I struggled with writing this blog. It’s been suggested by a number of people that I should write a fundraising blog but I honestly had no idea how to do that. I began asking God what I should say in this and He said do what you have doing this whole race when I have had you speak to a group of people. Just tell them how I have worked in your life over the past 7 months. So instead of making this blog all about money and my need I want to highlight a few of the things that God has either done or how He has changed me.
I started out my race in Albania. I was scared, nervous and excited. Before The Race I had never even heard of Albania so I had no idea what to expect. My time in Albania was great and it was a good transition from leaving the states to starting on this journey. I was helping with English in Albania and spending time with teenagers. God gave me the opportunity to tell one of the students how much He loves her. Next was Romania.
Romania was all squad month. There were 55 of us living in one area. Ministry looked different everyday. One of our weeks in Romania we went to Greece to do ministry there. I met a guy who was angry with God. I sat down with him and he asked me a question that so many people want to know. “If God exists why is there so much bad stuff in the world?” I honestly don’t remember how I answered the question. However, as the conversation continued I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to ask him this, “If God were to prove to you, he exists would you then believe in Him?” He thought and his answer was no. I wish the conversation went somewhere, but we just talked in circles. I began praying that God would do something and He said his heart is hardened. This Greek may not have decided to give his life to Christ, but I know a seed was planted. After Romania we traveled to Africa.
My heart is for Africa and it was the continent I was most excited about. Our first country we went to was Malawi. Our hosts were wonderful people and I am so grateful that God placed them in my life! In Malawi we did a lot of evangelizing in villages. We told Bible stories, sang songs and played games. At the beginning of the month I had asked God for 5 salvations. The first day after our host told the Gospel to a crowd of people 50+ people gave their lives to Christ! We saw multiple people everyday that month give their lives to Christ! Malawi was by far my favorite month! Next up was Zambia.
In Zambia we taught at a preschool and did sports ministry in the afternoon. At the preschool the children were not the most well behaved. I was with kids that were 5-7 years old. There was one day that I had to put 12 kids in “timeout” it was either that or the teacher told me I could hit them with a stick. I thought that timeout was the better option. A lot of the kids were violent. They beat each other up everyday. I even got kicked and punched a few times. I began praying for God to let me share the gospel with them. That day came. I never saw the kids sit so still and listen so well! At sports ministry we got to spend time with teenagers.
I was hanging out with one girl and she led me down to the river that was right by the soccer field. There were men fishing in it. They came up and talked to us. Then a few more of the teenagers came over to us. I thought this would be a great time for a story. So I asked them if they had ever heard of Jesus feeding the 5000 they said no. So we sat down in a circle by this river and I told them this story! It was an incredible moment! After Zambia was Cambodia.
Cambodia has been the hardest month yet. We taught English to about 200 kids. We lived in the administrators office. I questioned God a lot that month about why He put us there. I was just fed up with teaching at this point because I had done some form of teaching 4 out of 5 months of being on The Race. To top that off we really couldn’t share the gospel with the students during school time or so we thought. We began praying for God to open a door. We had the idea to do an assembly. It ended up being a 2 day assembly in which all the teachers heard about Creation, The Fall, and Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection. I had asked God the morning I was sharing about Jesus for 1 salvation. When that didn’t happen I was a bit frustrated and told God I wasn’t happy about this. He said to just be patient. What ended up happening was while we were in Thailand we found out that one of the teachers had given her life to The Lord and had been obedient in baptism! Praise God! Even though Cambodia wasn’t my favorite month I now see why God had us there. After Cambodia we traveled to Thailand.
Thailand was great! We did all sorts of ministry. We saw God open up doors that should’ve been impossible to open. We preached in all Muslim schools. We shared at prisons. We did home visits and hospital ministry. I did end up getting pneumonia while in Thailand so the last few days of ministry I had to miss. A few days before finding out I had pneumonia I was praying that God would somehow give me just a day to do nothing because I was feeling so worn out. I then developed pneumonia and was in bed for about 3 days. So on the positive side I got a lot of rest. After Thailand was Malaysia.
Malaysia has been my second favorite month. Ministry has been Ask The Lord. We came with no contact, no ministry. Just completely relying on God to show us where to go and who to talk to. He has provided us with free housing for the month with this wonderful family. We have met the most wonderful people. He has opened doors for us to share about His love with some of those we have encountered. I still have one week in Malaysia and I am excited to see what God is going to do.
Over the past 7 months I have learned a couple things about myself and I will share one of those. I like talking in front of big groups. Public Speaking is one of the fears that most people have. However, I have found out since being on The Race that I love it. Each month I have asked God to give me an opportunity to share either The Gospel or what He has done in my life in front of a group of people and each month He has said yes! I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would enjoy speaking in front of people but I do. I have also changed a lot.
There are days I can’t remember what side of the road we drive on in America because every other month that has changed for us. Walk 20 minute walk somewhere in the blazing hot sun? No problem. I can now be prepared to talk in front a group with an hours notice. My name in most places is not Haley it is Harry. I have learned to just say yes when people at restaurants ask you to try something. I have begun to appreciate even the tiniest of things in America such as carpet. I don’t mind cold air now, I used to hate it, but since being in 90 degree weather for the past 7 months it is always a nice change. Most days I choose not to wear makeup mainly because I know I will just sweat it off. Finally, I have gone deeper with God than I could’ve ever imagined.
This has just been 7 months and I still have 4 months to go. However, the reality is that I can’t continue on this journey without your help. I am 15 days past the deadline of being fully funded and still $1,780 short. Without your help I will not be able to continue on this journey that God has called me on. I ask that you would prayerfully consider supporting me financially so that I can become closer to being fully funded.
