Thailand: When we first arrived, we saw the sun dawn over the mountains. We entered the city of Chiang Mai. It was delightful. We were able to explore its culture the first day we were settled. Soon after, we nestled into the mountains for Training Camp. We were stretched emotionally, physically and spiritually. We grew together as a squad and prayed over each other.
When we came back to the city, we were placed on teams. My team was team Overcome. During our stay in the city, our main ministries were prayer, outreach and showing the love of Christ to the bar girls.Buddhism is a predominant presence in Thailand. We were able to participate in ‘monk chats’ to better understand the culture and to show them Jesus. We even had the opportunity to ride elephants.
The final week of January, we were placed in a village and were able to help rice farmers.
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Cambodia: When we first arrived in Cambodia, our team stayed a day with Korean missionary hosts in Siem Reap. We took the day to see the ancient temples at Angkor Wat.
Our team’s destination was Kampong Thom.Our team of six was joined with a new member from Vietnam. We stayed with a pastor’s family at a children’s home. We were able to teach the children both English and the Bible. We even went to remote villages to teach the Bible. We cooked together and even threw a few dance parties with the children. The love and joy of Jesus was flowing from our hearts to the ministry.
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Vietnam: We were very blessed to have Huong on our team in her home country. The theme of the month was “Unsung Heroes”, where we were on the lookout for new ministry contacts in the city of Ho Chi Minh. We were able to meet amazing Christians in that month. Even some of them had done the World Race previously. It was a different pace, for certain, but it was a beautiful month. We really learned how to hear the voice of God and to take advantage of every opportunity to be Jesus to those around us. This was a month of growth both personally and amongst the bonds of our team.
At the end of this month, we said goodbye to our new Vietnamese friend, Huong. Our teams were changed to reflect new commitments and opportunities for professional development in China.
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China: My new team and I were greeted by snow at our ministry location. We had the privelege to tutor university students to prepare for the TOEFL examination– an English comprehension exam that helps students transfer into English-speaking universities or jobs where English is necessary. The spirit of our ministry this month was very much to refresh the hearts of the workers who had poured out so much of themselves. The students that we tutored were incredible. We not only saw their improvement in the course of a few weeks, but they were open to hear about the love of Christ. Saying goodbye to Asia was bittersweet.
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Swaziland: Stepping foot into Africa was so different than Asia. This was the first month we remained together as a squad. New leadership was raised up. We even brought in a new racer from Swaziland. Our ministry was at an orphanage. We were paired with buddies, children that we helped with their homework and learning English. We had the opportunity to clean pig pens, garden, love children and teach the Bible. The beauty of the Lord’s handiwork was evident in each sunrise, sunset, hike, starry night, cloudy valley,each mountain peak, each flower,each child.
We grew together as a squad and really saw what each individual brought to the overall squad dynamic and each person brought their own strengths to the body of Christ. At the end of the month, we parted with our Alumni squad leaders.
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Lesotho: This month we are in a chilly mountainside. We are working with a pastor. The ministries are plentiful from harvesting, to feeding the needy, to building an orphanage, to teaching kids about Jesus, to worshipping, to women’s ministry, to visiting people in prison. We have been blessed by the hospitality of the ministers here and are excited to watch the Lord at work as things take shape for the duration of our stay.
Prayers for the squad this month: burnout prevention, growth in identity, renewed purpose, passions to be ignited and overall health.
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Thank you for supporting my “Yes” to going into the uttermost parts of the world. God is showing me more and more His place for me is here. I know a lot of you miss me. Do you not see the very things that you know and love so well about me–like prayer and singing– are being used to touch the least of these out in the world? God fashioned me so uniquely to touch the hearts and lives of those whom I serve and those who serve alongside me. Please don’t let that end prematurely. God can give from anywhere He pleases, but He delights in a cheerful giver. I am asking each person to prayerfully consider an amount to give. It doesn’t have to be much, but as much as you can give, please do.
You are as much of a part of their story as we are.
Thank you.
