This past year your prayers and support quite literally meant the world to me.
In my last blog I broke down the World Race into numbers, but that by no means portrays the significance of this past year for me, for the people I met, ministered to, and loved along the way, or for those of you who went on this journey with me.
I’ve been writing and rewriting this blog for months trying to come up with a way to convey to you what your prayers and support have meant, but I think the best way to do that is to do what I’ve been doing all along: share stories with you.
I might have been the one sitting in the airplanes, holding the babies, and befriending the prostitutes, but these stories are as much yours as they are mine, and more importantly they are God’s. He used you and he used me to write some amazing stories of faithfulness, healing, life change, and hope this past year. So as you look through these pictures, read the captions, and remember their stories, know that every time you read the word “we,” it is because you were there too. You were part of these stories and part of the amazing work that God did and continues to do around the world. Without you it would have been impossible.
For your love and generosity, I, and all the people whose lives we touched, would like to offer you a world of thanks…
In The Dominican Republic…
We jumped into the Race full swing…
God started off by confirming the calling he placed on each of our lives to be here this year. Read the amazing story HERE.
God used us to find a man of peace in a village that really needs a new church to be planted. Read the story HERE.
We met this 81 year old man who couldn’t read his Bible because the print was too small so we got him a new, large-print version.
We led a Bible study in San Juan in English to help some of the university aged students practice and also learn about God.
We saw so much idolatry and spiritual warfare in this very spiritually dark country.
God used us to help pray over this place and the people in it who are caught in bondage. Read one of the stories about our encounters with spiritual warfare HERE, or watch a video about it HERE.
On our last day in the DR, God used our squad to save four children from their burning house, and then he miraculously put out the fire with three jugs of water.
To read some of my squadmates’ blogs about this incredible day, click HERE,HERE, or HERE. In my upcoming blog series Untold Stories, I will be sharing about this day from my perspective.
Although difficult at times, the DR was an amazing month in which God showed himself faithful to help us as we sought to help a nation in need of his love.
In Ecuador…
We were so blessed to be in the amazing village of El Reten in the western rainforest. The people literally took us in as their family, and we got to love on their precious children.
We hiked through the rainforest to do VBS in a remote village. To see a video about our month, click HERE.
Several children accepted Christ at the VBS.
This adorable little boy adopted me as his tia (aunt).
This sweet little boy, Pablito, was another one of our favorites. God healed his mother and restored some of the other relationships in the town while we were there. To read about his mother, Victoria, click HERE. To read about the blessings that came after her healing, click HERE.
In Peru…
We lived in the city of Trujillo, on the edge of the Peruvian desert.
We helped the local Alliance churches with construction projects.
We also helped with a VBS.
God protected our team from having to be present while our apartment was getting broken into and robbed…note the police investigator in the background. My lovely teammates got me some yummy snacks to make me feel better about all my stuff being stolen.
We spent time in the village of Miramar building relationships and praying for people.
We also got to spend a little time at the Trujillo city dump and love on the kids there.
In Nicaragua…
We lived outside the towns of Chinandega and Chichigalpa with this as our backyard.
We worked with a ministry called Vision Nicaragua and spent most of our days hanging out with people in the village of Bethel.
We played with the beautiful children of Bethel. To see pictures from the whole month, click HERE.
We helped paint at the Vision Nicaragua compound.
We were asked to learn some choreographed dances and perform at a few night crusades in the area.
To see a video of Team Wreckonciled and our mad dancing skills (or lack thereof), click HERE. To see a video that my teammate, Tiffany Prater, made of all the dance moments throughout Latin America, click HERE.
We again got the opportunity to do some ministry in the local city dump.
For a really cool video that my teammate, Joel Dutton, made about our ministry in the dumps, click HERE.
The most impacting part of the month for me was getting to hear the stories of the people whose lives are being destroyed by the chronic kidney failure epidemic in the area.
God prompted our team to film a documentary about the illness and its effects in Bethel. Most of the men cannot afford adequate medical care and desperately need to be sponsored to be able to improve their quality of life as they deal with this sickness. To find out about sponsoring one of the men of Bethel, click HERE.
In El Salvador…
We worked and lived in San Rafael Cedros, about an hour from San Salvador.
We did a lot of door to door ministry and spent time with people in their homes praying for them.
We also did some skits at local schools for the children and their mothers.
God healed several people before our eyes. To read about Leno and his incredible story, check out my teammate Joy Robertson’s blog HERE. I’ll also be including my perspective on this day in the Untold Stories series.
