We lived five months in Asia. That meant five months of sweat, strange food, loud everything, crazy modes of transportation, and being stared at because I am white (exceptionally white for that matter). I breathed a huge sigh of relief on the way to the airport. We were headed somewhere not too different from home, somewhere I’ve wanted to go since I was like twelve. But first, we had to have another round of team changes. We were down three squad members which left some teams far too small. There we sat, on the floor of the Ho Chi Minh City airport, anxiously awaiting our fate. I got my little paper from the squad leaders with my new team on it. I’m not sure what I expected, or even quite what I wanted. But what I got was four more months with Larisa, Ali, Stephanie and Cody and a new addition of Tyler. (After four months with this team, I can officially say, they rock!)
With our new teams revealed, we took planes, trains and buses to make our way to Coleraine, Northern Ireland. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the countryside. It really was breathtaking. There was a cool breeze. And everyone spoke English. It’s the small things that you begin to appreciate. We arrived at the bus station and all thirty of us began traipsing through town with our huge packs. Our contact, Johnny, greeted us where we were staying with the best thing anyone could ever imagine… pizza! The next morning we had our orientation. It didn’t take me long to realize that this was a different kind of church, in the best possible way. Their heart in everything that they did was to bring the lost to Jesus. And we were getting to be a part of that. We had freedom to choose from a dozen ministries. Wherever our heart was, that’s where we would serve. Unfortunately, joining the worship band for a month wasn’t an option. Oh well, a girl can dream.
Here’s what we were able to choose from… food pantry, church cleaning, greeting on Sunday, youth group, kids church, nursery, street evangelism, helping in a cute second hand store/coffee shop, Healing on the Streets, working in the warehouse (imagine the room of requirement in Harry Potter, like the place where you hide stuff, that’s what it looked like). Throw in a week of VBS, the premier of the Holy Ghost movie, and a huge car boot sale. Needless to say, we were kept busy. I never imagined I’d help in a church like that while on the World Race. This church felt like home. And this church was bringing Jesus to Coleraine in a very real and powerful way.
More to come in Part 2.
