I like to think of each month as a chapter of this year on the race. Here’s a cliff notes version of my month. It will mainly serve as a way for me to look back at God’s goodness and I hope it also serves as a glimpse into life on the race for readers. So here goes month one!
Month One Recap COLOMBIA
Location: three weeks in San Andres Island, Colombia eight days in Medellin, Colombia
Team: Brittanee Wheeler, Delaney Bondi, Emily Allen, Kalie Stier, Kelsay Singleton, Sara Trammel
Ministry: Centro Familiar de Alabanza (Family Center of Praise)
Ministry Vision: To grow the church through evangelism, community outreach, and deep relationships
Ministry Host: Pastor Arnold Brown & family
Living situation:
+ One room above the church – 2 bunk beds (one with double bed for Sara & I), 1 bed, 1 mattress
+ 1 cold shower
+ 1 sink
+ 2 toilets w/ toilet seats!
+ room also served as living room, dining room, storage room, everything!
+ filtered water was purchased at local grocery store
+ neighborhood was between tourist area and poorer area, 20 minute walk to beach
+ washer available, hang dry
Food & Meals:
+ Luz Mila was hired by host family to cook 3 meals per day for us. Meal times varied drastically. Many meals included hot dogs and maple syrup.
+ Favorite meal was crepes, bunuelos, and café con leche
Main characters:
+ Luz Mila
+ Mary
+ Kewin
+ Pastor Myriam
+ Centro Familiar de Alabanza Youth Group
What I missed this month:
+ easy access to toilet paper
+ toilet seats
+ hot showers
+ pedicures
+ dresses
+ iced coffee
+ my bed
+ alone time
+ Church in English
+ Worship music in English
First time…
… in South America
… in the Caribbean Sea
… I saw someone accept Jesus in front of me and perhaps as the result of something I did
… I saw the Holy Spirit move in a way where I know it’s absolutely Him.
… street evangelizing
… sleeping at a homeless shelter
… jumping off of a cliff
… sliding down a water slide
… trying bread fruit
Things I’ll never forget:
+ The seven colors of the Caribbean Sea
+ Luz Mila saying “Yessica” and staring at me
+ Kewin. The way he loved us. His excitement about learning English. His obedience towards the Lord – showing up to Church at 6 am by himself at only 12 years old. Him hanging out in our room at random times and feeling comfortable enough to sit in silence with us.
+ Jumping off a diving board into the Caribbean Ocean
+ Preaching to members of the Colombian Airforce
+ Our little white table in our bedroom
+ “Ask The Lord” exercise in at debrief in Medellin.
What I struggled with:
+ Identity. I didn’t realize how much I identified myself with my career, social status, and appearance. Who am I on this team, on this squad, on this mission, and in this life?
+ Independence/ dependence. My lack of ability to be independent on the race has been very frustrating. Most if not all of what I do on a daily basis is dependent on my team and/or ministry host. This made my struggle with identity tougher.
+ Clothing. I hate everything I packed for the race and quickly became frustrated with myself. Most of what I packed is what I thought I would need to be “outdoorsy” and isn’t me at all. This also toughened my identity struggle.
+ Connecting with God. My daily prayer has been to fall in love with God again. I see Him and I hear Him, but feeling Him has been tougher than ever.
+ Lack of structure. We rarely had a schedule that anyone followed and often didn’t know what our plans were until right before it happened. For a planner like me, this was tough!
What I’m proud of:
+ Although it has been tough, I’m proud of how far I’ve come with living in community. My team and I are stringing because of it.
+ I volunteered to preach to the Colombian Airforce, it wasn’t required. I was nervous but I felt a strong pull to do it. I’m proud of how obedient I was and it paid off!
+ Jumping off the cliff was a huge moment for me!
Fundraising update:
$5,835 total until I am FULLY FUNDED!
$2,218 of that is due by February 28th!
