Hola from Lima, Peru! 🙂
It has been a wonderful week of much-needed rest and relaxation, worship, teaching, and time with our teams and squad. I am so thankful for this time in beautiful Lima for squad debrief 🙂 It has given me space to simply rest and reflect on all the Lord has been showing me and teaching me the 2 months I’ve been on the race.
We got to spend a week with our amazing squad coaches, Randy and Betsy Garmon. They poured so much love, guidance and wisdom into us…I am SO grateful for them! At debrief, we not only get to rest and learn, but we also get to meet as a team with our coaches in order for them to help us make certain changes in order to function better as a body. I knew debrief often came with changes, I just wasn't aware of the amount of changes that would take place on our team this week…
Our brother, Kurt, decided this week that in this season that the best place for him at this time is to be back at home. On top of that, with Kurt leaving that left Thomas as the only male on our team. After much prayer, our squad leaders and coaches decided to move Thomas to another team who also only had one male. So although this week was restful, it was also a rollercoaster of emotions. Difficult goodbyes were said, but although there was sadness there was also joy in knowing the Lord was very much present in these changes. It was easy to see how the Lord orchestrated even the smallest details in order to make this a smooth transition.
I will greatly miss the love and the presence of these men on our team. They were men who encouraged me, uplifted me, loved me and walked beside me these past 2 months. I know I am not "loosing" them because they will always be a part of us, and we can press on with peace in knowing that the Lord has each of us right where we need to be.
So…with joy I able to announce that we will now be an all-girls team of 5! (new team name coming soon) I am blessed to be able to go deeper and grow in new ways with these beautiful women. I am excited to walk alongside them through this journey and learn from them as we grow further in maturity with the Lord. The Lord is leading us into a new season…a season that I'm excited to walk into because I know that He has been preparing it for us from the beginning.
“It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the son of God and become mature, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ….
We will be headed to Bolivia tomorrow morning, March 6th, traveling from Lima, Peru to La Paz, Bolivia by bus as a squad (Probably about 3 days of travel). From La Paz, our team and team Agapetos will head to our ministry site in El Alto, Bolivia. We will be working alongside team Agapetos for the month at a drug and alcohol rehab facility called Mission Adulam. This organization runs three rehabilitation centers for young men ages 13-18 and young women ages 14-28 with or without small children who have alcohol and drug abuse problems and addictive behaviors. Their goal is: “To see addicted young people completely restored and in charge of their own lives within Bolivian Society, with positive facilities, a healthy self esteem and a knowledge of Christ.”
Although I’m not quite sure what ministry at Mission Adulam will look like from day to day, I am trusting and believing God will use us to spread His love and light to His children as they walk through this time of brokenness and into healing. Please be in prayer for our teams as we travel and head into this new ministry!
I also wanted to write and make you aware of an upcoming financial deadline many of my teammates are still working towards. By April 1st, everyone on the squad has to have $11,000 in their World Race accounts in order to stay on the race.
In one month, 3 of my 4 teammates have thousands of dollars to raise in order to stay on the field!! I am trusting God will provide for each of them and continue to place confirmation in their hearts through His provision that this is right where they need to be.
I have seen so much growth in myself and in each of my teammates and I couldn’t imagine finishing this journey without one of them!
Please consider giving a finiancial gift to my teammates as well as fighting for them in prayer as they believe in the Lord to help them reach this goal! Especially if you wanted to give toward my trip, but were unable to donate before I became fully funded, I encourage you to give the gift you would have given to me to one of my teammates…really in the end it is a gift to me as well 🙂
We are praying and believing Philippians 4:19-20 over their accounts, “And my God will meet ALL your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
Thank you for considering supporting my amazing teammates!!
They each need a few thousand dollars BEFORE April 1st! Thank you in advance for your generosity!!
“Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8
Click on the links below to support my wonderful teammates:
Melanie Heath
https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20MelanieHeath
Estie Barnes
https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20EstieBarnes
Jacquelyn Hannah
https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20JacquelynHannah
Lastly, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to my home church in Florida, Faith Fellowship St Pete 🙂 After reading my last blog about our ministry with Inca Link in Trujillo and their monetary needs in order to open their orphanage, our church was able to raise $1,865 in one week (within a congregation of about 100) to send to this wonderful organization! I am so grateful to be a part of a body of believers who hear the Lord's call and answer with obedience and abundance! Thank you for your amazing support of all that I am doing, as well as modeling so well what it looks like to be an Acts 2 church who gives out of their need to help those in even more need 🙂 I love and miss you all sooo much! (See my blog titled "300 million" to learn more about Inca Link and their needs)
“…Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:11-16
Bolivia here we come!! 🙂
