Well first off I must apologize for the being the worst blogger ever!
I will warn you that a lot has happened since my last post and though all my thoughts and lessons have been translated onto paper, they never found their way to my blog. I guess I was hoping they would some how, some way magically write themselves in the tablets of the inter-web! What? Expect the impossible, right? Lol
Anyways, I must admit the main reason why I hate waiting so long to write a blog… it’s because now I feel like I could write a whole book purely based on the last four months of my race, but I won’t let that stop me, you’ve been warned.
The first month of our race we were located in the picturesque city of Quito, ECUADOR. Whenever I think of this nation, I reflect back on how blessed my team and I were.
Our contacts, our lodging, the food, the places we saw and the way we saw God move was, well absolutely phenomenal.
This was also a month of transition and adjustment, our hearts, our minds and bodies were hit with the reality that this would be our life for the next 10 months. Some of us did better than others, and to my surprise I found my self missing home more times than I hoped for. I had to constantly remind my self of why in the world I had chosen this journey for this year of my life. Don’t get me wrong, there was never regret, but I had never done anything for this long in my life, usually after a month or two abroad you pack your bags and head home, back to familiarity and routine in most of our cases.
This month we did relationship-based ministry. We visited a hospital and prayed for the sick, we visited a rehab center and got to share our stories as well as play games and enjoy meals with guys at the center, and we also visited endless families of members that attended our home church for the month “Vision Mundial para la Familia”.
The friendships and bonds created this month will stay with us for the duration of our race; we truly left a piece of our hearts in the nation of Ecuador.
The nation that we thought we would be a blessing to and impart what we have, (which I am sure in more than one way this may be true), left us with hands full of love, re-ignited passion, gifts and very re-charged spirits.
Meet our Ecuadorian Family!
After a couple of buses, some sleepless nights, food from random truck stops and chaotic border patrol stops we made it to Trujillo, PERU! Home for the entire N Squad, so February here we GO!
After settling in at Inca Link, Peru (our ministry host for the month) we quickly learned how much need there was. We stayed at an Albergue, or home for orphaned children. Our ministry involved a ton of manual labor, some games, kids, hiking, love and some rough conditions for living.
This month I had a special opportunity to visit one of the most dangerous jails in Peru, found near the trash dump of Trujillo. We came to bring hope to a hopeless place and were able to witness men being baptized who had chosen in the midst of chaos and hopelessness to give it all up to Him!
February also happens to be the month I and a bunch of teammates got sick. No it wasn’t pretty, but it wasn’t the worst either, I think it made me appreciate more and more the life I was living. I was learning to press in, no matter the circumstance and experience breakthrough and a presence of God so tangible, I’d dare say this was the month a lot of our walls came down, struggles got exposed and deeper healing came. We also got to spend a lot of time with our squad, which is always a blessing! The sunsets, the ocean, the food, kids and smiles are memories and pictures that will forever be ingrained in our subconscious.
We were on our second month, which could only mean one thing…DEBRIEF!
Yes, unbelievable but our first official debrief was here, and I would be lying to you If I said nobody was nervous, or at least anxiously awaiting in expectation for what would happen. None of us had experienced debrief before, well except for our amazing Squad leaders, but that’s a whole other story.
Debrief, to say the least, was a huge part of growing in spiritual maturity for me, I found my self being challenged, failing, getting up and moving on. I left this place refreshed after all and ready to put into practice what I had learned.
Getting to BOLIVIA proved to be a challenge on its own, first a bus to the border and the city closest to the checkpoint, and after realizing we were granted fewer days than we had actually stayed and paying fees out the wazoo, we were finally on Bolivian soil.
El Alto, La Paz-Bolivia would be home for the next 3 weeks or so. We partnered with a rehab center called ADULAM; this ministry was divided into 3 houses, one for boys, one for girls and another for couples. The addictions they dealt with mostly were drugs and alcohol. My focus would be the couple’s house along with 3 other teammates including some gals from the team formerly known as “Maidens of Honor”.
