Alrighty,
Here’s the dealio. The Lord did some amazing work over the past six months in my heart, in the heart of my squad, Gap Y, and in the hearts of our ministries. I have collected testimonies from each team on the squad and will be posting them to share just a glimpse of how the Lord moved, not just through me, but through the squad’s eyes as a whole and through the ministries they worked with. To my supporters, I cannot thank you enough for allowing me to be a part of this walk with Gap Y, and to see the movement of the Lord’s Spirit through them all first-hand. Thank you for you obedience in giving, your prayers, and your support! I love you all so so much!
Without further adieu, here are some testimonies from Team Orah:
“A testimony of His goodness: Coming on the race I didn’t know it was a discipleship program. I signed up to share God’s love around the world and I thought how cool I get to do it with 40 other humans my age. I quickly realized I not only said yes to serving others but I said yes to growing myself. Everyday I was pushed to know our Father just a little bit more. The biggest testimony I can tell you is how He has grown me. Every step of the way He has prepared me to bring Him more glory each day. Over these past 6 months I’ve learned so much about the Bible and God’s character. With each step of obedience I took He took an even bigger step to prepare the way. At the end of ‘The World Race’ God asked me if I would say one more yes. Would I be bold and trust him enough to stay in Costa Rica for however long he wants? Full of fear but yet peace I said yes to His will. My faith has grown exponentially in these past 6 months and I couldn’t be more grateful for all the lessons I’ve learned.”
-Sydney Warther
“In Southeast Asia, in Saiphai, was my most favorite place. While we were there, I had the honor of being able to teach English to some of the worlds greatest students (no exaggeration, it’s facts). The first day I sat down with students my age and told them to ask me questions so we could practice conversational English. I expected a lot of curiosity about where I was from and what my life looked like in the USA, but almost each question was geared towards my relationship with Jesus. “How do you share the gospel?” “Have you ever told a non-believer about Jesus?” “Are there non-believers at your school?” “What’s your testimony?” Those questions absolutely FLOORED ME. Wow. thank you Father for the hungry-for-you kiddos in Southeast Asia. The fact that there is a growing and thriving church in Saiphai is a testimony within itself. Praise God.”
-Noelle Parker
“Before the race I had never called God “Father,” mainly cause I didn’t believe in my heart how much he truly loved me. In Thailand, the Lord reeeeally got ahold of me and through a couple tear-flooded conversations with him, I finally saw him as my Father. After that God would send a butterfly my way, because every time I saw one God would whisper to me, “I love you.” Throughout my race every time I see a butterfly, I feel my heart start glowing with joy in knowing that I am loved infinitely. There were so many little white butterflies in Thailand and LOTS of touristy butterfly things. In Malaysia the Lord showed me visions of beautiful butterflies that left trails of what looked like magic behind them. My 3 months in Southeast Asia there were always butterflies wherever I was- vibrant blue ones high up in the mountains, and brightly colored yellows as I would walk to our meal tent to eat every day. Costa Rica the little winged creatures would flutter by me as I walked. Obviously of course I am now back in America, (unexpectedly) back at home. God’s promises never run out, are broken, or forgotten; and that especially includes his promise that he is the one who loves us most, the one who died for us out of his everlasting love. As a reminder of God’s love for me, I have a printed out photo of a yellow butterfly that sat on the road in front of me while in Southeast Asia. I am God’s child, and my Father in Heaven delights in and loves me.”
-Regan Martin
“In 1 Corinthians 12 it talks about unity yet diversity in the body. God used the squad to embody what this chapter looks like. All of us had different gifts that worked together to bring unity within the squad. As the race went on people would use their gifts boldly to glorify Him and unite us as a squad. 40 people who didn’t know each other, all coming from different backgrounds, came together as one because of Christ. That is such a cool testimony to Gods goodness and character.”
-Regina Bourbonnais
“Half way through the race, I became very sick. Basically, what ended up happening is that I had to rush home and have surgery that rattled me a lot. I was back on the field roughly 19 days after my surgery, which blows my mind. The entire time I was in the air on my last flight I couldn’t stop singing God’s praises. It doesn’t make sense or seem feasible that after have pretty serious surgery, I would be going back. But God is so good and so faithful that I was back. And that’s what I kept telling people because it was true. But in that, I neglected to acknowledge that I was really hurting from what the surgery took away from me. And I struggled to understand how I could praise God for all that’s he’s doing, had done and will do, and also grieve deeply. The Lord taught me that it’s ok to look at your situation and truly believe that it sucks. And it’s ok to praise God because He is way way too good to you. And it’s ok to feel both at the same time. The fact of the matter is that it is beautiful to live in the “and”. Jesus was man and God. We are broken and redeemed. Your life is a victory and it can still be hit by the sin of this world. Living in the “and” gives God the freedom to move in any way He sees fit. It removes doubt. It takes away the feeling that if God were good, then the brokenness can’t exist. God is still good. More importantly, it teaches you to praise all the days of your life. That circumstance doesn’t take away from God’s glory.”
-Kylee Hernandez
“Something the Lord taught me on the world race was the power of forgiveness. I went on the field with a hard heart towards many people. I didn’t realize that I hadn’t totally forgiven them. Jesus really broke down my walls and showed me what true forgiveness looks like and feels like. I had carried all the burdens of not forgiving others and placed them on myself and had a hard time forgiving myself. It was a biiiiiig circle of unforgivness and anger and it was so unnecessary. But, because Jesus can forgive me for all the wrong I’ve done I can love and forgive His children, even myself.”
-Katelyn Jackson
“In month three, my team got the opportunity to help prepare meals at a ministry called Kawan for the homeless of Penang, Malaysia. In the kitchen we got to meet some incredible followers of Jesus, specifically one South-African woman named Verna. Our time with Verna was spent asking her about her spiritual gifting and testimonies of the Lord. Her presence, more so the presence of the Lord in her, moved through the kitchen of Kawan. She discipled us, each day teaching us about the Holy Spirit and the power that is within us. From our time with Verna, there was a noticeable change in my team. We began taking hold of Jesus, trusting him on new levels and fully believing in the authority within us. The fruit of this was us being able to recognize spiritual warfare, and know what was of God and what was not because Jesus has taken the victory for us!! Praise God for the empowerment he brought Team Orah in month three.”
-Sarah Goodwin
TEAM ORAH
Back row from left to right- Regan Martin, Katelyn Jackson, Cal Herrmann (SQL), and Sarah Goodwin. Front row from left to right- Regina Bourbonnais, Sydney Warther, Noelle Parker, and Kylee Hernandez.
