The last few days have been a whirlwind!! My flight to Miami International Airport left from Houston at 6:30 pm on Saturday the 3rd. I was a MESS when I left – and the whole week before leaving….and maybe even a week or two before that!! 🙂 The thought of leaving the people I love the most in life…for 11 months was a very overwhelming thought for me. I don’t want Cason and Mackenli to be 2 ½ when I come home – I don’t want Ryleigh to be 13 months when I come home — I want them to stay exactly as they are and for nothing to change while I am away. I know that is not a possibility, but I figure that would make this whole transition in my life a lot easier. I have learned that God never said that following after Him was going to be easy – and that sometimes, in order to obey Him and become the person He desires for me to be….I have to give up everything, even the ones I love the most. So, needless to say….(outside of experiencing the death of loved ones) leaving that day was by far the most difficult goodbye I have ever had to say to date!! I was able to sit alone on the plane – no one sat in either seat beside me and process what had just happened. I was really sad, and when I landed in Miami – the thought “what in the world did I just do?” crossed my mind and I thought about walking into that airport and getting a flight right back to Houston!! It REALLY crossed my mind when I picked up my 45 pound backpack (my life in a bag) and my shoulder bag – and remembered that this is what I will be living out of for the next 11 months!!! “Have I lost my mind” “This is crazy” “I cannot live like this” — these were all things that I thought of. It was much to my comfort when I saw my teammate Zack and he said he had the same thoughts that day too…and the list goes on and on with all those who were telling me their stories that sounded so similar to mine. I felt much less crazy when I was able to hug the necks of those that I am spending my life with for the next 316 days (that’s right…I calculated it).
So, then I spent 16 hours in the airport before departing for the Dominican Republic – all 16 hours with no sleep!!! We arrived in the DR and then had a 4 hour bus ride to our destination – the corer of Mariano Rodriguez and the 19th of April!! It has been a whirlwind the last 5 days, as we have walked around, met our neighbors, gone to training, and tried to remember where the best grocery store is – or the best place to get a cheap meal (we are living on a budget of about $5 a day per person on food)!!! Needless to say, we have had rice and beans a lot in the last few days! 🙂
We spend every morning eating a minimal breakfast (usually fruit we were able to purchase at the supermercado) and then head over to our training at the local hotel. We have rented the room the size of a classroom and all 52 of us sit in plastic chairs while we experience the supernatural presence of the Lord and the work of the Holy Spirit. Our coaches are here with us, spending time praying with us and teaching us the word to empower us for the work that is ahead of us. Mike & Patti Paschall are our coaches (they are from Texas, so I feel a special connection with them), and Michael and Kathy Hindes are the Directors of the World Race. It has been incredible to experience the Lord in such a new way this week. I have been a Christian since I was 12 years old, and I have never known or felt the Lord so present with me. They have reminded us that we will experience the toughest conditions possible this year and that without the empowering of the Holy Spirit, it will be impossible to continue on each day.
Our contact here is a man named Miguel and his wife and little girl live here in San Juan with him. He has started a small house church with some people in the little area called: Guachupita! Team Spectacle was chosen to work with the people in this area for the next 3 weeks. This area is considered the slums and although it is literally 1 mile from where we are living right now – the conditions are atrocious! There are tons of small children, wearing little clothes and no shoes, walking through piles and piles of trash and broken glass everywhere. Dave, Jenn, and Di (on my team) all felt the heaviness of the area and began to weep as we prayed over the area. We were able to meet some of the people who live there: Ida is married and has a little boy who has severe eye problems; Olioles & Miligritas and their son Junior; Carmen; and Dulce & her two granddaughters… the church meets at her house. Miguel explained to us all of the issues that people have around the area – alcoholism, laziness, drug use, abuse, and the list goes on and on. But, there is a light there – Dulce was the first to accept Christ and many more have since her decision. There was such a hope and peace inside her home (home meaning a building that has walls and a roof – not much else to desire) and we were able to spend some time chatting and praying with her.
Please be in prayer for Team Spectacle – we start ministry tomorrow in the slums and the conditions there are pretty overwhelming. It is really hard to see children, especially, living like that. This is a picture of Team Spectacle with Miguel (and his wife and daughter) – on the rooftop of the hotel. 
Love you all and miss you. I ask for your prayers specifically for me – I have missed the kids a lot already and I really need to focus on being here so that I can be most effective. I have SO much more I want to share with you. The Lord really freed me of a lot of baggage in my life yesterday – I will tell you all about that at a later date.
Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