He also healed this woman, Jesus, and inspired her son to start going to church again.
This is the Assemblies of God church we worked with.
During our last week we worked with a ministry called King’s Castle to do live children’s events in a village near San Rafael Cedros.
Our team did a lot of preaching, so I got to do a lot of translating.
On our last weekend there we helped the church with their youth retreat.
As part of the youth retreat we performed a skit. To see pictures of the entire month, click HERE.
In Thailand…
We saw how beautiful this country is, but also how deeply the roots of Buddhism run.
We spent our days in Chiang Mai visiting the local university inviting students to come to the cafe that LightHouse in Action runs. To find out what crazy activity is happening in this picture, watch the video HERE.
We worked with the girls and ladyboys in the bars at night in Chiang Mai, getting to know them and hopefully helping show them what freedom looks like.
This is my friend Mae who worked as a prostitute in the bars of Chiang Mai. We were incredibly blessed to be part of the story of rescuing her and another girl, Ning, from the sex industry. Their amazing story starts HERE and continues in the series of blogs called Mae’s Story. Mae has since chosen to return to prostitution, so please pray for her, because she is in desperate need of freedom but is a little scared to reach out and grab it.
This is Ning a few months after we left Thailand. Her husband and baby have come back into her life, and she has been working with YWAM and receiving discipleship training from them. Her story is a miraculous example of God’s transforming redemption, and being there to witness part of it was one of the absolute highlights of my World Race. To read the latest update on Ning and her family, click HERE.
We also visited the local slums every other day. The children there are often sold into sex slavery, and LightHouse in Action wants to prevent that.
This sweet little girl is Nam. Our team got to know her and saw some signs of abuse in her life. We worked with LightHouse to get her some help. Please keep her in your prayers, and read her story HERE.
We spent a few days ministering with Mae and Ning at a home for sick Burmese refugee women and their children. To read about this amazing experience, click HERE.
Several of my teammates and I got tattoos in Thailand. To read the stories behind them and see a video of the process, click HERE.
We also had an overall AMAZING time exploring some of the fun activities that Thailand has to offer. It’s probably the most intriguing place I’ve been, and I can’t wait to go back! You can read about our Thai adventures HERE.
Thailand was a month of freedom.
In Kenya…
We lived with Pastor Patrick and his family in Eldoret for the month and worked with his church, Releasing Destinies Ministries. To see the Cribs video we made of our living quarters, click HERE.
We walked a lot.
We cut up a lot of vegetables.
We preached a lot of sermons.
We visited quite a few of the church members’ homes to pray for their families and encourage them with whatever they were struggling with.
In a surprise twist, we were asked to film a music video to promote Pastor Patrick’s praise album that he recorded with a previous World Race squad. To read the story and see the video (sidenote: please don’t judge us on the quality:) click HERE.
During the filming of the music video we spent a lovely afternoon stuck in the mud. You can see a video of the experience HERE.
We visited our little brother Jeremy’s school to hand out goodies on his birthday and meet his adorable friends.
We witnessed and/or were responsible for the death of many animals. If I thought I didn’t like cooking before, imagine how much I loved it when I had to be there for the butchering process. Let’s just say I became a temporary vegetarian.
Since our route would be home in time for Christmas, we decided to celebrate Christmas in July, complete with a home-cooked meal, a reading of the Nativity story, and a Secret Santa exchange. You can watch a video of our party HERE.
I got to play with all sorts of adorable babies.
We went on a beautiful safari at Lake Nakuru. To see pictures from our safari, click HERE, or to watch a video of this safari and the one we did in Tanzania, click HERE.
As our first country in Africa, Kenya was our introduction to the beauty of the continent, both in the people…
…and the breathtaking landscape. This was our last day of the month, spent exploring the Great Rift Valley.
To read a summary of our month in Kenya, click HERE.
In Uganda…
We partnered with Celebrate Jesus Ministries and helped in their church and primary school.
We preached and led worship each Sunday.
Getting to participate in Ugandan style worship was one of the best parts about this month.
The other best part was getting to spend time with Diphus, Mabel, and their precious children, Amen, Praise, and Adonai. To read their amazing story, click HERE.
We got to get creative this month, which I loved.
Going back to elementary school means craft projects!!
I got to hold a lot of deliciously squishy babies.
We also got to raft the class 5 rapids of the Nile River in Jinja…one of the most terrifying and exhilarating experiences of my life. You can find the video of our adventure HERE.
