A few weeks ago, I would've told you that it seemed so surreal that I was leaving for the Race so soon.
Now, I'm gonna tell you that it seems so surreal that our first month is wrapping up this week. Time is flying, and awesome things are happening. I'll start with a little bit from launch, and get you all caught up- sorry I've been slackin' in the blog dept.
Thursday, July 4th, I flew into Atlanta, Georgia and checked in at Launch.
Launch: 3 days of World Race prep. I attended several sessions regarding various topics: safety and awareness while on the Race, the importance of unity within our squad and among our teams, walking in freedom, cultivating the presence of God here, and forgiveness.
My favorite session was the one about cultivating the presence of God, presented by a previous racer. She spoke about the omnipresence of God, how He is everywhere, all the time, forever! When Jesus died on a cross for us so that His blood could cover all of our sins and impurities, the veil was torn and signified the manifest presence, or tangible presence of God being available for us. Before Jesus died for us, we could not be that close to God because of our sin and impurities, and if we did come into His presence with any unrepented sin, we would fall down dead.
Jesus desires to have an intimate relationship with us. When He died, we were sent the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, and is the manifest presence of God within us. Because of the Holy Spirit within us, Jesus said we would do even greater works than those He has done! We have been chosen to build up His kingdom, and with the Holy Spirit leading us, we're here to do exactly that; to heal the sick, bring hope to the orphaned, widowed, and abandoned hopeless people of the world, and freedom & joy to the oppressed all in Jesus' name.
Launch rocked my world, and got me even more pumped to get out here.
This month, my squad (all 56ish of us) has had the privilege of staying together at Agape in Action in Quiche, Guatemala. We've been staying in our tents, cooking meals for eachother in our outdoor kitchen, and using real toilets and showers with hot water (thank you Jesus!).
The temperature is mild here, it rains everyday, it gets super cold at night, and the mountains are breathtaking.
My team along with one other, was assigned to the hospital ministry. This public hospital serves over 1 million people, has 120 beds, 7 operating rooms- 3 or 4 of which work, is dated and dirty.
We've been working with the maintenance and janitorial staff, and have become fast friends with Rito, Beny, and Tony. We've been sanding, painting, window washing, floor waxing, sanding, and painting. Oh also, we've had several sanding and painting projects- we're pretty much pros now ;). I've gotten to bust out my rusty Spanish, bartered in the markets, tossed and tickled countless kids, squished way too many people into truck beds and busses, prayed for the sick and grieving, and cradled crying babies.
The first week we were here, we were introduced to baby Macario, who appears to be about 5 months old. We found out that he is actually 3 years old, but had been abandoned by his parents. When he arrived at the hospital, he was put on a feeding tube, and the doctors doubted his chances at survival. However, Macario is alive and kickin', and even gives us sweet grins when we visit him. As heart and gut wrenching as it is to imagine abandoning such a precious baby boy, it fills me with hope to see him rescued by the grace of God from the parents who abandoned him. Join us in praying for his health, development and future!
Last week, on Tuesday, I had the opportunity to go to the clinic in the mountains that our ministry contact, Sally works at. On our way up I learned that Sally used to be a midwife while living in Michigan, and that she mainly catered to the indigenous population of pregnant women and children, who don't typically have money or access to healthcare. Sally shared her story and heart with me on the drive, and really inspired me with her devoted and faithful heart and life. At the clinic I was able to take blood pressures, watch ultrasounds, and palpate the pregnant momma's bellies. I talked with the patients waiting to be seen and played with the kids.
My team has grown so much already, and God has seriously blessed us. Team Rhizoo has a great desire to be more like Jesus and deepen our relationships with Him. We laugh, sing, dance, cry, hand wash our laundry, paint our nails, drink awful instant coffee, share benadryl anti-itch cream, compliment eachothers epic World Race not-so fashion forward wardrobes, and snuggle up for movie nights. We're learning how to balance our personalities, how to be vulnerable, and how to love eachother well. We challenge eachother to be better, we think of eachother over ourselves, and we have f u n! I am SO thankful for these sisters!
In a mere 9 days, were off to Antigua for a night, and then to Honduras for a new month of ministry! Seeing how God has moved in and through us in this short amount of time has me psyched to see what else He's going to do.
Pictures: Lake Atitlan, Baby Macario, Baby Rosario & me, some of my team & I at the hospital!
