As many of you know, I’m am currently in Month 4 of the 11 month World Race journey. The time I have had on it so far has been a really good time of ministering to different people through a lot of different ways. Some of the ways include sports ministry, evangelism, encouraging other people through being with them and praying for them and many more types. In this blog I’m going to describe all of the different countries and the different ministry opportunities that I have had and I hope that this blog provides you joy in every way, shows you the love I have for people and sports and invites you to be apart of the journey I’ve been on with God. I’m excited for you to encounter what I have done so far.
Cambodia
Phnom Pehn:
- This happens to be the first location for my squad and I to be in since we had just left the United States to begin our journey on the World Race and just knowing I was going to go there made me feel that things were extremely impactful for what God has for me after it. I’ll begin by saying that when we arrived to the airport, the whole squad got into a bus to go to our AirBnB for our first month on the journey where we were with each other during our training camp. It was a time when we met up with all of the people in the leadership team on our route, which was cool and to me it felt like it was going to be time where I could get to know all of my squad mates even more because I barely knew them. When I realized that, it made me feel very excited because I knew they were there because of God too. However, the next day I woke up and found out that I had to walk 40 minutes to the leadership teams house each way everyday in weather that made everyone sweat a lot, so I wasn’t sure about the journey at that time. Then after the long travel of walking I eventually got there and as I was arriving I saw some kids right across the street from their AirBnB house, who were interesting to me. I saw that they were outside spending time with each other, which made me feel really good. I then went to look for a soccer ball in the house and found one and kicked it with someone on my squad. It was during that time that I asked if the kids across the street wanted to play. After thinking for some time, I eventually decided to kick the ball to one of them and then all of a sudden all of them started playing with me. It was a time when the kids had a lot of joy, laughter and I felt like it created a positive environment for everyone there and I was very excited because of that. When I realized the impact of playing soccer with them and it bringing that much joy to them, I knew that being there with them was a special thing for me and an experience that I’ll never forget.
- We also had a time early on in Training Camp where we had all of the guys in the squad spend a couple of hours doing a fun activity together. It could have been anything, but we all chose to find a soccer field and have a fun soccer game against one another and part of the reason for that was so we could get to know one another more. All of the girls had to choose to do something too. We eventually found a soccer field and while we were playing the game it was extremely hot, but that didn’t matter because it was the first time I had played soccer in months and I was glad to be able to play again with them. I’m glad that we were able to have a good time because I feel like playing soccer with them was something that definitely showed me the way that ministry can be done and I look forward to doing it more.
Seim Reap:
- At the end of Training Camp I found out who my teammates were and they are Tanner, Matt., and Jacob. It was a time when we learned that we all had to ask God to show us which places to go to and my team all felt that the first place was in a place called Seim Reap. Siem Reap is a place where we ended up going to Angkor Wat, which are some really famous temples that a lot of different travelers go to when they visit there. In fact, majority of the people who travel there leave like a few days later because that’s all they wanted to see. We also ended up staying at a hostel called the Hideout, which was really interesting because it was known to be a party hostel. An example of why I say this is because the hostel had weekly pub night runs where some of the travelers in the hostel went pub(bar) to pub(bar) drinking shots of alcohol and it was a time when my team got to talk to travelers who drank alcohol all the time, but during those times I tried my best to encourage them as they met us. There were also many times where I wanted to play some sports too during that time, but I couldn’t find anything at all in area, but then something amazing happened. On that night, as we were walking back to the hostel from dinner, someone on my team saw some locals near the hostel who were playing volleyball and so we all asked if we could join them. After thinking there wasn’t a chance that that would happen, I must say that it brought me joy that they said yes that I was able to play with them. It was a lot of fun and now I know that if I go back there, I will definitely play against them again.
Thailand
Bangkok:
- While we were in Bangkok, I don’t really feel like we had the opportunity to play some sports, but when we had our debrief time there, we all ended up in the same hostel, which was awesome. It was a time when we actually got to encourage some of the people working at the hostel and it provided me joy knowing that we could just help them and show them just a huge appreciation for how great they were with everything we needed and I loved all of the things that they did for us and I know I will definitely stay there because of their hospitality. I also found it cool that they wanted a picture with all of our squad and I also hope to one day find a place to play sports there and more times to spread more of the joy to more people too like the kind that hostels people showed me.
