Well this is it, my last blog as a World Racer. It’s been fun using this platform to share my adventures with you all and sad to end it. In this last one I want to introduce you to some special people I met this year. New friends and family who made a lasting impression and who God used to teach me some important lessons.
Thailand: Emmi – Wear Jesus on your skin.
Emmi is the founder of Lighthouse in Action and Zion Café the ministry we partnered with in Chiang Mai. Emmi is a little powerhouse with a deep faith and love for the women she is serving. During our orientation Emmi told us, “You must wear Jesus on your skin.” This was the best advice we could have gotten at the start of the Race. She required we pray up before going to the bar street and that one team stay behind as intercessors when we were out. She forbid us from preaching to the bar girls, but rather asked us to love them, be a friend, be Jesus. That set a precedent for how I tried to live the rest of the Race, and how I’m living my life.
(photo credit: Beth Crenshaw)
Cambodia: Little Som Nang – Love transforms.
Little Som Nang (5) stole my heart in Kampong Thom. Som Nang came screaming and punching into my life. After I called him a terror to one of my teammates, God convicted me and told me to love him. When he got angry I held him tight and prayed into his ear. I told him he is smart, good, kind, and many more positive things. I told him I love him. He doesn’t speak much English, but pretty soon he was hugging and kissing and telling me he loves me more. He still got angry with the other kid, but he began being able to control it better. It wasn’t scolding or discipline it was love that transformed. Waving good bye the morning we left broke my heart.
Vietnam: Uyen – Dream big and keep chasing those dreams.
University students in Ho Chi Minh City form English clubs then go to the main park near the backpacker area to practice English with tourists. The English clubs were a good way for my team to meet people and share our faith. That is where I met Uyen. That night we really didn’t talk to anyone else because we got caught up talking about our shared passion for travel and volunteering. Thankfully she worked at our favorite bakery so we saw each other a few times. Uyen dreams of going to culinary school in Australia and opening her own bakery some day. This year she has faced challenges but continues to hold onto those dreams. Currently, we are Skyping to practice English. She’s going to make it happen.
China: Mohammad – Let God direct conversations.
So this one day on the Race I had a conversation about God with a Pakistani Muslim man while sitting in the garden of a Catholic church in Beijing. Yep, that happened.
I was there with our logistics team who were looking for debrief meeting space. We were in the garden waiting for the service to end so they could talk to the priest. Mohammad was waiting for a friend who had invited him to church. He introduced himself and “why are you here” broke the ice and got us talking about God. As we shared our faiths and our views of God, I quickly found myself defending a position. That’s when God told me to shut up because I was not listening, to Him. So I asked God what He wanted me to say. “Tell him to seek Me.” Mohammad had said he is a bad Muslim because he does not pray or read the Quran. I shared my testimony of drifting from God and what a blessing it has been since I reconnected with Him. As we got ready to leave, I urged Mohammad to start seeking God again, start praying. Then I left with God’s assurance that He’s got Mohammad.
Swaziland: Nokuphila & Akeelah – Joy in the face of hardship.
At El Shaddai, Racers (or any volunteers) are paired with kids as buddies for the duration of their time. This allows Racers and kids to build deeper relationships. Nokuphila (8) and Akeelah (7) were my buddies. Both girls tried to avoid me at first by going into their dorm or just running away. My solution was sitting outside their window to read or listen to music with them and follow them around or sit beside them as they ignored me. After a few days our friendship began to form and what a blessing these two little lights are! The children of El Shaddai have been placed there by the Swazi version of Child Protective Services or by family members, and each child has a difficult past. In addition, many people come in and out of their lives as they have new buddies multiple times a year. However, despite all of that these two girls have bright smiles, sing each Sunday as part of the worship team, and laugh with their friends. Earning their smiles made my month.
Lesotho: Pastor Tsepo – Live with no regrets
Pastor Tsepo was one of our ministry contacts in Mokhotlong, and he and I hit it off right away. As our companion, translator, and guide for much of our ministry in Lesotho, Tsepo and I got a lot of time to talk driving between ministry locations. He did a lot of traveling as a missionary in his twenties and now pastors a church plant in a village near Mokhotlong. At mid-thirties, newly married, and expecting his first child (a son who was born in October), Tsepo lives without regret by living life to the fullest. His advice is, if you want to try something just do it. He encouraged me to step out and try for the things I want because God will redirect if necessary. Unfortunately, we didn’t get time to ride a donkey. Next time my brother.
