Who impacted you the most this month? (ONE person)
Hello! You probably don’t know me, but trust me it’ll be fine. This past month as some of you may know, my team and I have been in Ukraine. Awesome right? Of course. So, I have had the pleasure of meeting really awesome individuals throughout this month. With that, I have met a few that really stuck out to me. To narrow it down to one individual, would be extremely hard, but if I must, it would have to be Rita. Oh little Rita. The most Ukrainian name ever, and also the cutest little thing ever! She is full with love, comfort and warmth. She has this aura of love that literally just spreads like a wildfire and goes so deep into your soul that you can’t help but smile at her little precious face. She gives ALL the hugs. Legit all. And to be honest hugging is not really my thing, but it’s like I have to hug her. She has taught me that hugs are warm and sweet. A sweetness that pierces your soul. Oh Rita. Thank you for that.
Your Friend,
Camryn McKinnon
We’ve met tons of new people this month, and it’s been AMAZING! The people here really are phenomenal, and they’ve been so welcoming and inviting. But there is one conversation that stands above the rest. One day, I was teaching English, and a guy shows up who is almost fluent. I quickly realized that his abilities surpassed my teaching, so I turned the class over to my teammate and took him outside for some personal tutoring. He just wanted to practice conversations so before we began talking he said, “Make sure you correct me if I make any mistakes.” I agreed and began asking him questions. Because teaching English is simply a segway into sharing the gospel, I really did just want to get to know him. He cared about his English so I wanted to help him, but really, all I wanted to hear about was who he was, where he came from, and everything in between. However, he was so scared that he would mess up that he would hesitate before any sentence he said. His English was wonderful, but because of fear and lack of self-confidence, he wouldn’t speak freely. In my frustration, the Lord nudged me and said “this is you.” Often when talking to Jesus or living life, I’m so afraid of doing something wrong. I get so fixated on my sin that I forget to actually live the life that Christ beckons me- a life of redemption and beauty. I forget that the Lord saved me by His grace so that I can love and serve His people freely and without hesitation. So the conversation served as a sweet reminder of who our God is. He isn’t concerned with how often I mess up. He is a God who cares about our hearts and wants to take us to beautiful places as we commune with Him. The Lord has brought along some amazing people, and I’m thankful for how the Lord is able to use ordinary encounters to make Himself so evident. – Love, Jenna Rose White
I really can’t think of just of one person how has impacted me this month seeing this different country and it’s people have impacted me and in different ways but i would say the Lord has impacted me the most and in various ways-Jacob Pourroy
This is a hard question and i will give the best answer i can. I would say the youth has impacted me most. Now before you get your panties in a wad i know its supposed to be just one person but hear me out. I don’t think its the youth as individual people who has impacted me but instead it’s been God working through them to show me what a child like spirit looks like. So its the holy spirit in the youth that connects them all and makes them all one person. The Lord has been the one impacting me most this month because with a child like spirit comes constant LOVE and that’s what I’ve been growing in.
Written by -Alec Dubree
I teach an advanced English class with Jenna Rose and Jacob. We usually have four or five students who are all girls and all 13 or 14 years old. There is one student in particular who has impacted me the most. Her name is Katy. She is 13 years old, but oh so clever for her age. I have never met someone so young who is so enthusiastic about learning English. During one lesson on emotions, she told us that her favorite emotions were “eager” and “inspired”. These are the absolute perfect words to describe Katy. She is constantly engaged, curious, and excited to learn. She has impacted me not only in her determination and willingness to learn, but also in how intentional she is with building relationships with me and my team. From hugs before class to questions about how we’re doing to a surprise gift of the flashcards we had tried so hard to find to secret glances and giggles during the lesson. She knows how to love well. Katy is a strong, beautiful, talented, brave girl. I know she’s going to do big things in the future. I am proud to teach and know Katy, and I’m so thankful our lives got to be intertwined, if only for a month.
-Emma
That was my amazing team, everybody! They are a group of the most fantastic people ever, each with a heart to know God in a deeper way. I love them so much! They have truly become a second family and I can’t imagine this jounrey without them. For blogging tonight we each wrote a topic that each persons blog would be centered around. After this, we passed laptops and phones around giving everyone a chance to write a response to each others topic. To see the rest, here are my teammates blogs below, along with their topics.
http://emmacolon.theworldrace.org/ “People in Ukraine”
http://alecdubree.theworldrace.org/ “Something beautiful you saw this week”
http://camrynmckinnon.theworldrace.org/ “The cold”
http://jacobpourroy.theworldrace.org/ “Rest”
http://jennarosewhite.theworldrace.org/ “Funniest thing that happened this month”
Back to the topic of this blog… the person that has impacted me the most this month has definitely been the one and only Mr. Mason Alpert. Not a Ukrainian, I know, but let me explain. Mason and his wife Emily are my teams leaders. They split their time between us and team vessel, so we get them every other week. Trying to describe this man of God in a short format like this is simply impossible, so I’m going to give three words. 1) Intentional-He will go out of his way to find out what the Lord is doing in your life and also just know how you’re doing. He never misses an opportunity to make the most of each interaction he has with us. 2) Wise-Mason knows his Father. Everything he has given me personally has been a result of the overflow he has in his relationship with the Lord each day. Lively-Guys, every moment spent around Mason is unpredictably exciting! You never know when He is going to bust out in a crazy song or dance or just tell a story that will literally bring you to tears of laughter. Mason, thanks for loving us well and continually setting an example of what a true man of God is to be. I love you, brother!
Thank you so much for your continued prayer. I love you all so much!
Through His grace,
Colby
