Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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We FINALLY HAVE INTERNET!!! We’ve been in this beautiful country for a week now, and I couldn’t be happier. Not only is the mountainous scenery absolutely breathtaking, but I’ve already learned so much from my squad and ministry work over the course of this first week, that I no longer have any doubt in my mind that this year is going to rock my socks off!!!
 

 
Let me back up a bit and start from the beginning- we ended up leaving D.C. last Thursday night around 10 PM. Since our flight was at 6 AM- we decided to spend the night in the airport. We all immediately made ourselves at home- snuggling up with our inflatable sleeping pads/bags on the floor next to the American Airlines counter. With all the excitement and different emotions running through my body- I could barely sleep. At this point, it still hadn’t hit me.
 
Walking through security like zombies, we all somehow made it on our plane to Miami. This is where I was first broken down. There was no possible way for me to “pack” my sleeping bag, so I was carrying it around with me, along with my purse and daypack. We had a little over an hour in Miami to wait for our flight to Honduras. Apparently, I boarded the plane without my sleeping bag. Despite the fact that I realized this right as the gate doors were closing… and even begged the flight attendant to run back out and check where our squad had been sitting… there was no sleeping bag to be found. It was officially gone. So I got back on the plane, sat in my seat, and turned to my squad mate sitting beside me and lost it. I couldn’t help the tears from running down my cheeks. HOW COULD I HAVE LOST MY BED BEFORE WE EVEN GOT TO THE FIRST COUNTRY?!!!
 

This immediately presented an opportunity for me to choose to trust God in this whole process and accept “community” with a positive attitude. I was NOT going to allow myself to be negative, especially not this early in the game. So I dried my tears and chose to fully embrace the “what’s mine is yours” attitude and accepted everyone’s extra blankets and sleeping bag liners until the Wal-Mart visit on one of our off days. Yes… they have a Wal-Mart here 🙂

 

So around noon last Friday- our entire squad of about 43 people touched down to the Capital of Honduras- Tegucigalpa. We will be spending month one together, in an effort to build up our community and really grow as a Squad, before separating out into our smaller teams for the rest of the Race.
 
We pitched our tents at a place called Zion’s Gate. Ironically, the main building used to be a crazy bar scene back in the day- but the story is that one day the owner became Christian and decided to kick everyone out and shut the place down. It was abandoned and remained empty for quite some time until Tony, the founder of this small ministry, came along and turned everything around. He is an incredibly inspirational man, who wasn’t scared to follow God’s plan for his life. He up and left the U.S. and moved to Honduras to dedicate his life ministering to the young boys living on the streets- sometimes literally in dumpsters. He has truly embraced them as a loving fatherly figure, which most of them have never experienced in their lives. It’s been a blessing to interact with these boys on a daily basis. They inspire me more than they will ever know.
 
  
 
 

This first week has been totally different than anything I have ever experienced. I’ve never had to share an outside bathroom with 43 other people before. This bathroom has 2 showers and 3 toilets. Hot water is non-existent…. so when I do find the time to jump in the shower, I’ve been very creative with the process of washing my body versus hair… so I don’t absolutely freeze standing directly under the water.  As far as the toilets- I’m SO THANKFUL we actually have them this month (in other places we may not have an actual toilet). However, due to the home made septic system they dug deep in the ground, we are unable to flush ANYTHING down the toilet- including toilet paper. So you can only imagine what we may find/experience in the little trash cans next to the toilets….

 
We also hand wash our clothes outside- so I had to get over the fact that the boys on our squad will see me washing my underwear and hanging it to dry on the clothes line REAL FAST haha.
 
 
All of these conditions have definitely stretched me outside my comfort zone, but they have also forced our squad to come together as a community of brothers and sisters in Christ. It hasn't all been rough though- the second day we were here- Tony brought us and the young boys to a park, where we all zip-lined and played soccer. It was beautiful. A number of us put in some money to have Carlos and some of the young boys living with Tony's ministry a zip line pass. I don't think I've ever seen such a huge smile on a little boy's face. They definitely haven't ever been able to do anything like this before. I also learned to salsa dance in the back of a school bus on the way home, which is good because a few nights later- we turned up the music and danced under the brightest stars for a couple hours. I can’t even describe how close we have gotten over the past 7 days- but it has been an experience I will remember for the rest of my life and I couldn’t be happier.
 

  

I’ll post another blog soon with more pictures and information on the different ministries we have been working with during the days.

Once again- thanks so much for your prayers and support. I already miss my family and friends more than you will ever know- but I’m so thankful for this opportunity and can’t wait to see how God continues to completely break me down and stretch my comfort zone, only to truly refine my heart and character in ways I’ve never known before!!!