I’ve been home for a week now. Some days it feels like much longer, but then other moments it feels like I just got here. My bags are unpacked, I’ve settled into my room, started a job, and have been soaking up time with friends and family. I miss my squad and the crazy life that is the WR, but I’m enjoying my time here before it’s time for me to leave again in just a short month. Here is a compilation of this last year in the form of lists- some with facts, some fun, and some with insight into more serious things. Each bullet point has a story- so if you find one that intrigues you, feel free to ask about it! A blog (or even 10) can’t begin to sum up the whole year, but here is just a snapshot. Enjoy!
11 Countries Visited:
1. India
2. Nepal
3. Vietnam
4. Cambodia
5. Thailand
6. Albania
7. Macedonia
8. Bulgaria
9. Zimbabwe
10. Swaziland
11. South Africa
BONUS:
12. Malaysia
13. Italy
14. Romania
15. Botswana
16. Greece
17. Kosova
11 Types of Ministry:
1. Village Evangelism/Preaching
2. Manual Labor/Painting
3. Teaching English/Bible Studies
4. Dance Bar Ministry
5. Relational Ministry through Coffee and Volleyball
6. Children VBS
7. Women’s Retreat
8. Music Lessons/Sports Ministry
9. Visiting/Organizing Activities at Orphanages and Children’s Homes
10. Care Point Ministry- Loving on and Feeding Children
11. Prayer Walks/House Visits
11 Types of Transportation:
1. City Bus
2. Motorbike
3. Bicycle
4. Boat (to nearby villages)
5. Back of Pick-Up Trucks
6. Charter Bus (country to country)
7. Car (usually all 6 of us smooshed in the backseat)
8. Train
9. Plane
10. Tuk-Tuk
11. My own 2 Feet (many miles treaded)
11 Favorite Memories/Highlights:
1. Early Mornings spent with the Lord on the beach in India and nights spent on that same beach worshipping with the team.
2. Hiking in the Mountains of Nepal observing the beauty of creation and spending the time chatting and getting to know those on my squad better.
3. Working with Hue- a 5 year old boy who was deaf and had been rescued from an orphanage where he was mistreated. Read more about that HERE.
4. Being re-baptized in Cambodia and the step that was in my walk with the Lord.
5. Sweet conversations with teammates in the middle of the road in the villages of Thailand and the growth that those conversations led to.
6. Lunch and ice cream dates with the beggar girls in Albania and the way the Lord taught me trust and showed me His love through them.
7. Our cabin in Kosova and the family that turned our team into.
8. Spending the morning at a nursing home in Bulgaria and having 4 ladies decide to accept Christ.
9. Visiting and adventuring around Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.
10. Having my parents join me for ministry in Swaziland.
11. Serving the homeless in Port Elizabeth and getting to know the community that makes up Love Story (our ministry for the month) in South Africa.
11 (+6) People I Did Day-to-Day Life With (Teammates)
1. Allie
2. Kimmy
3. Bryce
4. Matthew
5. Ben
6. Jonathan
7. Paige
8. Becca
9. Janet
10. Allison
11. Jenna
12. Hannah
13. Emily
14. Maggie
15. Malia
16. Leah
17. Sara
11 Best Off/Adventure Days:
1. Food Tour in India
2. Bungee Jumping in Zimbabwe
3. Visiting Victoria Falls
4. Botswana Safari
5. Visiting with Wa- a friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in 10 years
6. Cage Diving with Sharks in South Africa
7. Bike Ride from Bulgaria to Romania
8. Visiting Angkor Watt in Cambodia
9. Hiking in Albania/Kosova/South Africa
10. Meeting up with old friends in Vietnam that I hadn’t seen in 5 years
11. Camping on beach in Vietnam
11 Things Packed that Lasted the Whole Race:
1. Sleeping Bag/Sleeping Bag Liner
2. Sleeping Pad
3. Swim Suit
4. Chacos
5. Jean Shorts
6. Toiletry Bag
7. Rain Jacket
8. Plain Black T-shirt
9. Running Shoes
10. Long Sleeve WR Shirt
11. Kavu
11 of the Toughest Moments:
1. Fighting comparison in India/Nepal.
2. Working through team conflict and new dynamics in Albania.
3. Coming to a breaking point in Cambodia where I needed to create space for myself to let the Lord speak about my identity in Him. Realizing I needed to let others in, but also needed to quiet their voices and release my expectations of myself. To become less “busy” and to be still with the Lord.