To see a video that sums up the love we experienced in Uganda, click HERE.
In Tanzania…
We lived in Kibaha outside of Dar es Salaam and worked with the Pentecostal Missionary Church. Every Sunday we divided up and walked to churches in various local villages to preach and fellowship with them. We also did a lot of door to door ministry in a highly Muslim area. To read a story of what God can do when we let him use us to take on others’ pain and struggles, click HERE.
We attended some crusades that the church was putting on in the town and got to join in on the lively Tanzanian worship parties.
One of my favorite days of the month was when we visited a Massai tribe and got to hear about the incredible work that missionaries have been doing to reach their tribe.
We also got to watch one of their warriors jump, which was something I had always wanted to see.
And of course, we traded fashion tips.
We went on a beautiful safari at Mikumi National Park near Morogoro. To see a video of this safari and the one we did in Kenya, click HERE.
Finally, we ended our time in Africa with a visit to the lovely island of Zanzibar. This was on my bucket list as well, and it didn’t disappoint.
In Laos…
Laos was one of my favorite months, even though it was difficult. To read a blog that my teammate Tiffany wrote explaining our approach to ministry in a closed country, click HERE.
We had the amazing opportunity to explore part of the world that few westerners, especially Christians, ever get to see. One of the stories that touched me was of the American bombings of Laos and Cambodia during the Vietnam War. Thousands of innocent people were killed in the crossfire, and unexploded bombs are still killing people today. Laos is a nation that needs so much prayer, not just for the physical dangers, but also for the spiritual oppression that the communist government is putting on the people.
These spirit houses are present outside of most South East Asian homes and businesses and are meant to protect the land from evil spirits. Offerings are made each day to the good spirits.
We got to explore the amazing town of Luang Prabang. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is known for its beautiful temples and architecture. We spent a few days prayer walking the town and visiting the temples.
Every morning in Luang Prabang and other towns in Laos, the Buddhist monks walk the streets and collect food and alms from devout followers.
Laos is one of the most strikingly beautiful places I have ever visited. You can see more pictures of this amazing country HERE.
The Mekong and Nam Song rivers flow through the country and are the site of several rituals and festivals in which the people pay to buy small boats to float their sins down the river and make merit. It’s a beautiful cultural ritual to watch, but the spiritual bondage that it causes is thick and deep.
There are over 100 distinct ethnic groups in Laos, and many of the hill tribes remain entirely unreached by the gospel.
These children were helping to prepare a boat to be floated down the Nam Song River as part of one of the festivals. From an early age the Lao people are taught that they have to work for their righteousness, and they desperately need the freedom and hope that comes from God’s love.
Despite the spiritual darkness present in Laos, there is hope. There is a small remnant of extremely committed Christians who are willing to risk their lives and freedom to fellowship together and tell others about God’s love. In spite of being banned from the country, many missionaries are actively working in Laos. It was a great honor for me to spend the bulk of my month filming a video to tell the story of the spiritual climate in Laos and the need for more people to fulfill God’s commandment to make disciples of this nation. You can watch the video HERE.
In Cambodia…
We started the month off by visiting the killing fields outside of Phnom Penh and learning about the Khmer Rouge genocide that claimed the lives of so many Cambodians. The country is still healing from that tragedy, but there is so much room for hope and for reaching the young population with God’s love.
We spent the month living in Phnom Penh teaching English at a language learning center that doubles as an evangelistic outreach and a church.
Being a grammar nerd finally paid off. Granted, I had to translate everything I know about grammar from Spanish into English in my head and then teach it to the kids, but it was still fun.
To read about our time teaching, click HERE.
We also attended the church that they have at the school, preached, and led worship.
The children of Cambodia are beautiful and are the hope for a brighter future for a country with so much hurt in its past.
This is Team Wreckonciled at the end of our last day of ministry on the World Race. After eleven months of highs, lows, and everything in between, we could barely believe that we had made it. There were days when we were quite literally livin’ on a prayer. Knowing that you were praying for us and supporting our ministry gave us the strength and energy to keep loving people for everyday of those eleven months.
We spent our last week of the race in Siem Reap, and I got to fulfill a lifelong dream to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat.
The temples were amazing.
That was a perfect way to end the race.
Our squad had our final debrief in Siem Reap, and we said bittersweet goodbyes to each other and prepared to head home.
My beautiful family.
Muchas
Gracias
Khob
Kun Ka
Asante Sana
Webale Nyo
Kop Jai Lai Lai
Aw Khun
Thank you.
