Okay, supporters, here’s an update, and my first blog on the race!
I’ll begin with launch.
My parents and I drove into Atlanta, GA on August 4th. From there, I had a few extra days of training while my parents attended their own sessions. They got a little taste of what the World Race and Adventures In Missions is and got to meet all the staff and my team. We said our goodbyes on the 5th.
I left the hotel with my squad of 31 and our leaders around 8:30 AM on the 7th. Our first flight was around 2PM and we landed in Fort Lauderdale. Originally, we were supposed to have a 7 hour layover in Fort Lauderdale and fly out at 11:59 PM. But, we ended up having several layovers and left the airport around 5:30AM on the 8th and FINALLY headed to the Dominican Republic.
Funny story: Two of my teammates and I were so tired that we slept on the floor of the airport during an ACTUAL RIOT.
We landed in DR around 8AM and from there we took a 4-5 hour bus ride through the mountains to our ministry site. Over 24 hours of travel was ROUGH, to say the least.
This month is different because I am living and doing ministry with my entire squad of 31 instead of my team of 6. We are staying at a place called Hope Mountain. It’s owned and run by the Dominguez family who are the sweetest people on the planet!! They love and radiate Jesus so much.
We have dorm style living with cold showers, no AC, spotty electricity, spotty running water and no wifi. As weird as it sounds, I love the no wifi part. You don’t realize how much time you have on your hands until you aren’t holding your phone. We also have a cook who prepares all our meals which has been so nice and takes a little responsibility off of us.
Honestly, I have been struggling a bit. It’s hard living in community with so many people in such a small place. Alone time to recharge is very important and cherished on the race, and it’s extremely hard to make that happen during all squad month. But I do believe this is an area God is challenging me. I have a problem with running away from the hard things, and now I am being forced to press into the people around me when things get tough. I also decided to fast music for the month, which is a big deal for me. Music is pretty much my whole life, and I realized I use it to escape a lot of things. So, not having my headphones to block out the world when I just don’t want to deal with conflict, emotions, or other people is very hard but I’m already seeing growth in myself.
The first 5ish days, we were not able to leave the compound and didn’t do much ministry due to Ruben and Vicky Dominguez being in the hospital with their 3 daughters. We spent the first several days intentionally praying specifically for healing, peace and comfort. Although we weren’t physically doing ministry, we prayed for healing and healing came. It was incredible to see!
Ministry has not been what I expected it to be, but I am so thankful we are able to help the Dominguez family in the best way we could. For the past week and a half, we have been rotating ministry opportunities everyday with our teams. Housekeeping, manual labor, community outreach, admin.. whatever it is that this family needs, we will do. We’ve been shoveling a lot of dirt, carrying a lot of wood, cleaning pools and digging trenches. Occasionally we do a few days of manual labor in a row, which has pushed me to my limit a couple times but it’s always rewarding seeing things get done.
I cannot really put into words how much I have learned, gone through and accomplished during my first 15 days on the race. I can’t imagine how I’m going to feel after 11 months. This is tough and incredible all at the same time and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I still cannot believe this is my life.