Nong Khai:
- Something cool about being here was that my team and I were able to encourage Sarisa. It was a time when we were supposed to just help her seek Jesus even deeper and encourage her with her faith in Jesus. It was also a time when we could play throw and catch with Joshua where I threw a ball to Joshua and then he would try to catch it. I always felt like it was exciting to see how happy he was in everything he did and even at the times when we were tired from a long day, his joy was just so contagious and it made the whole room better to be around. It was also nice for Sarisa because at times she got worn out from being with him and we could help her kind of rest while he would play with us. After being there for awhile she even told us that she loved the moments that we would roll the ball with Joshua because it gave encouragement that there are people who can help her out. I definitely can’t wait until the next encounter with her and Joshua when they move to England. I also am going to bring that child like joy that Joshua had everywhere I go and I hope I can help encourage more people to show that as well.
- While at Sarisa’s house the team also had our Squad Leader Reece to do ministry with us for the month and while he was there we had another time where we had an opportunity for sports ministry. It starts by Neil int that all of us kicked a soccer ball around with each other and played badminton with each other and I think it was a cool way for me to get to know the team and Reece even more. It was also cool that Joshua could come and be apart of the fun sports things that we did while we were there because he got to see our joy and I think it really made an impact on his life. I’m excited for all of the things that he will do because of that joy.
Phuket:
- After my team was encouraging Sarisa and Joshua in Nong Khai, we all asked God where to go next and He said we were supposed to go Phuket, which is an island that is a main attraction for the beaches and just relaxing in general. When we arrived we all talked about the place and decided to have a Sabbath day during on one of the first days when we arrived there. Then for that day I decided to go on an adventure towards one of the beaches. While I was walking there, I met a guy who was trying to sell me a chair or something for the beach and I didn’t want one so I just said, “Sorry I can’t” and then I just left and went to hang out on the beach. During that time I actually felt God telling me to pray for the guy, but I told Him, “If he’s still there then I’ll pray for him.” After thinking that, a little time went by and I saw another man and his son with a volleyball, which I was hoping to be able to play with with them, but they both decided to go into the water and I didn’t want to go into it, so I decided to just leave. Then as I was walking back to a join the team at a Starbucks store the first guy was still trying to sell the chairs to people, so I said to him, “Hey can I pray for you?” He then agreed to it and I then started to pray with him and we are now Facebook friends. In the end, I realized that God wants you to just obey Him in all things and He will help you out.
- One of the other days while I was in Phuket, my team and Reece all felt like we wanted to go to one of the closets beaches near where our hostel was located because we “Wanted to have a time of fun and we felt like we needed to go swimming, needed to spend time relaxing outside after our time time in Nong Khai and also play all of the different sports that we had with us.” The reason why I say that is because while we were at the beach we were able to hang out with each other and we got to know each other even more. I also felt like it would be a time of relaxation because when I’m at a beach, it puts me in a good mood and beaches are some of my favorite places to go to because I like the exciting atmosphere with people everywhere and everyone laughing and enjoying are some of the greatest things about being there. It was also cool to be able to kick a soccer ball with one another because that is of my favorite things to do with other people. We also had a feather foot or another name for a hacky sack, which is something that we kicked in the air back and forth without it dropping on the ground and it was really fun. However, when we all tried to pass the feather foot we all found that it was very difficult to play with because it was hard to control and you had to concentrate really hard for it to be an accurate pass. It was also a very hot day outside, so that didn’t make it any easier. In the end, throughout the whole day, all of us enjoyed our time there and I feel like it allowed us to have a fun day as a team and I am excited for the opportunities that I’ll have as I go throughout the journey with them.
Malaysia
Penang:
- In Penang I didn’t really play any sports, but I did have a lot of opportunities to do ministry. An example of this is when my squad and I visited the Penang House of Prayer, which is the place where I was able to meet and help my friend SK who I have written about in a previous blog and I found that ministry was special for the both of us. It brought me joy and happiness knowing that he was able to receive the prayer that he needed and I love the fact that I even got to explore around the area as well because it was a really nice place. I also liked the fact that they had a Mexican restaurant and they even had a really good Roti guy named Daneil. I also liked that we originally were going to only stay like 1 week, but after being there for some we wanted and felt God call us to stay longer. However, I wish that we had found more ministry options there, bu I also like that as well. It was already cool that we got to spend time with the all girls team C.A.K.E. because they were really fun to talk to. I realized at that moment that it is really good to love people and bring them joy because if you do that, they’ll eventually do the same for you as well and I hope to travel there again and do a cool ministry like playing sports with some kids and just helping people understand their relationship with Jesus.
