Im almost half way done with the Race! Its so hard to believe! I wanted to post a little update on the past 5 months, just to kinda show a little run down of all the things I have been up too since October! So here goes!
October- Honduras!
This month My team and I were at an Orphanage called “Heart of Christ” outside of a small town called Talonga Honduras. All month we lived with the kids in dorms with bunkbeds. Our Goal this month was to build relationships with the kids and the staff and to serve alongside them. Some of the children were special needs and had Cerebral Palsy so they required extra care. Our Host Gracie was a very special lady to us and she taught us a lot about the Honduran Culture and the struggles that women and children face. Many woman and children are abused or sold into trafficking in central America and Grace is working with organizations like International Justice Mission to help vulnerable people get out of vulnerable situations. It was very cool to get to work alongside of her for a month and learn what it looks like to stand in the gap for those who are abused and trafficked. Many of the Kids in her care were abused by their families so they had to be taken away, it was heartbreaking to hear some of their stories and many of them are too long and sad to share here. Overall Honduras was a great month we learned a lot and got to love on some very special kids.
November-Guatemala!
What can I say about Guatemala!? First of all Guatemala was all squad month so all 27 of us were together, which I loved! We got to live in the Mayan Jungle at a place called “Hearts in Action” which is a school K-12. While we were there school was on break, so what we did was a lot of organizing, painting, building, and landscaping for the school. I was a part of the library team and we completely reorganized the school’s library, quite hard to do! Also I was part of the painting team, giving the classrooms a fresh coat. On our adventure day this month we got to go to Tikal which is a group of Mayan ruins. It was super fun to explore the area for a day! Living in the Jungle presented a few challenges like literal Tarantulas crawling around our bathroom and snakes by our feet as we explored the jungle! In the mornings when I would get up to read my Bible I could hear the monkeys in the trees howling! Guatemala was a lot of manual labor which isn’t my favorite but it was cool to feel accomplished at the end of the day knowing that we helped school look better and run smoother with better organization.
December- El Salvador
I loved El Salvador! This month we were working alongside a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base in the city of San Salvador. YWAM is a great organization that has a very similar mission as Worldrace, to spread the Gospel! With YWAM we would go on a lot of outreaches in the city slum areas. We did a feeding program twice a week and a VBS in a Slum that was controlled by gang members. Also this month we did street outreach at night in areas where prostitutes hangout looking for clients, basically our goal was to encourage in their faith and give them a hope. I loved living at the YWAM base because most of the YWAM staff spoke English so we got to build some awesome friendships and I miss my El Salvador friends dearly. On one of our Adventure days this month we took a bus to the beach and I got to swim in the Pacific Ocean for the first time! Also my team got to take surfing lessons! Surfing is super hard but once you get up its so fun! I really enjoyed Central America more than I thought I would, the people are so friendly and kind.
January-Uganda
Uganda Love it! J all month my team and I were working with an organization called SASCU which stands for Save Street Children Uganda. SASCU is in the capital city of Kampala Uganda. SASCU goes on outreaches in the slum areas of Uganda and takes children off the streets and gives them a home. Our job was to build relationships with the kids living in at SASCU and to mentor them in the Bible and in life skills. Often times we would play games with them and hold small Bible studies. The kids at SASCU loved just hanging out with us and talking with us. Also during our time here we would go on outreaches with the SASCU staff to try and identify kids in the slums who were most at risk. All month we lived in a house with our ministry host and two Ugandan women (Carol and Doreen) who cooked and cleaned for us I miss them so much they were so wonderful and encouraging to us. Also we got to go on a Safari this month as well! We saw so many elephants and hippos it was one of coolest things I have ever done! We also got to white water raft the Nile which was scary but super fun. Our first month in Africa was a culture shock more than central America and it took some getting used to but it was such a cool learning experience.
February- Rwanda
Currently I’m in Rwanda! All this month we have been living in a village outside Nyagatare Rwanda which is way up north near the Ugandan boarder. We are working with pastor Fartier who pastors’ a local church and runs a school connected to the church. Twice a week we teach kindergarteners and preschoolers simple things in English like counting and colors, and twice a week we preach at two different church services. Also we visit a local hospital and pray for the sick. Pastor is a very kind and lovely lady who loves hosting worldrace teams. It’s been fun to live in the country side, Rwanda is a very beautiful country with many rolling hills and palm trees. Our time with the Church and school has been a learning experience for me simply because I’m not used to being in front of a class or a congregation of people but its been good to stretch and get out of my comfort zone. On one of our off days we went into the city of Kigali and visited the genocide memorial. The memorial is very well done and heartbreaking to walk through, outside they have a mass grave where 250,000 people are buried. Its hard to believe that it all happened in only 1994! We have loved our month in Rwanda but we are looking forward to a new continent! We have one more week in Rwanda before we head to Albania!
10 Things I’m learning/learned
- God is so much bigger than I ever thought possible! The world he created is so vastly diverse and beautiful I cant help but praise him everyday!
- Im learning what it looks like to dig deeper in my faith, to really study my Bible and to ask the hard questions.
- I’m learning the art of vulnerability. Being in constant community with 4 other girls is not always easy but having a heart that is open and vulnerable makes for deep long lasting friendships and a happier family 😉
- Prayer is powerful
- People are different everywhere and that’s ok. Im embracing the cultural differences and learning to love them!
- Running water….I’ll never take it for granted again…ever!
- I’m learning to like beans…sorta
- Our healthcare in the states is fabulous…women aren’t having babies on the floor and children don’t suffer from easily preventable diseases.
- I don’t need internet, and text messaging. I’m learning to be with the people I’m with totally and completely without distraction.
- Give it all you got and jump in! I’m learning to give it my everything every month in regards to the ministry we are at the people we are with, I’ve got nothing to lose.
Thanks for all the prayers and support! They are felt and greatly appreciated!
Much Love
Kori
