Wow! What a beautiful whirlwind these last few weeks have been! It has been challenging and freeing and exciting and everything in between. In the last 3 weeks we have gone through training camp and launch, and have officially entered into ministry and the true start of the race.
There is so much I’d love to share with you all, but I’ll start with some of the highlights:
After 23 hours on planes and 10 hours on a bus we arrived in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Our kind leadership let us explore and overcome jet lag for a couple days, then we took off for training camp. It was a crazy, amazing few days where we:
Lived in a beautiful rural area surrounded by mountains and sunsets and more
Received wonderful teachings from some wise and selfless mentors
Used nature as our bathroom, which I think I like better than squattie potties 😀
Learned to set up and tear down our camp in record time, here’s our first attempt –
Met a missionary family who inspired and encouraged us more than I thought possible
Grew immensely in our understanding of God, ourselves, and each other
Hiked 2 miles with more than 80 lbs of pack and regretted how much stuff we brought
Met and played with the cutest baby monkey ever, named Maya
Galloped on horses, fulfilling a dream of mine and feeling fully alive
And most delightfully, got to bond with the incredible humans who are becoming family –
World Race Fusion 2016
When we returned from training we had a couple days off and then jumped into launch. This was filled with more teachings, as well as some practical advice and training about life on the field.
We also got our first team assignments – Meet Team Meraki!
Meraki – (n.) the soul, creativity, or love put into something; the essence of yourself that is put into your work
I am so excited to be living life with these women. Our first ministry placement is in one of the red light districts in Chiang Mai. We appreciate all your prayers as we begin forming relationships and showing love to those trapped in the sex trafficking industry here.
My heart overflows with all the beautiful cultural experiences, relational developments, and God moments I’ve already been blessed with. I hope to share more on some of those experiences soon.
I miss you all and am so grateful for all the support back home!! Thank you!
