a slightly different ministry and location than what we were initially expecting, Teams B.R.A.D.Y. and Arrow this month proved to be a wonderfully peaceful and miraculous one. We walked in with no preparation for what would be asked of us and were met with not only gracious and patient contacts, but also a faithful and generous God who provided everything that was needed to plant seeds of faith in 1500+ kids and families in the surrounding areas of … well, to be honest, I’m still not sure exactly where we were. J
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January: The Philippines
Five teams worked together at the New Faith Family Children’s Home in Malaybalay. Together, we helped get kids (read: ages 9mo – 12yrs) ready for school, held devos with them in the mornings, tutored them in the afternoons, played with them in the evenings and got them tucked into their beds at night. We also planted sod on the recently developed soccer field. It was a full month, but one that allowed multiple teams to come together as one unit working to love and serve God and His people in Malaybalay. We were also invited to a Philippine wedding and had the opportunity to go whitewater rafting. [Due to Filipino law, I am not supposed to post pictures of the kids.]
February: Thailand
This month was a pleasant surprise for me. Initially, I was hoping to be working with a different ministry and when I found out we would be, instead, working with a local pastor and his wife doing landscape work, teaching English, aiding in Kids’ Club meetings and adult Bible studies, I was a little disappointed. But, the Lord, in His sovereignty placed us in the Thachatchai fishing village for a reason. I was blessed beyond measure by the generous, humble and warm hearts that our contacts, Dana and Cindy Bratton, had not only for the people of Thailand, but also for my team. We were in a beautiful location and, to top it off, were even allowed to partner with my “dream” ministry for a night of worship at the gates of hell!!
March: Malaysia
Teams En Gedi and WOW have been in Penang, Malaysia for two weeks now. We’ve partnered with YWAM Penang to serve at a local feeding centre for the homeless, as well as a children’s hospital. And we are loving it! We also get to join in with the Penang House of Prayer, hang out with the YWAMers and build friendships with some of the locals.
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In some ways it is hard to believe that S-Squad is already halfway through the Race. In other ways, it feels like this Race will never end. Regardless, I am grateful the Lord saw fit to allow me to be a part of it and am looking forward to the last half of the journey.
