“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever. And His faithfulness to all generations.” PSALM 100
Dear Family & Friends,
We write this blog with news and thanksgiving as we approach this holiday season. Much has changed in the past two and a half weeks! At the end of October, while wrapping up our time in Cambodia, G Squad had its first round of team changes, and thus, Team Boundless is no longer (though most of its members still remain together). After “parting” with our wonderful sister Catherine (whom we are blessed to still live with this month!), we welcome our fun, feisty, red-headed friend and sister, Kelsie, to what is now our new family – say hello to… drum roll please… TEAM ANOMALY!
Our journey together began with celebrating Mandy’s 27th birthday, before travelling for nearly 40 hours from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Swaziland, Africa. Since our arrival on this continent, we have already been captivated by the beauty of our King and all that He has created! This month, we are living in the Town of Nsoko at an AIM ministry base with two other teams (for a grand total of 19 racers under one roof!), which has been a ton of fun. We live as one big family, sleep on bunk beds, cook for ourselves (mostly oatmeal, pb&j, and a variety of chicken, rice, and potato dishes), and share our water source with the community, which means that for the majority of the day, water is hit or miss (ie. If it’s yellow, let it mellow…). As for ministry, each day looks a little bit different. From leading preschool, to doing manual labor projects (gardening, weeding, painting, digging trenches and installing a water system), to helping with Care Point Christian education & feeding programs and Christmas Parties, to making home visits to elderly Gogos (grandmothers), we’ve been keeping busy! We have also been blessed to spend time with three missionary families and the Discipleship Team, worship with a warm and lively congregation on Sundays, and Mandy even got to share her heart for the fight against HIV/AIDS with teenagers at a local high school! AND, as if that isn’t enough, this week, we celebrated John’s 25th birthday (woohoo!), and look forward to a big Thanksgiving celebration with our new Swazi family next week. Overall, God has been beyond good to us! We look forward to all that He has in store for the weeks (and months) to come! We also ask that you would continue to be in prayer for us this month! Many of our teammates are struggling with illness and homesickness, and we’ve even had a bit of a lice scare!
With that, we want to sincerely thank each one of you for loving and supporting us along this journey. We recognize the sacrifices you have made on our behalf and feel truly blessed. This opportunity to serve the Lord around the world would not be possible without you. With every hand we hold, and every child we wrap in our arms, we are reminded of the love the Father has for us! Yes, we have much to be thankful for! But our journey is far from over. With six more months left on our Race, we are all still in need of funding in order to meet our final goal of $16,250 by our January 1st deadline. We ask once more for your support and generosity in order to finish the Race! We could not have made it this far without your help, and we thank you so much for everything that has been given. May your hearts be full of joy and thanksgiving this holiday season!
With Love,
TEAM ANOMALY
Kelsie Biven – Raised: $14,250! Still Needs: $2000.
Danica Cotov – Raised: $12,750! Still Needs: $3500.
John Harbold- Raised: $14,950! Still Needs: $1300.
Corrinne Koschewa – Raised: $12,550! Still Needs: $3700.
Jonathan Sander – Raised: $11,940! Still Needs: $4300.
Mandy Kearns – Raised: $13,050! Still Needs: $3200.
