I’m going to be honest. Europe was the continent I was least excited for on the race. Let’s be real, I had to Google search where ‘Latvia’ was when I was looking over routes. It looked cold. It looked old. Boring even? I had no idea what we would find there. AND, there’s other places around the world that just sound more, ‘extreme’ in terms of doing missions and whatnot. I could just travel to Latvia someday,
…send me to Antarctica or something…
well, I couldn’t evade it.
Europe’s here.
And can I just say how wrong I’ve been?
Granted, we’ve are only been here 7 days, but I’m in LOVE with Latvia! Seriously, put it on your bucket list of places to see. It lies on the Northern shores of the Baltic, covered in a mosaic of forests, cities, colors and sights. It’s a country walking in freedom from the recent Soviet era. Streets covered in cobblestone, fashion that makes me look from the stone age, and lots of random people playing accordions on the sides of streets. The people we’ve met are fantastic. It’s rich in color and smells (yes, I’m implying the GLORIOUS pastries and cologne). I get to eat cheese, upon cheeses, upon bread and salami everyday. And…there’s coffee. Oh my word there’s amazing coffee.
But more than anything, it’s the ministry we’re doing this month that I’m in love with the most.
It could potentially be my favorite month on the race.
My team doesn’t have one specific contact.
We are homeless.
We have our backpacks.
We have (thank goodness) wifi in Europe.
We have each other.
Most of all, we have God.
…we literally are going into this month with a whole lot of just obeying, praying and listening to God–
Specifically to find ‘unsung heroes.’
Our role for March is to travel throughout Latvia, find people who moving for Jesus, and tell their stories. To listen to their hearts, encourage them, love them, and pray with them. We’re finding the people who simply said ‘yes,’ to going.
It’s the missionaries, the husband and wife that left it all behind, the single mom starting a school for orphans, the post drug addict sharing their stories on the streets, that one guy starting a food ministry for homeless kids, or those people passing out cupcakes to prostitutes sharing love…
It’s the people who have incredible stories, and aren’t looking for any ‘recognition,’ but are following what God told them to do.
So yea, its crazy….crazy awesome.
I’m living the life I’ve always dreamed. Waking up and praying, “what am I supposed to do today? Who am I supposed to talk too? Where am I sleeping tonight?’’ I have my backpack, can pick it up and go.
So, keep posted. Check out my teammates blogs. We will be spending this month writing about people we meet and their hearts for Jesus.
