Wow. It’s so hard to know how to start these sometimes. Especially when I have a bajillion things running through my mind. I’m sorry I haven’t written in awhile, this past week has truly been a whirlwind of events! First things first, I am in The Philippines right now, not the scheduled Thailand. There has been massive flooding happening in Thailand right now and unfortunately that means we are not able to go this month. Please be lifting up this country in your prayers as they will be working through the aftermath of this destruction for awhile.
We arrived in Entebbe, Uganda on October 30 for our squad mini debrief and was welcomed by some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen on the race thus far! We tented right next to Lake Victoria and some massive, Harry Potter-esqe trees. During our time there we were dished new squad leaders, new teams and just a fresh dose of life. Our new squad leaders, who will take over when Lucas and Sarah leave us at the end of this month, are Kevin Buzzie, Andrea Garcia and Michael Desmond. They couldn’t have picked a better team of people to lead us and pour into us as we continue on this journey. We also did some team changes and while my team actually didn’t change that much, I am excited to see the growth that happens because of the new women added into the mix. I am still on the all-women’s team, with Rachel Rittman as our beautiful, bold leader, me as the “minister of finance”, Emily Rae as a loving powerhouse, Ruthie as a speaker of Truth, Laura as a gentle and mothering Spirit and Megan as a compassionate peacemaker. All of these women have such beautiful traits and they bring a dynamic to our team that will only further the ministries we are working with.
We stayed in Entebbe until November 3, where we then started our 51 hours of travel. We flew to Qatar, and got right on a plane headed for Bangkok. We arrived in Bangkok and started our 24 hour layover (party). Even though we were only in the airport, it was culture shock to the max. I went from feeling like I had put on a pretty nice outfit (definitely Sunday best in Africa) to feeling slightly like a greasy hippy, haha. And even though we still stood out (especially since there are 45 of us), we definitely are not attractions like we were in our African countries; gone are the days of the “mzungus”. So after eating Pad Thai (twice), getting a Thai massage ($8 for 45 minutes), drinking blended coconut goodness and staying up all night long, we boarded a plane for Manila.
We arrived in The Philippines around 5pm and got to our contacts, Kids International Ministries (KIM) around 7pm. We calculated that we had traveled for a total of 51 hours and 7 minutes and also that a select few of us had only slept about 4-5 hours of those 51. Crazy. Unfortunately jet lag has been plaguing me a bit and while they are most definitely entertaining, the all-nighters need to stop. Prayers for a good night’s sleep would be appreciated 🙂
I can honestly say that this is my favorite place we have been to. I am going to write another blog about the ministry we are working with and what life looks like here very soon. It wouldn’t do it justice to try and tack on a paragraph or two to explain it. Let’s just say this ministry is already so connected to my heart and I absolutely cannot wait to dive even deeper into it. OH, another little change of plans, we will actually be remaining in The Philippines for 6 weeks! Truly probably the best place an extension could have happened in. So we will be here until December 16. I’m not quite sure where we are headed next, but I will let you know as soon as I do.
I love you all. And I appreciate you so much! I know that my race experience would not have been what it has been so far without all of your prayers and encouragement! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
peace and blessings.