4. Facing my fear of preaching/public speaking in Nepal and Vietnam.
5. Fighting the heat and the struggle of not feeling productive or useful in Cambodia. Navigating a little bit of a slump. Also learning about the Khmer Rouge and the tragic history of Cambodia and wrestling with what people are capable of.
6. Working through a period of being “in my head” and not being motivated to spend time with the Lord in Africa. Figuring out how to fight that but also be honest with the Lord and letting Him in to help combat the lies/lack of motivation.
7. Seeing people work so hard and diligently to “please” their Gods and to “earn” their way to heaven throughout all of Asia. Seeing them strive to earn this love from idols when it is freely given by Christ was hard to see and set my heart with even more passion to pray for and to share with them what the Lord has given us.
8. Figuring out how to best be intentional in community, but also get the time that I needed to myself in both Thailand at the start of a new team and in Swaziland as there was half the squad together.
9. Seeing the kids in Albania who were begging on the streets or were living in places where their needs were not met. Working through the tough questions and prayers this brought to my time with the Lord.
10. Figuring out as a team how to navigate dynamics/questions/feelings that were brought up in South Africa as our host spoke into our lives in ways that we were maybe not used to and as we were directed back to lessons/areas of our life we thought we had already worked through. Tough, but in a good sense of this bringing about a lot of great discussions and growth.
11. Seeing kids and adults with disabilities discarded by their culture and society (in multiple countries) due to misunderstandings, lack of resources, and/or religious beliefs.
11 Cultural Foods Eaten:
1. Curry (multiple kinds for every meal in India :P)
2. MoMos (Nepali dumplings)
3. Banh Mi (Vietnamese street food sandwich)
4. Pad Thai (Thailand noodle dish)
5. Sufllaqe (Albanian gyro-like sandwich)
6. Trigona Panoramatos (Greek triangle pastry)
7. Kebapche (Bulgarian grilled sausages)
8. Sadza (African side made with maize meal)
9. Chicken Foot (South African village food)
10. Braii (South African BBQ)
11. Chicken Biryani (India)
11 Things I Did That Scared Me:
1. Preaching
2. Letting other people completely in- vulnerability
3. Speaking in front of the entire squad
4. Bungee Jumping
5. Leading Worship
6. Applied for and Accepted the Role of Alumni Squad Leading
7. Cage Diving with Sharks
8. Campus and Village Evangelism
9. Unsolicited Listening Prayers/Praying for Strangers
10. Entered into difficult conversations and constructive feedback instead of avoiding those things
11. Treasury Role
11 Lessons I Learned:
1. The Lord created ME/US with just as much intentionality, purpose, and beauty as He did the oceans and the sunsets.
2. Community takes a lot of work, but we are meant to live life with other people and the effort is SO worth it- you’ll be better because of it.
3. Adaptability and flexibility are some of the most important qualities to have in most aspects of life.
4. Doing the things that scare you become less scarier the more you do them. Taking the leap of faith and trusting the Lord will reveal new gifts/passions/skills, so go- get out of your comfort zone always.
5. I have more leadership/influence/wisdom gifts than I knew and it’s only in recognizing that and in letting the Lord reveal and use those that they can be walked in.
6. Joy and Love are both choices that we have to make each and every moment.
7. The adventurous and fun things are great, but the biggest and best adventure will always be finding more of the Lord and chasing after what HE has for you.
8. Spiritual warfare is a real thing and is something we should be aware of.
9. Prayer is powerful.
10. The Lord will ALWAYS use what you think are your weaknesses. It’s in giving those to Him and in not being afraid of sharing them with others that you start to see this.
11. I will never “have it all together” and will always be a work in progress and that’s OKAY. Perfect should never be my standard. This life is meant to continue learning from and loving the Lord- each step and each season reveals more.
11 Things the Race Made Me Thankful For:
1. Quiet Coffee Shops
2. Free Meals and Comfy Beds
3. Disciplines & Routines
4. Cooler Weather/Seasons
5. Naps/Rest
6. Community
7. Sunrises/Sunsets
8. Listening Prayer & Worship
9. Opportunities to Listen to People’s Stories
10. Challenges That Lead to Growth
11. Discipleship
Thank you for following along with this journey! Want to continue to partner with me as I head out to lead a whole new group of racers in January? I’m looking for people to join my support team through both prayer and financial donations. Click DONATE at the top of this page if you have the means and want to help me reach my funding goal. Want to find out more information or how to join me in prayer- email me! 🙂
What is squad leading? Find out HERE