South Africa: Mum Thule – God answers prayer.
By the time we arrived in Swayimane, I was missing having older women around me. My whole life I have had women to look up to and sometimes I feel more comfortable with them than my peers. On the Race I was the oldest. Well, God heard my heart’s cry and answered with Mum Thule, our second house mom. Mum Thule is actually a day older than my aunt, the one who inspired my travel bug. We were busy each day going to meetings and visiting Zimele projects and all of our walks gave us time to learn about each other. Then at night Mum Thule and I stayed up to watch her show, Generations. During the time we were living with Mum Thule, road construction nearby caused the water to be shut off during the day. At night when the water was turned back on the family used a hose to filled 5 gallon buckets for use during the day. One night Mum Thule and I stayed up till 1AM filling the rain barrel, doing a load and a half of laundry by pouring in two buckets per cycle, and filling the dozen 5 gallon buckets in our house. Sharing that time with her soothed my soul and filled up a missing piece in my life.
Nicaragua: Jesse – Share what you’ve learned.
We met Jesse in Granada while working with REAP Granada. Jesse is from Nicaragua but lived much of his youth in Los Angeles where he got involved with gangs and drugs. Back in Nicaragua he was asked to be a translator for a high school missions team and during that week gave his life to Christ. Watch Jesse’s testimony here. Jesse was one of our translators and his heart for youth and prison ministry was obvious. During our PVT (Parent Vision Trip) week one family met a girl near the town center who had gotten lost trying to find a yoga center not far from Granada. She was invited to join our group for dinner and then Jesse drove her out to the center. The next day he came to the house and asked us to bring her a Bible and told us that he shared his testimony and talked about Jesus the whole way. Jesse never hesitates to share the love of God that he has learned.
(Jesse preaching at the prison. Photo credit: Aly Badinger)
Guatemala: Marielle – Prayer is a gift to be shared.
The power of prayer was a theme for my team in Guatemala. Marielle is a missionary at the AIM base in Antigua and did the Race with our squad mentor Scott. She first met our squad while we were in Cambodia when she Skyped in to talk to us about healing and prayer. During our Guatemala debrief she made lots of time to hang out. Marielle has a reputation for praying for people anywhere at any time for any reason. She loves prayer and she has witnessed the power of prayer, even miraculous healing through prayer. Healing prayer is truly her gift and her joy. Our last night in Antigua, I ask Marielle to pray for me. Asking for prayer, especially from someone I don’t know well, is awkward for me, but she was thrilled. When Marielle prays you know that she is speaking God’s words.
(photo credit: Marielle Moguel)
Belize: Kathy and Michelle – God is enough.
At Step of Faith Church we met Kathy and Michelle, two single, long term missionaries in Belmopan. Both women felt called to Belize after a short term trip and moved alone to begin working with ministries in Belize. Kathy has been in Belize for nearly thirty years and has raised fifteen children. Michelle moved about fifteen years ago and is raising five adopted or foster daughters. Both are living full lives, the lives they dreamed of, and talking to them really encouraged me to keep praying for my dreams while being content with what I have. God is enough. He will always be enough.
(photo credits: Kathy McDonald & Michelle Stockman)
USA: Catherine – God will use what He has taught you.
One thing I felt God telling me before the Race was to share my Messianic walk. I was excited that we would be on the field for all of God’s holidays and looking forward to sharing why I walk in Torah. The holidays were very special this year with my teammates, especially Shavu’ot in Swaziland. Then in Ft. Lauderdale I met Catherine. She spotted my Star of David and asked me about it. Catherine’s father is Jewish and she was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah, but she and her mother are Christians. She was doing the Bat Mitzvah to honor her grandmother and was struggling to reconcile her parent’s two faiths. Our first conversation was her asking me lots of questions. She had never heard there are people who trust Jesus for salvation and also follow God’s ways (the traditions of Judaism) laid out in Torah. When it comes to sharing my Messianic walk, it feels like Catherine is the reason I went on the Race.
Thank you for following and supporting this journey. God bless.
