Since I have not been so great at blogging since being on the field, here is a blog to catch everyone up on what I have been doing! It’s a small recap of each month telling what ministry we did and something the Lord taught me that month. Thank you all so much for you prayers and continued support these past 7 month. It truly has been an adventure of a lifetime, one that has forever changed my life.
————————–
Month 1: Lima, Peru
We worked with a YWAM base in Lima doing kids ministry, VBS, street evangelism. We spent time sharing testimonies and praying for people in shopping malls or around town.
What the Lord taught me this month:
Learning more about resting in Him and choosing His peace. Praying for the things that He wants, not the things that I want to see or be done. To stop and wait for the Holy Spirit to share His heart with me and pray for those things.
Month 2: Quito, Ecuador
My team worked at a ministry called Pan De Vida. Pan De Vida is a ministry that strives to give families in Quito better living conditions by providing different services and hopefully a better place to live. We did VBS, home visits, helped with prepping and passing out meals to families each week that lived in the slums. We got to spend a lot of time with different kids and families this month.
What The Lord taught me this month:
He taught me to give up the cage I locked my heart in and share it with others. He asked me to be bold, to lay my selfishness aside and speak the things He’s given me. This month the Lord loved me in a lot of really sweet ways as He chipped away at some of the things I was holding on to that were not of Him.
Month 3: Bogota, Colombia
Ministry this month was hanging out with kids at they verrrry top of a mountain in the slums. Our ministry fed children everyday in one the poorest communities in Colombia. We played with them everyday, helped teach them bible verses, and helped with VBS.
What the Lord taught me:
To find my comfort and home in Him. This was the hardest month of my race; I was tired and ready to leave South America, I was missing the comforts of home and the people I left behind. The Lord showered me with His love and spoke to me about finding ALL things in Him.
Month 4: Thessaloniki, Greece
As most of you know, a vast majority of people from Syria were fleeing from ISIS and traveling to Greece. We had the privilege of getting to work at one of the refugee camps in Greece called Idomeni. We did different things each day, asking the Lord what He wanted us to do. Some days that meant cutting carrots all day for meals, working at the clothing distribution center, or meeting different refugees and sitting with them in their tents as they fed us and made us tea. This was one of my favorite months of ministry on the Race. I heard so many stories of families being split up all over the world, families only having an hour to leave their home before ISIS attacked it. If they didn’t leave, they had a good chance of getting killed by ISIS, the women being trafficking and the men being forced into the ISIS military. We met some of the kindest and caring people. My favorite part of it all: getting to experience this situation first-hand..on the other side of the media and news, and know the heart and truth of the situation.
What the Lord taught me:
Experiencing the true and real freedom available to us in Jesus. The Lord started stirring my heart for others to experience that freedom and to know the fullness of Him and who He has created them to be. He has created us to be influential and a representation of Himself. Learning to steward that influence well, and using it to serve and love others.
Month 5: Podgorica, Montenegro
This month we had what is called ATL month (Ask The Lord). Ministry looked different every single day. Some days we would do prayer walks, hangout at coffee shops, spend time meeting people at parks. We started an English class for the church in hope that they would continue to has people attend and share Jesus with them. Montenegro is a country with very few Christians so we spent all month asking the Lord what He wanted us to do.
What the Lord taught me:
At the end on Month 4 debrief, I was asked to step into Team Lead while continuing to do Logistics. This brought on a whole new set of challenges and joys this month. I spent time asking the learning what it meant to be a Team leader. I learned to pour my heart out a little more to Him and live out of His overflow.
MONTH 6: Tirana, Albania
In Albania, we worked with a church that taught children in one of the poorest areas of Tirana. We taught English, hung out with youth kids, did VBS, and shared messages and testimonies. The kids were beautiful and sweet; I loved seeing their faces everyday.
What the Lord taught me:
During this month, the Lord starting teaching me what it meant to lead out of the Truth that is within me, not from things of myself. Learning to put aside my fears, people pleasing, and comforts for the things He is asking me to do. That HE is my defender, my refuge, and my safe place.
_______________________________________________________________
I will (hopefully) write a new blog about Nepal sharing things from this month soon!
These are just a few snippets of the things I’ve learned and done. The truth of it is that I will never be able to fully put it into words. All that I have seen, done, learned, and experienced. I’m happy to say that it’s not over yet. Stay tuned for what’s next!
“The world is full of 7+ billion pieces of God’s heart, and as you get to know Him, you begin to absorb His affection for humanity”.
