So I attempted to upload this weeks ago, and as many of you know, only posted the title. Twice. Thank you, Dusty ‘Duras interwebs. So now, almost 3 weeks later, I have added a few things and am now FINALLY uploading it. Thank you for your patience! A blog…with PICTURES!
The first week of the World Race: I am not really sure what I expected it to look like. The first week kind of felt more like the first month. It was busy. It was hot. It was an emotional and spiritual roller coaster.
In the first week, my team:
-Prayed for a 22-year old with a brain disorder because of drug addiction at a young age.
– Prayed for a baby, whose fever broke as we prayed (praise Jesus!).
– Was adopted by a family in the local village and got to eat homemade corn tamales and drink sweet coconut milk.
– Played guitar and sang with an old preacher.
– Sang amazing grace with a grandmother of 11.
– Visited another local village, Rio Dulce.
– Sang and danced ridiculously with children in the street.
– Prayed over and blessed all the children in the street.
– Was prayed over by many grandmothers along the way.
– Painted. And climbed ladders. And some people fell off ladders. (Nope, that wasn’t me doing the falling.)
– Managed to survey an entire village in one morning, mostly because of an amazing helper and her little brother.
– Accidentally gave away one of the intern’s English/Spanish Bibles to our adopted family.
– Gotten amazingly vibrant sunburns.
– Took way too many trips to the pulperia and fried chicken stand (no family, I did not eat the fried chicken.)
– Traveled to the Valley of the Angels and sat at the best coffee shop I have ever been to (Sorry, Krankies).
– Took a lot of pictures next to doors.
– Ate a lot of beans and rice. And then more beans and rice (just 10 more months of that!)
– Had many lice checks, inside jokes, and belly laughs.
– Started to break down walls and trust each other.
But one of my favorite moments of the week came in the middle of a muddy field last week. The sun shone, we all wore skirts, and we just danced and praised. Then, we started dancing and praising with children coming out of the houses. There were smiles, there were laughs, there were tears.
Three months ago at training camp, God spoke to each of my team members in different ways, showing us our ministry. We all saw the same thing: we were dancing with children. We were singing to God, twirling our skirts, and dancing with children. We danced with children in the slums. We danced with them in church. We danced with them in the streets of Thailand and Cambodia. And we danced with them in fields.
This week God reminded me of His promise to our team and all His promises to us, His children, in a field of dreams, as we danced with children and sang His praises.
