Before I left for the Race I had a fundraiser dinner at my church, a lot of the guests that came wrote down some questions for me to answer once I got on the missions field. So here’s a blog dedicated to all of my amazing supporters back home (shout out to you CSCUMC).
The first few questions come from my dear friend Abby:
Is there plumbing where you are right now?
Yes there is! We’re staying at a beautiful base right outside of San José, where we have real toilets AND hot showers. Thanks God.
Are there hotdogs where you are?
Believe it or not, there are. We live about a 5 minute walk from Walmart where there are more hotdogs than you could ever imagine.
Do you still believe in Bigfoot?
Of course, that’s never gonna change.
Have you gotten sick yet?
Oh boy, have I? At our month 1 debrief, I got the worst cold I’ve ever gotten. I slept for over 12 hours that day, but thank goodness it was only a 24 hour thing.
The rest of the questions are from the other guests at the dinner:
Have you tried surfing?
Yes! In Jaco, most of the squad went out and surfed during our free time. The hostel we were staying at had board rentals for only $10 a day. Then unfortunately, one day when were surfing, I fell off the board and it shot out of the water and hit me right on my forehead. After that, I wasn’t allowed to surf again…
Have you been able to “unplug”? How does it feel?
The first month we were here, leadership took our phones Monday through Friday from breakfast to after team time. It was so nice to live in the moment the first month and not have to feel left out of the typical “college experience” my old classmates were experiencing.
Have you met anyone that has not heard about Jesus? How did you handle it?
Our ministry for the past few weeks has been with a college campus ministry called CRU. Everyday we evangelize to people, some who have never heard about Jesus, and it’s so cool to be able to speak to them about Him. We share the Gospel, how much Jesus loves them and ask if they have prayer requests. Sometimes we get a positive response right away, but other times we go get coffee or lunch with them to speak more about God and his love.
What are you learning about trusting in Jesus this week?
About a month ago I applied to a few colleges, one of them being my dream school (University of Tennessee). Since then, the waiting game for a response has been grueling. I’m constantly checking my email and feeling worried that I won’t get in. But after a month of stressing, I’m starting to fully put my trust in God that he has a plan for my life and no matter what happens with college, He’s got me and I’m going to be OK. But hey, go Vols!
Where in your travels have you felt closest to God?
Being here in Costa Rica, I’ve had a lot of times where I have felt so close to the Lord. We have 6 AM devotionals every morning which is a great way to start my day feeling close to the Lord. Then we have ministry or ATL which is another amazing way to feel close to God throughout the day. But, I’d say that the times I’ve felt the closest to the Lord would be living in the community that I am in. Living with 30 people is definitely challenging, but I hear God so clearly during those moments of fun and even frustration. I feel like He is teaching me how to walk with grace and honor towards my squad mates and my teammates while living out His will for me. Being in constant community has made me so much closer to the Lord in ways I would have never expected before coming on the Race.
Do you know the languages in your host countries?
Surprisingly yes. Before the Race, I thought my Spanish was just the absolute worst, but being here for a few months has shown me that I actually remember a lot more from Mrs. Dickerson’s Spanish 4 class than I thought. Don’t get me wrong though, a lot of the time I still have to grab Angela (Jaimasi’s resident fluent Spanish speaker) to help speak to someone, but I’m trying!
Thank you so much to my amazing supporters for allowing me to be here on this once in a lifetime adventure and for giving me the opportunity to share God’s love with people all over the world.
