January 6th I checked in to the Holiday Inn to meet up with my squad at a thing called ‘Launch’ where we got details and last minute training. We then hopped a plane from Atlanta to Miami and then Miami to Puerto Rico. Since then I’ve been on 3 flights and a lot of bus rides. The bus rides began at only 4 hours then escalated from 19 hours to 27 to 28 to 40.5 as we bused our way through South America. On one bus ride in Bolivia we attached a tow rope to the front of the bus and pulled/dug it out of multiple mud holes.
After almost being left on the side of the road in the middle of the night while going to the bathroom on that same bus ride, I became very thankful for buses with toilets on the 28 and 40.5 hour bus rides. I now find long bus rides quite nice as they provide lots of time for both quality conversation with neighbors and good thinking time, not to mention plenty of time to eat and sleep since there’s nothing else on the agenda for a day and a half! Ideal for both introverts and extroverts alike…sorry claustrophobes!
I’ve slept with ants (non-biting kind) on a consistent basis in 4 of the 6 countries and really don’t much mind it anymore. I’ve slept in bunk bed dorms, floors of empty houses, outside in a tent with a waterfall as my shower, in hotels, hostels, and churches while living out of a backpack and still feeling like I have too much stuff to tote around.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with nice churches and churches with mud roofs caving in and bats flying around.
I’ve taught English to kids outside a dump and in various countries, taught guitar lessons and led worship on more types of guitars than I even knew existed, given my testimony more times than I can count, had the opportunity to preach in Peru, speak to youth groups, and had my head chopped off while playing Goliath in a children’s skit over a dozen times.
I’ve led seminars on domestic violence after doing countless hours of research and still feeling like it’s a hopeless cause, and heard more heartbreaking stories than I can count or remember. I’ve worked with street kids in the city, shoveled maneuver into huge holes in a garden,
harvested quinoa, planted tomato trees (it’s a thing!), taught vocal lessons, and dug holes for septic tanks. I’ve met incredibly fiery, dedicated, generous, and loving Jesus followers in each and every country and have had my perspectives on The Lord and life challenged in more ways than my brain has time to process.
This month my team and I have been doing something called ‘Unsung Heroes’ here in Panama where our ministry for the month is to find new ministries for AIM to partner with and send future teams to. We ended up in the quaint town of El Valle de Anton, I ran into a guy I knew from camp in North Carolina in a grocery store here, and we’ve met some incredible missionaries who began a trilingual church and work with indigenous people. We have found some really neat ministries that don’t get much publicity and are not easily found, but are making such a huge difference in their communities and for the Kingdom. My team and I have really enjoyed investing in these new relationships in this town and surrounding areas.
I have been so privileged to have had such a plethora of experiences in only 5 months time, and as we are around the half way point on this race, I am very much looking forward to what the next 5.5 months bring!
Now I just have to figure out how to live like this back in the States!
Live well,
Crystal
Our last deadline for raising support is coming up on July 1 and I still need a little over $900. Thank you to everyone who has joined with me in this journey financially and or as a prayer partner. If you would like to support me on this journey but just haven’t yet, now is the time! Simply click the ‘Support me’ link on the left and follow the instructions. If you have any questions you can email me through the ‘Contact’ link on the left as well! Thank You!!!
Sent from my iPod
