Strangely, I write to you from a Starbucks located in suburban Chicago… I’ve been home from The World Race for nearly one month and have been enjoying the transition back to familiarity, family, and friends and balancing the shock of the cold midwest temperatures and the abundant options of poptart flavors in the grocery aisles! I have even experienced a few moments of forgetting that I am Stateside and have had an over-excited reaction to overhearing someone speak in an American accent. ;0)
I continue to edit to produce episodes from my final month of the Race, publish online the episodes from the 9th and 10th months, and catch up my blog with my 8th month. So, thank you for your patience! And, of course, thank you ALL for the prayers, encouragement, positivity, and investment in this journey. I love that we can share this together!
Here’s Month 8: Ministry in Macedonia, Debrief in Bulgaria, and Squad travel to Southern Africa. Enjoy!
TWR 8.1: sidewalk chalk ministry
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our team was assigned to serve in skopje, the capital city of macedonia in our eighth month of the world race. we had a bit of a less structured schedule and traditional role with a host ministry, and so we found ourselves seeking the LORD for direction to lead us into opportunities to share HiS love.
and HE came through for us- connecting us to some incredible contacts throughout the city. jennifer, who is from the united states and is living abroad with her family to dedicate their lives to spreading the GOSPEL, introduced us to some unique ways to cover the city with GOD’s light. using sidewalk chalk to encourage others through color and creativity is a simple way to share a significant message!
TWR 8.2: worship in skopje’s city square
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with an open schedule and flexible structure in this month of ministry, we sought the HOLY SPiRiT for direction.
during a morning of listening prayer, multiple women on the team felt led to take our praises of the LORD to macedonia’s capital city square in skopje and bless those around us with worship music.
TWR 8.3: a greek getaway and a birthday bash for kendall!
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we combined two of our month’s team adventure days together for an exciting getaway to philippi and thessaloniki to explore historical and biblical sites and to get a taste of greek culture. and as an extraordinary bonus, we got to celebrate kendall’s 24th birthday while we were there!
TWR 8.4: praying for skopje from atop vodno mountain
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for a unique opportunity to pray over the entire city of skopje, which hosted us for our eighth month of the world race, we took the cable car to the top of vodno mountain. beneath millennium cross, which can be see from all corners of the city, we were able to spend time in worship and praise and bless the capital of macedonia, as well as the entire country. the views and the time with the LORD that day were incredible.
TWR 8.5: praise dancing in the city square
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one of our squadmates, denise, shared and showcased an original praise piece choreographed by her friend from home at the very beginning of our route, back in january.
team girl. decided to take the performance to the streets, direct glories to GOD, and bless the tourists and local people passing through skopje’s city center.
TWR 8.6: dancing with the HOLY SPiRiT
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jess, who is one of our raised-up squad leaders, approached me to tell her story of her encounter with the HOLY SPiRiT while we were serving together in skopje, macedonia. she felt led by the LORD to share such a powerful experience.
i love how her testimony weaves together faith, boldness, obedience, and creative expression in the name of JESUS.
TWR 8.7: debrief team changes
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our squad debrief in sofia, bulgaria hosted our final team change for our route with the world race!
the colorful chaos to find our new teams and the encouraging wisdom to finish our race with strength, grace, impact, and perseverance set us up for an exciting final chapter as we head into our three months in southern africa!
TWR 8.8: debrief’s bulgarian fusion family feast
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we were immensely blessed when my KiMBERLiTE teammie, kristen, delivered the news that her parents wanted to bless our entire squad with a special meal together during our debrief in bulgaria. her parents had been a part of the parent vision trip {PVT} back in romania and were a joy with whom to serve and share the world race.
mr. and mrs. kristen {marv and beth} – thank you for such a beautiful time together with our fusion family. even though you were not able to be there in person, we felt so much love from you!
TWR 8.9: travel day to africa {part 1/3}
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leaving our second continent of the world race, we were headed to africa for the final three months of our journey! the cross-continental travel days are always filled with lots of adventure and plenty of sleep depravation – hence, the need for muli-part episodes. ;0)
TWR 8.10: travel day to africa {part 2/3}
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our first flight touched down to istanbul for a several-hour layover before we moved on to dubai for our second flight of the travel itinerary.
TWR 8.11: travel day to africa {part 3/3}
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we had an overnight layover at the dubai airport, where we spent the night taking advantage of our camping gear! then, we took our third and final flight to lusaka to begin our first month of ministry in africa!
