Yesterday was the 100 mark. 100 days I have been on the World Race. Can you believe that?! I sure can’t.
Before coming on the Race I assured plenty of people that I wouldn’t be that person who never blogs. Sorry, y’all, I have been that person. 🙂 I thought for sure being on the field, blogging would be the easiest thing in the world because there would be so much to share with you guys. Lack of information/stories/fun facts/pictures definitely isn’t the problem. More so, it’s the over abundance of these things that make it hard. It’s hard to wrap up in a blog post my thoughts, our experiences, what the Lord is teaching me, and how He is moving in myself and my teammate’s lives when so much is happening all the time. So bare with me as I try to catch you up on the past 2 months of my life via pictures. 🙂
Haiti was all squad month. My favorite part of the month was getting to see and be with my squad every single day.
D Squad in Haiti. I love these people. (Photo Cred: Rachel Tart)
Jacie, me, Paul B., and Emily. Please note the many photo bombs happening in this photo!
Hammock time on the roof happened every day. Me, Jacie, Tim, Beth.
My team (missing Kelsey though), cute kids, and an incredible view. Thanking the Lord for sweet moments like this. (Photo Cred: Allison Edwards)
We had a World Race Prom! Staf-ee-jay was my prom date. This was taken right after he asked me to be his prom date. The writing on the ground says, “Kaci, I’m dying to go to prom with you! Scream YES to revive me!!” He was laying on the ground to the left with his body outlined and waited for me to say yes. Best prom date ever. And it’s not prom without a prom pose, right?!
The Acie’s! 🙂
Ministry looked different for every team. My teams main project was construction. When I imagined my World Race, I never imagined I would be on the team that gets to do manual labor/construction every single month, but so far we have had a construction project every country we’ve been in.
**Future Racers — listen when they say to go with no expectations. I can promise you one thing, even through construction and manual labor, God is there and He will teach you something. Be open!**
In the beginning….
Photo Cred: Allison Edwards
The finished product. (Photo Cred – Mission of Hope: Haiti)
I don’t know anything about construction, although I did learn some things. For example, I now know exactly what a purlin is. Do you?! I also know that purlins are heavy…fun fact! Construction isn’t necessarily my strong suit, but I will say that it was very cool to see and be a part of the progress of this building. It was neat to see the project through. And…the fact that we got to work right next to the ocean every day was definitely a bonus! 🙂
Another favorite part of Haiti for me was VBS. The interns that were working at MOH (Mission of Hope) left after our first week there, so our squad got to lead the second week of VBS and it was a blast.
So thankful for the time I got to spend in Haiti with my squad and at Mission of Hope!
Then 5 countries, 2 plane rides, 2 border crossings, and a 15 hour bus ride later, all within 30 hours, we found ourselves in Honduras.
Honduras is where I went for my first overseas mission trip. In only 10 short days I fell in love with the country. I left ready to go back, and 5ish years later, the Lord took me back there. And I fell in love with the country all over again.
It was a month of early mornings, bucket showers, new friendships, door to door ministry, and team bonding (our first month for Team Trust Without Borders to be by ourselves). We had church around a campfire. We attended a Honduran funeral. We went grocery shopping every week, had pillow fights, and star gazed. We got to pray for people, play London Bridges with kids in the street, and enjoyed coffee hour every day at 3pm.
Team Trust Without Borders (Photo Cred: Allison Edwards)
We spent our month living and working with a ministry just outside of Telanga (about an hour away from Tegucigalpa), called Heart of Christ. Heart of Christ is a refuge for victims of rape and incest. Last month was a big eye opener for me. I heard stories and met people who have gone through and experienced things that nobody should ever have to. The stories and realities of these people broke my heart.
Team TWB with Mama Gracie. This woman is one of the most bold and courageous women I’ve ever met. The way she allows herself to be used by the Lord is encouraging and inspiring.
Meet Moises. When he was a baby he had a massive tumor. Because of this, nobody wanted him. Not his mom. Orphanages in the area didn’t want to take him in. So Gracie took him in. They raised the support to be able to give Moises the surgery needed, and this little boy survived. He is alive and well today! He’s a miracle baby for sure.
One of my favorite memories from the month was getting to celebrate Karlita’s 14th birthday with her. Karlita is pregnant, in fact she is scheduled to have a c-section tomorrow morning (Saturday). She was raped by both her father and uncle, they don’t yet know which is the babies “daddy”. Karlita has the mind of a 3 year old. She has never ever celebrated her birthday before. Never had a birthday cake. Never blown out candles. Never opened presents. We threw a combo birthday/baby shower for her, had cake and ice cream, and showered her with gifts. Please pray for this sweet girl and the delivery of her baby.
One of the cutest little boys you’ll ever see. I wish you could hear him talk and laugh. He has the sweetest cartoon voice ever.
These ornery boys have a piece of my heart. I just love them.
We also spent 3 full days working at the fire station. For 8 hours each day we shoveled dirt. If you’re looking for a good work out and a sure way to get some legit blisters on your hands, I highly recommend this! But really, I enjoyed it a lot. Why? Because my team is awesome and I am convinced we can make any job or task that we are given enjoyable. Oh, and us gringos made it on the news too – Reid and Kelsey (our spanish speakers) were able to share with however many people who watch the news, what we are doing and why we are there…
Jesus.
That’s what really made it worth it, knowing how much it meant to those guys. Here we are all the way from America, and we took the time to come help them. Y’all, this is what it’s all about. They are struggling to get people from their own town to come out and help, but here come 6 gringos, being some extra hands for them in such a simple way. Sometimes being Jesus to people means long days of shoveling dirt.
The construction site. These were all empty when we started!
We joined them every morning in formation and prayer 🙂
Before leaving we got to pray over each of the firemen.
Here are some pictures from door to door ministry in Guimaca, a 45 minute bus ride from Telanga….
Praying over a woman with a crippled hand. Because of her hand she hasn’t been able to work. She’s been living with it for 23 years. (Photo Cred: Reid Mason)
Overlooking Guimaca.
Our month in Honduras is a month I will never forget. My team feels so blessed to have been able to be a part of Heart of Christ and be welcomed into their family. I learned so much and God really did a lot in my heart. I will share with you, but you’ll have to wait for the next blog post!
Much love from Guatemala,
Kaci
