Okay so the world race requires us to write a blog a week. This is something I really do enjoy doing but I often feel the pressure to have it all together and write about what I am learning.
Besides my blogs I have been writing 2 newsletters a month which typically have more honest and raw thoughts.
I was challenged this week by my teammate (who is the storytelling leader) to write a more honest blog on what a typical day looks like on the race & how I am feeling in those mundane moments.
I accept this challenge Juliana 😉
I thought I would give you a glimpse into my life the past 48 hours via timeline of activity and emotion haha
Saturday March 17:
4:30am wake up (run out of bed in a panic)
hahah I always have an extreme amount of energy in the morning & living in a room with 6 other girls always makes me nervous to wake them up with my alarm but they say my panic does that anyways. This is the gif they describe me as when I get up:
4:30-5 am journal & bathroom time.
The first thing I do is read Jesus calling & then I do a daily journal about the day before on my phone. To recap my day & remember what I did! I then head to the bathroom to wash my face, put contacts in & brush teeth.
5am-6:15am quiet time.
I am reading the whole bible this year so I have a daily reading plan where I read and journal about scripture and how I am feeling for that day. I do listening prayer to see if Jesus is saying anything to me for that day.
6:15-6:30am get dressed.
I put on one of my 4 outfits, a little makeup, make my bed & pack my backpack for the day.
6:30 am breakfast.
We usually eat bread and jam. I did hard boil eggs for the week to eat with bread but they froze in the fridge. So I put them back in hot water to unfreeze & then eat them with toast & tea. (Yummmm)
7am get picked up for ministry.
We usually take public transportation but for the past couple days we have had a ride in a car!! How luxurious compared to the crowded buses.
7:30am arrive at the school.
Today we have three classes. We are supposed to be teaching them morals aka we have free reign to do whatever we want.
8-9 am first class of 16 year olds
We start with 20 minutes of minute to win it games. We have such a blast playing with them and getting really hyped. The second half of class is an activity called “Stand up for your friends”. We read off a series of questions like “have you ever had thoughts about suicide, do you drink because you are stressed, have you ever been abused, do you feel like God Loves and forgives you”
The kids then trade papers and the answers are anonymous. If they have a yes on their paper for the question they stand up when it is re read out loud. This allows them to see how many other people have struggled with those issues. The kids are shocked at some of the questions and seeing how many students stand up for some of the issues.
One of my teammates wraps it up talking about her own experiences in high school and how she overcame them with Jesus. Another teammate prays over the group. It is a really powerful and heartbreaking activity to see how many people are dealing with such heavy topics at such young ages. We tell them if they need any prayer we are their for them but we encourage to keep talking to one another because they are not alone.
9:30-10:30am the second class of 18 years old- repeat activities
11-12pm the third class of 14 years old arrives & we repeat it all again. It is just as impactful every time we do it. We see that even with all the different ages how they are affected by those struggles. I love working with this age & cant wait to go home and be able to speak to youth and pour into them.
12:15 go back home
12:45pm arrive at home
12:45-1pm do laundry (in the sinks & hang dry even though it is raining lol I have no other choice and know my clothes will stink when I pack tomorrow)
1pm lunch: rice, chicken & juice (not tired of these meals at all….)
1:30pm chore time. Wash dishes, mop bathroom floors and sweep. (So many chores everyday… but they keep us from getting sick)
2 pm downtime !! Usually we have team time after chores but today we have afternoon ministry off and will go to youth group instead at night. Our afternoons would normally be filled with more classes or street evangelism.
2-4:30pm nap (yes I nap now… so crazy!) write a blog & do mandatory reflection questions called journey markers. This week they ask: what did you grow in this month? What do you want to grow in next month? How did God reveal himself to you this month? What do you think God is calling you to abandon? I do this all from my bed while everyone else is sleeping, reading or doing the same tasks.
4:30-6pm team time
We have team time everyday. It always looks different but today is discussing journey markers. Sometimes we watch movies, have bible studies, or play waffle ball 😉
Today I really don’t feel like I having team time but I am team leader so it is my duty to rally the crew and make sure we are growing together as a team. Today we went around and talked about our answers. We finish team time with feedback for one another. Feedback can be Positive things we see in each other at ministry or throughout the day or constructive things we encourage people to do or call them higher in ways that they could improve. We also do listening prayer for one another. We ask God if he has a word, vision or really anything to share with the highlighted person that day. It was Jackie’s turn today. So we shared with her what we heard from God After team time ends.