In all honesty I was excited, scared, nervous and everything you can feel returning to a place of deep pain and hurt. I was promised redemption, forgiveness and ability to look past the pain and love again, this nation, its people and my calling.
From the moment I set foot in Bolivia I could feel my heart making a shift, and every event seemed to be confirming and pointing me towards healing like God has promised, the people showed me a loved that could literally tear down any wall ever built against this nations, the beauty of Bolivia reminded me of God’s magnificence and how He is, was and will always be around me! The food took me back to my roots, acknowledging that out of ugliness there is always something beautiful, the native music, it’s like everything was once again taking root in my heart, and I found my self more than one time crying, thanking God for reviving my passion and love for this nation.
Father’s day in Bolivia is March 19th and that day our rehab center put on a special something for the dads that are part of the program. I clearly recall the song of choice, and there I was completely broken hearted and in desperate need of consolation. The feelings of missing my dad crept in out of nowhere and I was sobbing inconsolably. I knew the time had come, time to make amends with a man I hadn’t talk to in so long, a man I hadn’t seen in 11 years for more than a couple of days at a time. I had forgiven him a long time, but never realized how much my heart wanted to understand, to know where I came from. Why so many doubts and insecurities? Why did my brain function the way it did?
The next day I picked up the phone after contacting everyone I knew and somehow got a hold of my dad’s phone number in Bolivia. My first words: “Hey dad, Happy Father’s day.” That’s it…. I broke silence. It’s pretty crazy how it moved so quickly from there, because that Friday my dad was in La Paz to visit and after getting permission from my team I was able to spend a whole day with him. We revisited the past, talked about my reconciliation with God 5 years ago, my struggles, and my perceptions. I got to hear stories of a man I had never had an actual encounter with before. For the first time we were talking man to man. I was no longer the boy he raised, but instead, someone who had encountered his identity, someone who knew Who he belonged to. We ate a lot of Bolivian food, there were tears, laughs, hugs, pictures, but more importantly there was clarity and closure in my heart. I was able to see before me a son, who may have not always been the best father or friend, but regardless I could for the first time love my dad the way my Father in heaven LOVES ME!! (Insert tears). 
I felt for the first time in my life released to be the MAN He had created me to be. I was worthy of my own story. I was free to love my dad, my mom and my self, not through the lenses of failure and pain, but the WAY only HE can love me, love THEM, love US!
Aside from the ministry and the beautiful people my heart came in contact with, I like to call this month “Heart Ministry Month” and I saw my God move in more that one way…In me, In the people of Bolivia, In my team. He is truly alive. So many stories, so many destinies being released, so many lives being changed. N-Squad will never be the same.
And now on to ROMANIA let’s see, how did we get here? Oh yeah a plane from Santa Cruz to Panama, then Washington DC to Turkey and last stop Bucharest, Romania. Jetlag anyone? Lol This was ATL (Ask The Lord) -Unsung Heroes month for us, so that means we are completely at the mercy of our Jesus, all we have to do is ask Him where to go, who to talk to and what to do! Not all that bad, after all He knows best. 
Just as expected this month we met so many awesome people including missionaries with passions strong enough to set a forest on fire. God truly gave us a taste of what He is up to in this beautiful nation. We got to hear stories of people fully surrendered to the will of God, we got confronted with our own selfishness, our own agendas, and we realized more and more that the only thing in our way is ourselves. We built new relationships with people that have marked our hearts, that reminded us of why we are HERE and why we must continuously choose to say NO to our selves and Yes to his Perfect will and calling.
We had month four debrief at the end of this month, and as expected change came for all of us. Kayla Rhea our fearless leader was asked to step up as one of our new Squad leaders. With this change came the great honor of becoming my teams’ new Leader. After prayer, encouragement and feedback, I gladly accepted the challenge. It’s been an honor serving with Team ANEW. Stay tuned for my next blog.
TEAM ANEW
Thanks for reading and hope in some way my blog inspired you, awakened a deep desire within you or simply encouraged you to keep pressing into what He has for you.
With love,
Daniel Castillo.
