After over a year and a half of constantly moving from country to country, I’ve found that travel can easily become a mundane thing and the awe + wonder starts to fade. The same goes for stability and home. The week that I was home after my Race, I found myself amazed at the sweet things that make up Chillicothe, Ohio, that I once took for granted. We seem to always want to be where we are not or are hoping for something better to come along. Because of this, I’ve been intentional in getting lost in gratitude. Each day, I’ve been reminding myself to stop and to seek out those moments where I pay enough attention to detail that I can gasp at the smallest of miracles. In the busyness of The Race, I always have to remind myself to look up and soak it all in- the mountains so beautifully crafted and visible everywhere we look, every color within the sky that seems to change every time I turn my head, the sounds of the birds chirping and the leaves rustling, the flowers constantly dropping my jaw, and the goodness of a God Who loves me enough to place me with this incredible family for 9 months.
We’re nearing the end of our second week of ministry and one thing that I keep thanking The Lord for are the promises that He’s already spoken over this beautiful squad and their eagerness to learn, serve, and grow. Our four teams are split up doing completely different ministries and I’ve been able to see The Lord’s hand in each one of them. They’re doing a variety of things like working in a safe house and ministering to sex-trafficking victims in the streets, working with the elderly, children’s ministry, skatepark ministry, working in the slums, prison ministry, serving the needs of local missionaries, painting the city, and more. It’s been incredible to see how The Lord is working in the teams and to watch them thrive in what He’s calling each of them to do. They are energetic, weird (in the best way), so willing to serve, incredibly gifted, and are so loving. I couldn’t ask for a better group to Squad Lead for and every time I look around, I can just hear God’s sweet whisper saying, “I am so proud of these children of mine.”
This is my first post from the field this year and though it may be short, I want you to know that I am here and that I am thankful.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog. Keep my squad and I in your prayers as we’re sharing the love of Christ through these new ministries, are diving deep into community, and are seeking out God’s heart for us in these next 9 months. Also, you guys have helped me raise $875 so far! I’m almost a quarter of the way to being fully funded for the year! Ahhh, thank you so much. Thank you to every person who has donated, spent time in prayer for me and my squad, and who has reached out to me to see how I’m doing. It means so much to me.
If you feel led to donate, you can click the “Donate!” button on my blog’s homepage. If you’d like to donate towards my personal field expenses (supplies, toiletries, coffee, adventure days with the squad), you can donate through Venmo: Jaharrington or Paypal: [email protected].
