Hey friends! Welcome to Part 3 of Wrapping Up the World Race! I’ll be covering what life was like in South America and at the end will be announcing some exciting news about what God has in store for me next!
To start this off, I can’t help but talk a little about our travel days from Myanmar to Colombia. It was crazy intense! We spent over four days taking seven different flights, with some long layovers and some layovers so short we actually ended up missing our last flight (Thankfully we were able to catch the next flight not too long later)! At one point in the course of three days I had only slept for four hours! And those four hours were on an airport floor! I was definitely exhausted! We did, however, get to spend an 18 hour layover in San Francisco which was a real treat to be back in the States for a little! After an exhausting, adventure filled four days of traveling we finally arrived in Colombia!
Fun fact, while in San Francisco I got to try In-N-Out Burger for the first time!
Month 8, Colombia:
The day after we landed in Medellín, Colombia we attended a cultural training, which was helpful in understanding more about the countries we were going to be living in for the next four months. Afterwards, we traveled to our ministry hosts. I was with team BOB this month. Although we technically had one family host (whom we lived with), we partnered with four different churches to help them with whatever they needed. We would visit members of the church who needed encouragement and prayer, do street evangelism, and preach at church services. We even got to dress up and perform a skit for one of the church services. It was a blast! If you have never heard of or seen “Lifehouse’s Everything Skit” you should definitely check it out, it is super powerful!
Fun fact, we got to go paragliding over the city and the mountains that surround it!
Month 9, Ecuador:
From getting to be with my mom, the ministry we did, to the adventures we went on, Ecuador was one of my favorite countries from the entire Race. The first week in Ecuador was our squad’s PVT (Parent Vision Trip). The goal of PVT is to give parents a chance to experience a small taste of the Race firsthand. It was an absolute blast getting to serve and adventure alongside my mom for nearly a week. We made memories we will never forget! From PVT we had a squad debrief which was refreshing and a ton of fun. While there we went white water rafting where I came closer to dying than I had ever gotten in my life. One huge rapid sent everyone in our boat (with the exception of the guide) into the water where I nearly drowned. It was awesome!! After debrief, I was placed with Team Freedom Writers in Quito (Ecuador’s capital) for the rest of the month. There we were partnered with a local elementary school where we helped teach a few classes, and most importantly played with the kids during recess. Talk about exhausting, nevertheless, an absolute blast! There were a few cute little girls, ranging from the ages of four to seven, who would play with me every day we were there. I absolutely loved them! On the last day, I was saying goodbye when one of those adorable little girls hugged my face and squeezed as tight as her little four year old arms would let her. My heart literally melted!
Fun fact, since I was with Team Freedom Writers (an all girls team), I got to have my own bedroom! It was the only time I had such a privilege on the race!
Month 10, Peru:
Peru was the only country where we had an American host. They were a sweet family with five children from South Carolina. They really took time to invest in us as disciples which was really cool and much appreciated. We worked with an orphanage next door that was actually started and hand built by our host’s father. In the orphanage was younger children ranging from nearly newborns to toddlers. We got to help the workers at the orphanage by watching and playing with the kids, feeding them, and cleaning up. I love babies, but I sure learned how hard it can be to feed them. It’s like a 45 minute process! We also helped build an add on to the playground which was a lot of fun. At the end of the month, our entire squad got together to go to Machu Picchu. It was incredibly beautiful!
Fun fact, the other two guys from the team I was with and myself (aka the Georgia boys), slept in a small cottage like room detached from the actual house where our host family lived along with where the girls from the team slept. Our cottage like room was great with the exception of all the spiders! In the matter of a few weeks we no joke killed probably around 30 spiders! And I’m not talking about tiny spiders, they were all at least the size of a quarter and some way bigger!
Month 11, Bolivia:
For Bolivia we shook things up with last month team changes. It was a lot of fun building new teams. Through the changes I got to be on the same team with Megan and Brie, the other two raised up squad leaders. It was so much fun! The three of us had been working together for months at this point, but this was the first time we actually got to all three be together for the entire month. We were partnered with a really cool ministry that ran two teenage rehab centers, one for girls and one for guys, as well as, a daycare center. In the mornings we would help with practical needs such as painting and sorting clothes. We spent our afternoons and evenings building relationships with the girls and guys from the rehab centers. We would play soccer and basketball, share meals, and have movie nights! It was super fun and such a privilege to potentially play even a small role in their lives. Towards the end of the month we went on a three day adventure to the Bolivian Salt Flats. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and an adventure that I will forever remember!
Fun fact, I got attacked/almost bit by a street dog twice within the first three days of being in Bolivia!
What’s next:
People have loved to ask what I’m planning on doing now that the World Race is over. It’s a very understandable question, but I haven’t always been the biggest fan of it simply because I didn’t know. That is until about a week and a half ago, the day after I got back from PSL (a reunion of sorts with my squad) in Gainesville. A couple weeks prior, I had felt God put on my heart to lead another trip, however, I assumed that would most likely be in a year or two. But after coming home from PSL, I heard God’s voice tell me to lead the next three month Semesters trip with AIM. So that’s what I’m doing!
Semesters is a one to three month trip for college students, aged 18 to 22, who are taking a semester off of school to pursue community, missions, and intimacy with the Lord. I leave for leadership training on August 24th and will be coming home the day before Thanksgiving! I am sad to already be leaving my family and closest friends, however, I am greatly excited to have the privilege of investing in a group of college age students and am greatly looking forward to all that God has in store! I will be going to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
Please join me in prayer for myself, the team, and for the people we will be coming in contact with! If you feel God put on your heart to help support my trip financially, it will be greatly appreciated! Look for the “Donate” button on my blog’s homepage, on the top right!
Thank you so much for all the countless prayers and support y’all have given this past year. I thank you in advance for your continual support as I lead this next trip with the goal to build a culture that seeks community, missions, and intimacy with the Lord, as well as, build the Church across the world.
God Bless!
