In October I switched from mentoring for the World Race to mentoring World Race Gap Year. The biggest differences being the age (Gap Year is 18-21 year olds) and the amount of time they spend in each country (Gap Year spends 3 months in 3 countries). I was initially nervous to mentor a younger group because it was unknown and felt very unsure. The Lord has continued to show me how saying yes to the unknown gives Him the space to move, He only asks that I choose obedience, and in return I’ve seen His goodness abound in this season. I was also unsure what it would look like for a squad to spend three months in each country because for the last three years I’ve only seen racers spend a month in each place. What I’ve seen is the long term impact they can have in 3 months. Below are two stories of how staying in country longer has shifted what ministry looks like on the race {one of those stories includes Bopi, from my last blog!}
The first time I saw the impact of them being in country for longer was in Ecuador. I had a team of girls teaching at a local high school, which was ironic considering most of them had just graduated from high school. First the first two months they built relationships by teaching and hanging out with the kids after school. On Thanksgiving they did a program filled with dancing, skits, and a testimony from one of the racers. At the end Chloe invited any students that felt led to give their lives to Christ. They had been sowing seeds for this moment over the last few months, combined with lots of prayer and fasting. At the end they saw 50 students say YES to Christ! Come on JESUS! What’s even cooler is that they had another month at the school to start discipling them. They started a Bible study before school and they would spend their lunch hour and after school time praying with students and talking about theology. It was such a beautiful thing that the Lord allowed them to see the fruit of their labor and see the Lord bringing change to the school!
-before school worship and prayer that the girls started-
In my previous blog I talked about Bopi, our debrief cook, coming to know the Lord. If you haven’t read that, check it out HERE! Right before the squad was leaving India, a few teams headed into a small village to attend church. In the middle of the service, the pastor called up a man to share a testimony of the Lord’s goodness and to the racers surprise Bopi walked up front! Talk about a small world. Bopi stood in front of the entire congregation and shared the story of how he came to know the Lord and how much love and peace he has felt since then!
-Bopi sharing his testimony in church-
After the service he was talking with the racers and told them how he had been searching for a good local church and he heard from some random people that there were Americans coming to a church in a nearby village. He just knew it had to be the team so he traveled to the next village for church and surprise there were his new friends! He was able to share the testimony of the Lord and get connected with a nearby community of believers to walk with him. The teams couldn’t believe the Lord’s faithfulness to see Bopi again and help him get connected!
I am currently in Zambia with my squad and I will randomly hear people talking about Bopi. He stays connected with us on Facebook and we continually pray for the Lord to keep moving in His life and for Bopi to witness to his family and friends. Will you join us in those prayers?
The Lord has been doing so much in and through Gap J! I’ve included a few links below to share some of their stories. They have seen healings, restoration in families, people coming to know the Lord and so much of His goodness happening all around them. God is so good and I am grateful that He allows me to witness His movement through these 49 world changers!
http://brookehorton.theworldrace.org/post/jesus-heals-yet-again
http://kacietillman.theworldrace.org/?filename=pimps-and-street-kids
http://chloegreen.theworldrace.org/post/my-name-is-busha
I hope you’ll continue to journey with me in prayer as I walk alongside Gap J for the next two months. I want to say THANK YOU to those who have decided to join my support team! In the past two months the Lord has moved mountains and I now only need $450/month to continue my work here in Georgia. While that number still seems too big, I am trusting that the Lord is going to lay it on the hearts of people to join my ministry team. If you are interested in joining my support team, please let me know or click the Support Me link on the left to join me!