Cameron Highlands:
- In Cameron Highlands I worked for a hostel that was called the Traveler’s Bunker, which was really awesome. I was a receptionist, so I had a lot of opportunities to make a lot of friends with some of the different travelers that were staying there. It was a time when I enjoyed just being a helpful person who brought some joy to those people who truly needed it. Some of the things that were fun there were the movie nights and the trivia times. Those times allowed for the whole hostel to become close and to truly know each other. I also enjoyed the people who I worked with because they were really good at their job and extremely funny people and I think that it was an amazing thing to see their joy as well. As I was there, I also had an opportunity to play soccer with a traveler who was wanting to play really badly and after I asked Tanner if I could borrow his and he said, “yeah, sure” and later that day game after kicking around the soccer ball for over an hour some of the local kids in that area eventually played a game with us. It was at moment that he told me that playing the soccer game was the thing that he liked to do the most out of all of the things he’s done in all of his traveling. However, there were times before the game where he said that he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to stay because he didn’t think it was worth going to, but in the end, Cameron Highlands is a place I will never forget.
Kuala Lumpur:
- Then my team traveled by bus to Kuala Lumpur and we were only there for around 4 days. We stayed in the same hostel as another team in our squad “Team Deep” and I really liked that. It was a place near a mall, which was really cool because I could walk there. We also went to another mall that was farther away that had all kinds of stuff like even Coldstone ice cream. Just by walking around I felt like Kuala Lumpur seemed like a place that was for tourists and a lot of shoppers because people could buy everything there. I didn’t get to play any sports there because I wasn’t there for very long and I also didn’t have a lot of ministry stuff I did there, but I spent time with Sophie as you all know, which was a lot of fun. I hope to have the opportunity to explore that place more because it seemed to me like being there was a time for rest and for me to just relax because Cameron Highlands was really busy, I can’t wait to go back to Kuala Lumpur.
Indonesia
Bandung:
- Then my team arrived in Bandung, Indonesia from a flight from Kuala Lumpur and the reason why I was flying to Indonesia is because our squad are there this month instead of being in South Africa because the leadership team wanted to add it to the list. It was also a time when we had our 4 to 5 day debrief sessions where we had application stuff where we applied what our coaches had us try. They also prayed for us for different things and it felt at times felt like I was the one who was getting ministered to. I actually saw a lot of healing happen for me because I felt like God was teaching me new things about myself and l also got rid of some of the broken feelings I had earlier in my life. I am glad that I had the opportunity to spend time with all of the leadership team especially my coaches because they were very helpful in processing everything from Cameron Highlands. They also created us the men of all the guys in the group and women’s ministry all of the woman in the group as you know called WoManistry, which sounded interesting. Then after we met up into our groups we decided to listen closely to what God was having us do next and eventually we chose to leave Bandung early, in order for us to go to Jakarta early, which sounded good to me, I hope to one day go back and explore the things that I didn’t get to do there and I also want to bring some sports to Bandung because I believe that it would make a huge difference in kids lives.
Jakarta:
- So far in Jakarta we have had the opportunity to interact with locals in the area of Jakarta through couch surfing, which is where people from other places can message others and meet them and spend time with them doing whatever they want. It was a cool thing to see when around 9 people came to our AirBnB house for dinner. It was a really special night of me playing cards with them and just spending time with and I really enjoy those encounters with people because they create some joy for everyone. Another thing that was cool was that we passed out some donuts to local people in the area and then we went to the local Night Market and passed a soccer ball around with each other at a local. As we were passing it around, we eventually realized that some young kids wanted to play with us, which was awesome. It was really cool to see all of the people there happy by seeing us spread them joy and love to them and I’m praying that they received Jesus through both of those things. They definitely made an impact on my life because of how much fun everyone was having and I’m really looking forward to more of these opportunities that will create happiness and spread a positive atmosphere to the area and to the rest of the world.
So as you can see I have had an eventful 4 months of sports ministry and I am so excited for the rest of the World Race journey because I know that I’ll encounter these types of things there as well. God’s will be done always.
