Hi, hello, yes! it’s been a while! Writing blog posts is not my favorite way of sharing stories from the field, as much as photography, instagram posts, and recording podcasts are. Nonetheless, writing out an organized post challenges me to access a different part of my storytelling capabilities and document other details that the other formats might skip. And it reaches a different group that might not listen to my podcast or see my posts!
So although I get a little impatient with it and can struggle to find the motivation to sit and write, I am being financially / spiritually supported by your generosity of donations and prayers. And I thank God for allowing me the opportunity to be in Asia once again, sharing with you what God is doing. So here we are!
(If you still want to listen to the stuff I’m recording with this new squad, you can click this link! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/created-for-more/id1439912956 )
And if you haven’t donated this time around as I venture out in Asia for the second time, would you please consider going back to the home page and making a donation to help keep me on the field through May??? I am lacking a few thousand dollars, and EVERY AMOUNT HELPS. 10, 30, 50 dollar donations add up fast. Thank you so much. Please continue reading to here about why I’m back on the Race and what’s been happening lately!!
After returning from my Race at the end of August, I went back to Missouri to live with my parents and brother, and I started working as a substitute teacher. Fairly quickly, God started drawing my attention back to the World Race. The holidays were approaching, and my Squad Mentor asked me if I would join a new group that would leave in January, this time serving as a Squad Leader for 5 months.
Now, if you remember my last post about the calling back to the States, you could understand how I was a little conflicted.
SIDE NOTE: IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THAT LAST POST, PLEASE GO READ IT FIRST.
There were things that I wanted to do in America, and I felt pretty ready. But sometimes the Lord has a way of slowing you down and reminding you that there’s time for all the things. Basically He was telling me that I could stay and get a head start on things in the States or go to Asia for a few more months and stretch me as a leader out on the field. Both were great options. Both would stretch me. Being home for Christmas and returning in the summer provided good timing, and I decided to say yes.
He was giving me a few more months overseas with a group of leaders that were friends from my original squad, in a region of the world I love, all while strengthening my leadership capabilities. Thanks, God! That’s very generous.
Being a squad leader means I stay for only 5 of the 11 months with the group that is traveling. I will be with them for Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, and Nepal. I serve alongside a co-leader and together we oversee the squad as a whole, plugging in with different teams month to month, vision casting for the squad, assigning ministry placements, helping with travel details, providing mentorship and physical / emotional / spiritual support for the Racers. In addition, we get to live with the teams and serve in the local ministries right alongside ‘em!
And after having now been back on the field for a month and a half with this new squad and new role, I can say it has been quite different. Very rewarding. And very sweet. Indonesia has already came and went!!
If you want to see what Month 1 in Indonesia looked like, you can watch my recap video on YouTube by clicking this link https://youtu.be/vVCVspkAWqA
I spent the first 2 weeks with a team on the island of Java. We helped at a tutoring center, participated in small group bible studies, and ministered to the teachers (some who were believers, and some who were not.) Java is predominantly Muslim. We could hear the calls to prayer 5 times a day, sounding off from the nearby mosques, and were consistently interacting with kind locals who practice Islam. With everything we were involved in, we saw very clear examples of the 10/40 window and not only how sensitive sharing the gospel can be, but how challenging it can be to follow Jesus as an Indonesian.
The last week and a half I joined a team on the island of Bali, which is mostly Hindu. There wasn’t really a set ministry schedule, so the teams in this location embraced what and who was around them. Forming relationships with their neighbors was a huge part of their time, as well as playing games and singing songs with kids from the neighborhood who would come and visit them every day. It was the perfect example of taking ownership of your month and finding opportunities. (And adjusting to unexpected living conditions that weren’t on the setup sheet i.e. sleeping in tents, squatty potties, showering under a hose spigot, etc.)
Now we are in Malaysia. We are serving with an organization that serves the homeless and marginalized, and shares the gospel through evangelism and outreach. We are also partnered with a “House of Prayer” and YWAM, providing us with several practical ministry outlets. I’m hopping around from team to team a little bit more as I finish getting to know each team personally. It has been really cool to see friendships and community form among the squad in these early stages of the trip. It’s fascinating from this vantage point to be looking at the dynamics of the teams as they get to know each other, how they interact with ministry, and how they seek more intimacy with the Lord.. to be looking at all of this unfold through the lens of having already completed the Race! The things I know now!! About myself, about God, about how to love the people around me best. Gah. Sometimes I just want to look at these teams and give them ALL the advice, but there’s so much that they need to naturally find out for themselves.
With all that considered, I still DO get to be a part of sharing insight and speaking into their lives regularly. God has given me certain authority among this group right now, for these 5 months, as they walk through a very influential part of their entire trip. I don’t take the responsibility lightly or for granted. I am humbled and grateful and feel blessed that I even get to experience more of the Race and international missions and Godly community and so much more! In a lot of ways I feel like I’m receiving a double portion of the good things I enjoyed during my own 11 months.
And with that, more challenge. More perspective. More struggle. More growth.
All in all, I’m very excited to see what God does with this little blip of time back out on the field with this group. (He’s already a lot!! And it’s only been like 6 weeks.) Keep an eye out for future blogs, and as always you can listen to my podcast on the apple podcast app!
Thank you for your donations. Thank you for your prayers. And thank you for your continued interest. (:
