At the beginning of the race I wanted to do a blog on the ministry me and my team had done each month. I pretty much failed at doing that every month, so here is just a short overview to catch up!
Month 5 Mozambique!
While in Mozambique we partnered with Beacon of Hope. Beacon of Hope is an organization that takes in boys whose families don’t have the money to send them to school. Beacon of Hope is a school and also a home for the boys. along with getting an education they are also taught life skills. They have chores everyday such as washing clothes, helping cook, mow the yard, ect. So the team and me got to do life with these boys, teach them in school, and also encourage Angie. Angie, who the kids call mom, is the one in charge of Beacon of Hope and she really is like a mom to those boys.
Month 6, Latvia!!
This was an interesting month because Latvia is in Europe. We entered into a first world country. During our time here our ministry varied everyday. The team and me got to take turns leading bible studies for all ages. We got to host and lead a children’s camp! During this camp, I was in charge of the soccer portion. I am pretty sure with that week I lost at least five pounds due to the running! I was able to use soccer as a way to spread the gospel and grow relationships with the kids and speak into their lives. We also did house visits where we would go spread the gospel of Jesus at a home, love on the people, and pray over needs. Another ministry we did was nursing home ministry during the week, where we would go share our stories and sing.
Month 7, Estonia!
Before knowing where I was going to be in Estonia, I figured it would be another nice place to stay in, in a first world country. I mean we were in Europe! Well, this is not what happened by any means. The team and I stayed in a cabin that was still under construction and had no running water or bathroom. So we went with our host to get a porta potty. Our water for showers came from a pond that was unfortunately leech invested! So we just took bucket showers instead of getting into the pond. The cabin was in the middle of the woods in middle of nowhere. Our ministry for the month was on the land we were staying at. Our host has a dream to turn the place into a Christian retreat center/camp. So this month the team strictly did construction work with our host. We made beds, laid concrete, made mulch, spilt wood, moved trees that had been cut down, and so much more. Fun fact for the month! We did not have a kitchen so all our food for the month was cooked over a fire. It was pretty fun doing that!
Month 8, Malaysia!
This was the second manistry month! Manistry month is when all the guys on the squad are all on a team for a month. This month we partnered with a ministry called “Siloam House Disability Center”. Residents have various mental and social disabilities such as autism, blindness and asperger syndrome. We would spend time with these residents everyday. We would play games with them and help them with their chores. However, in the mornings we would pick limes because one way Siloam House gets money is that they sell homemade lime juice. We even got to help make the juice the last week we were there.
Month 9, Thailand!
Thailand!! The month I have been most excited for! I have wanted to go to Thailand for years! So it does not shock me that this was definitely one of my absolute favorite months! It was the first month with my new team as well. We partnered with a church in Patong, Phuket. Our host was the pastor of the church. He and his wife had four kids. They were also American. They are incredible people. I fell in love with this family and did not want to leave Thailand because of them. I am now in Cambodia and already miss this family. Ministry this month was mostly teaching English at a college university and also at the church, helping the kids with their school work in different subjects, I got to teach children’s church every Sunday, paint the church, and do street evangelism. I also had the opportunity to go into the red light district for ministry one night. I will write a blog about that night soon. This was hands down as they say “one for the books”.
Month 10, Cambodia!
This month the team and me are staying in a slum outside the city. We have done tons of teaching English at a church. In the mornings until lunch we teach and take care of a daycare class. In the afternoons we have 3 classes. Ages 11-17. During these classes we teach them how to have basic conversation in English. In doing so, we get to talk and know a lot about the kids and they get to know a lot about us.
Please keep the team and me in your prayers, as this will be our last week of ministry before heading out to Vietnam!
