MONTH 1 (September): Malaysia
In Malaysia, my team (Team Joyful Feet) and I taught at an English resource center (KJ Generation) in Gua Musang, a town in the fundamentalist Islamic state of Kelantan. We homeschooled four children, taught English to children and adults, and painted a mural with the kids as well. We worked long hours this month, but we enjoyed ourselves immensely. We went spelunking in caves and took a trip to the Highlands over the weekend. God taught me to work for Him alone, and not for other people’s approval. He showed me how to find all my strength, joy, and energy in Him.
MONTH 2 (October): Australia
In Australia, we worked with YWAM in Darwin. We helped cook, clean, and garden at a local homeless shelter (Vinnies); we cleaned A LOT of toilets. God taught me to worship Him in all things. Because we are the Church, we don’t need to go to a building to praise and offer worship to our Lord. God showed me what it looks like to walk in the freedom that He purchased for me.
MONTH 3 (November): Vietnam
In Vietnam, we visited several orphanages and homes for elderly people in DaNang, a small city on the coast. We also tutored several cashiers at a local café (Bread of Life) in English. My heart broke for the people, especially the disabled men and women we got to know. God showed me what it looks like to find my identity in Christ alone. I cut my hair the month before, but I went for an even shorter pixie cut this month, which forced me to walk in boldness and confidence even more. This was the first month I shared my testimony of what God has done in my life with a room full of strangers… What an honor!
MONTH 4 (December): Cambodia
In Cambodia, my new team (Team Love) and I worked with a church in Phnom Penh. Five girls and two guys crammed into one, small hotel room for the month – we got to know each other very well, very quickly! We taught English to over 70 students at a time, which felt like performing on stage most of the time. We also were able to paint a mural for the classrooms. We spent Christmas at Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world (initially a Hindu monument, but later Buddhist), and I went to the first of several weddings on the Race. The history here is a painful, but rich one, and I was blown away by the courage and faith of the youth we met, who have risked almost everything to follow Christ.
MONTH 5 (January): India
In India, we worked with YWAM in Bangalore, visiting orphanages and loving on kids all month! I fell in love with the culture, colors, chaos, and children. God taught me that He is good in all circumstances, and He is worthy of all my time and trust. And He showed me how fun He is — We went to an Indian wedding, sang Marvin Gaye’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” during the ceremony, and got to march in the wedding parade, which was televised on a local channel!
MONTH 6 (February): Nepal
In Nepal, my new team (Team Reapers) and I lived with an amazingly loving family in a small town in the mountains, called Hetauda. We immediately hit it off with the family; they truly became my mom, my brothers, and my sister. Most days we walked from village to village, sharing the gospel with people who had never heard of Jesus before. We witnessed miraculous healings and amazing life transformations in the people around us. We didn’t have running water, or electricity half the time; we used a small outhouse (which covered a hole in the ground), took cold bucket showers, and slept on the floor; but we were spoiled with love by God and our host family. I will never forget my morning runs in the cold, with the sun rising over the mountains each day. I became close with a woman named Donna. A soul sister from across the world and twenty years my senior, we held and comforted each other as we cried together. Nepal broke me and encouraged me. I saw God work in ways that I didn’t even think were possible. My favorite month, Nepal was a huge blessing.
MONTH 7 (March): Rwanda
In Rwanda, our team lived with a bishop and his family in Kigali. We taught at a nursery school, singing songs and leading morning exercises with the youngsters. We taught them the alphabet and shapes, and they taught us that Rwandese children won’t listen to you unless you have a stick in hand. We evangelized in the afternoons, but heavy rains (30 minute hurricanes each day) often kept us inside (and everyone else too). I was in a semi-permanent, cranky and restless mood all month, but my team poured out love and grace on me, for which I am so thankful.
MONTH 8 (April): Kenya
In Kenya, our team lived with another bishop and his family on the coast in Mpeketoni. The language barrier was not as much of an issue as other months, so I felt more at home. The Kenyan coast has a rich history of Arab/Indian influence, and Islam remains a large part of its culture. We prayed for people in the local hospital, getting to pray over (and hold) newborn babies. We evangelized most afternoons and got to see some exciting life transformations in the people around us. The highlight was getting to know a young girl named Mary. We got to give her a Bible and witness her grow exponentially in self-confidence and –expression. For fun, we’d play soccer with students at a local secondary school; walk to the lake, where over 500 hippos live; or take day-trips to the beach. I even got to ride a camel on the beach in Mombasa! This month He gave me the strength and confidence to live without fear, to simply be myself, and to love others in truth (even when it hurts).
MONTH 9 (May): Tanzania
This month our team (Team ChaChi) is living with a pastor in Iringa, a small town in the hills of central Tanzania. We have done a bit of everything – orphanage visits, prayer in hospitals, evangelism, and construction. My favorite has been getting the opportunity to pray for and counsel people at the hospital who are getting tested for HIV/AIDS. (Iringa has the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS in Tanzania.) We sit with them in the hospital room as they wait for their results, and it is a blessing to be used by God in that moment: bringing the peace and comfort of Christ and telling these men and women how much God loves them; how He has a wonderful plan for their lives, no matter the result; and that there is no shame or condemnation in Christ. God is teaching me what it looks like to find my treasure in Christ alone. He is teaching me the joy of prayer, and what an honor it is to suffer for the glory of God and the power of the gospel.
With nine months behind me, and two more to go in Ukraine and Romania, I am in awe of what God has done on this journey. I am humbled by His faithfulness and grace. I am thankful that He has chosen me to serve Him. More than anything He has done through me for the good of others, He has used people all over the world to change me and make me feel more loved and more alive than ever before. I am coming home a transformed person, and yet I know that who I am now has been there all along.
Thank you Lord for the healing you have done in my heart on the Race. Thank you for the loving and supportive family and friends I have at home, whom you used to make this whole journey possible. Let your Kingdom come during these last two months!
