I loved our ministry contact, Johan and his family! Johan definitely had a loving heart for the World Race and Z Squad. He redefined the meaning of ministry for me. Ministry is not always going out and being with people you have never met, it is whoever is right in front of you and intentionally being present and involved with whomever you are with. Z squad was able to take multiple days staying at Zehandi and ministering to one another, getting to know each other better and I think we became a stronger squad because of it! I also learned to cherish times to and from events as time of ministry. We did a lot of manual labor ministry around the Zehandi property as well. Things like clearing out a greenhouse, digging holes for trees, and building a brick house. Through this we were able to learn that even if we were just planting seeds and we were not going to get to see the fruit of the crop, we were still doing ministry for our contacts so they could continue to minister to the whole community even after we leave.
The boys ministered to the ladies on Valentine’s Day as well. They spent the whole day serving us. They hauled all the water, they did all the cooking, and they did all the manual labor for the day. 10 men did all that while they allowed the 33 women to bond together, hang out, rest and enjoy the day! It was such a blessing to see how much they loved and cared for us. In the later afternoon they had also prepared a hilarious skit where they acted out the 2014 Olympics that we were all so sad we were missing. They acted out everything from the crazy announcers to ice skating to the commercials to my personal favorite, bobsledding! Then after dinner they ended the night with a grand surprise! It started with a personalized note from one of them, then a giant basket of tons of different chocolate bars appeared and finally they did a foot washing ceremony for us. It was so special, not only because our feet were disgusting and had not been washed in about a week, but because they had put so much time and thought behind everything. I felt super loved and appreciated! Best Valentine’s Day Ever! I told the girls that we all need to be careful and not get our expectations too high for our future Valentine’s!