6-6:30pm get ready and eat a quick dinner.
Tonight since we have evening ministry we get ready quickly and eat downstairs before getting picked up. We have bread with hot dogs & eggs mixed together hahaha. A very typical meal. I feel like a kid again. Hot dogs have become a staple in Bolivia.
6:30pm get picked up
Feeling very tired but let’s goooo
7pm arrive at church for youth group.
We greet and hang out with the students before service starts (it’s always a little award with the language barrier but I try my best)
7:15pm start service
There is great worship in Spanish (I lovvve singing in espanol 😉
7:30pm my team goes up.
Tonight we are facilitating the games for students & have so much fun pulling them out of their seats to participate even though they are embarrassed hehehe
7:50-8:15pm testimonies
Two girls on my team share short testimonies about their time in high school and how God was moving through them and working through struggles they faced as encouragement to the students.
8:15-9pm sermon & worship
The preacher got up to speak in Spanish for the remainder of the service. I try to listen to improve my Spanish but often times I end up just reading my bible and zoning out in my own world in the pews while the service goes on. Tonight I was reading the book of Hosea. (I think the service was about how we are dead without God?)
9:15pm leave service
9:45pm arrive back home exhausted
9:45-10:15pm talk with other missionaries we are living with & get ready for bed. (two of my teammates go out to a late dinner with the other missionaries but the rest of us are like grandmas and need our rest)
10:15-11:15pm watch tv.
Ugh I hate watching tv before bed because it makes my head run before I sleep but tonight I drank coffee before the service and had energy to stay up.
11:15pm bed.
Sunday March 25:
5:30am wake up
We are leaving today so no more ministry! I get to sleep in hahaha
5:30-6am journal and bathroom
Same routine as the day before
6-7:15am quiet time.
Today I continue to read Hosea and do listening prayer for the day
7:20-8am go running.
Yay time to workout this morning! There is a path that makes it easy to go out and run. I come back to do some quick workouts before breakfast
8:10-9am breakfast.
We sit down with the other missionaries at the base and share our last meal with them (bread and jam… & my frozen eggs haha). We would usually go to church with them but today we are leaving for a mini vacation!!!
9-9:50am shower & clean up.
Shower, start packing, clean dishes
9:50-10:30am skype Clayton
This morning I was lucky enough to catch my brother before I left the base! We caught up before I had to continue packing!
10:30-11:15am pack
Clean the room & continue packing for a long bus journey
11:15am leave the base for the bus station
12pm leave for la Paz on the bus.
We will travel 21 hours back to la Paz and then another 9 to uyuni. We are going to the salt flats! The only other time I have had more than 2 days off I was able to take a mini vacay in Thailand! This month we get to take 4 days to travel and see the salt flats. Even if it is a trek to get there. This is the life we signed up for 🙂
(P.S. I wrote this on the bus to La Paz and little did we know what would happen in the next couple of days. When we arrived we found out buses don’t leave until 8:30pm so we had 14 hours to kill before our second night sleeping on the bus. During those 14 hours I got an email saying there were strikes in Uyuni so we could only do a 1 day tour of the salt flats. This means we would bus overnight do a full day tour and spend the next night on the bus back to la paz…. we ate snacks for almost every meal like Pringles, granola bars and soda. Hahaha this is the life we live.
I have been feeling really tired & ready to be done with community living & world race lifestyle. The glitz and glam has worn off and we are in the mundane waking up early, doing chores, long bus rides and bland meals. I hope this gives you a better picture into what my everyday life looks like. Everyday really does look different which keeps thing exciting but also gives me the feeling of being ready for stability.
A lot of my small annoyances & tiredness was towards the beginning of the month so I am feeling much more excited to finish the race strong now. However, please keep praying for continued strength and clarity from God to lead me in these next couple of months. I have everyday struggles too. They could range from living with people 24/7 and no personal space to leading my team in excitement to do ministry that sometimes I am really not excited to do. Sometimes I feel tired of pursuing a deeper relationship with God and the long term missionaries who host us when at times I just want to zone out. I am on the up and up coming out of the B zone of the race and know God will sustain me and give me fresh eyes to see him in each day. I hope this blog doesn’t make anyone worried haha I really do love it out here but I thought I would let others into the reality of this life I live too.
Sending love from the mission field!!
