It has almost been 3 full years since I stepped off the plane back onto U.S soil. It seems like a lifetime ago. The memories and heart fires that were the World Race come rushing back at random moments in everyday life. A smell that takes me back to the city of La Paz. A rainy night that takes me back to the jungle of Ecuador. Even now, thinking back on it all, my heart aches with something familiar yet too far away to hold. The faces of the people I met along the way. How beautiful it is to look back on it all and relive the testimony of all God did. The Lord used it to grow me and to mold me. I came back different than I left, and I’m different now from even then.
Quite a lot has changed since then. I’ve gotten married (woot woot). I am now Shelby Thomas, which has taken some getting used to. I think I have signed Shelby Weier 1 out of every 5 times that I’ve signed my name in the last year.
These past few years, like the World Race, have been a type of training (I mean are we ever really done training and growing?
) I am about to graduate with my degree in Elementary Education. Remember all of the posts during the race about teaching in schools? Well, turns out I fell in love…I fell in love with the kids. I fell in love with the opportunity to pour into them. I fell in love with watching them grow and bloom before my eyes. Now I am presented with the opportunity to pour back into students around the world. I fell in love with teaching around the world, and I finally get to go back to where it all began! My church, Journey Family Fellowship, is taking a trip to Guatemala City this July. Our associate pastors Brandon and Aubrey Emerson were full-time missionaries in Guatemala before returning with their family a couple years ago. Our church is partnering with their contacts at ChildHope in the field to serve the local schools in Guatemala. They have a long history with the schools and have been invited to minister to children in the surrounding village schools. How amazing is the Lord to provide such an open door!
I will be providing more details as the trip gets closer, but the time is now to start praying into this trip! I have heard amazing testimonies of how God has opened doors and hearts in previous trips, and I know he will do it again! I cannot wait to see what God has in store for the Guatemalan people. The trip is $1,500 per person and I am looking for people with a heart for this cause to partner with me! If you feel led to give towards this trip, you can do so through PayPal by clicking here or directly to Journey Family Fellowship. To receive the tax credit for the donation, checks can be sent directly to Journey Family Fellowship (address below) with my name and Guatemala in the subject line. In addition to this, you can donate towards the trip online here and specifying the intent of donation here. I am also looking for prayer partners! I will be posting more about the trip on my personal blog page so subscribe to it if you’d like to stay up to date! If you would like to be a part of my prayer team, send me an email ([email protected]) and I will add you to our team newsletter! I am beyond excited for this opportunity, and I know that God has big things in store for this trip. Thank you for partnering with me in this!
https://shelbyweier.wordpress.com/
Journey Family Fellowship
PO Box 112
Downs, IL 61736
