When I signed up for this race I was hoping to leave all distractions back home in search of finding a more intimate relationship with Christ. I thought that this would be perfect! I would get away from the hustle and bustle of life, no one would know me, I would spend hours with Him, have amazing revelations and healings from Him, and have an awesome time serving His people. Plus, see the world while I was at it.
Well, life never works out the way we imagine is what I have been taught. It isn’t a bad thing. But it’s just not as easy as I thought it would be. Distractions are everywhere we go. Life is crazy at times here as well. I feel like my mind has been foggy the whole time, making it hard for me to hear anything from the Lord. But in all of this He has shown up in ways I didn’t expect. Let me catch you up on where I have been.
Romania: at our launch of the race we had a last minute team change. What a way to start the year of your life by having the team dynamics change when you already felt secure with them.
Bulgaria: our first month of ministry. Given only 10 days of assigned ministry and a place to stay then told to ATL (ask the Lord) where to go for the rest of the month. Well, that basically meant go find someone in a foreign land and see if you can stay with them and if they have ministry for you. So we were a group of 7 women, we have NEVER left this camp out in the woods, never have talked to anyone to make a contact besides our contact at the camp, and being told no on every option we asked to do. He taught me that month to listen and obey faithfully to Him. Also, it was the beginning of learning how to live in community. It is a lot harder to live with a group of people, work them all day long, and NEVER be able to go ANYWHERE by yourself. Don’t expect to EVER have any actual alone time. You can go in your little corner but there will always be others there. He also taught me the sweet joys of little things.
Hungary: learned to use my discernment more and to pray like I have never prayed before.
India: gave us a little bit of independence again. We had set times for ministry at SCH, which made it feel like it was almost normal life. We went to work all day then hung out doing whatever afterwards. I loved being able to love and help take care of these children. God broke my heart for them. This month I found my daughter, Jackie. Then at the end of the month team changes came again. I wasn’t prepared for this like I thought I was. It seriously wrecked me for a little bit. There were so many emotions that I had to work through.
Nepal: we stayed with the BEST family EVER! Spiritually and emotionally it was a tough month, but the Lord always shows us things in the mist of our struggles. He showed me that teaching can be fun, but also frustrating at times. In this month, He did more pouring of love on me from this family than I probably did ministry. He knew how much I needed family and especially the love and time of a mother. What a faithful God who always provides exactly what we need. So I picked up a mother who truly treated me like her own whether it was teaching me to cook, language lessons, holding and rocking me, trying to carry me on her back, swatting my butt, talking to others about me, or having fun laughing at me.
Kenya: started rough because two of my friends from my last team decided to go home. I was sad that the girls whom I trusted and confided in were no longer going to be around; however, I admired their willingness to follow the Lord’s calling on their lives, even though it was not easy. Then I fell in love with Kenya and the people. At the boarding school, I had a blast hanging with the teenage girls learning to dance and sing. I don’t understand why people want me to teach them songs and dances. I am the worst person to do this but it keeps happening. I will remember and cherish the girls from the house we stayed at. The Lord taught me the importance of sharing your struggles and testimony with those around us and that He provides people in our lives to help us work through things. So I picked up my sister, Becky, in Kenya!!!
Rwanda: so far the people are nice and the country is BEAUTIFUL! Often times we think it looks similar to California. Weird. This month God has been stretching me by having us preach every day. For someone who has great anxiety and fear about public speaking this is rough. However, it is getting a little better just working on trusting the Lord to give me words to speak.
So each time the Lord has shown up no matter what we were doing, what type of attitude I had, or where we were. These last 6 months I have grown in new ways that I wasn’t always expecting to grow in. My heart has been wrecked for God’s people and His people have also helped heal my heart. Thank you for supporting me this far!! I pray you continue to pray for God’s will in whether He wants me to continue on this race for the next 5 months or if His will is for me to continue on this journey at home. Thank you again for EVERYTHING! May God bless you ABUNDANTLY.
