Forgotten - Explore Archived World Race Alumni Blogs

Hello, everyone!

I am writing you today from my phone because we are finished with ministry and the only place we had wifi was the church. I am going to use some data on my phone to post this because I want to send you one more update before we leave Guyana!

I entitled this post “forgotten” because that is the word that God gave me for the country of Guyana. Guyana has the highest rate of suicide in the world. And after being here for two weeks, we’ve started to see some of the reasons for that.

There is very little opportunity for advancement here and job opportunities are scarce. Children don’t dream. There is no such thing as the “Guyanese Dream” like we have the “American Dream” because people can’t even fathom what dreaming would look like. Hope is a word of fantasy rather than reality.

The more I prayed for this country the more I felt like they feel forgotten. And to be honest, in many ways they are. Before I came to Guyana, I couldn’t tell you a thing about it. Most of us probably couldn’t have even told you how the country’s name was pronounced. When I talked to my friends back home, the only thing they knew about Guyana was that it was where Jim Jones (an American cult leader) convinced 918 people to commit a mass suicide in 1978. What a wonderful thing to be known for.

As I mentioned before in my last post, while we have been here at least three local people have attempted suicide, with at least one succeeding. Every local has been personally and deeply affected by suicide in some way.

It takes someone who feels forgotten to resort to that desperate of a measure. It takes a nation that feels forgotten to have the highest suicide rate in the world.

But in my two weeks here, I’ve come to realize that Guyana is not forgotten. The whole world could forget about Guyana, but God never has and never will. There is a movement in Guyana where God is resurrecting hopes and dreams, and I have been a part of that in Corriverton. I have talked to young people who have dreams of going to school to be lawyers, of wanting to be doctors and of wanting to be missionaries to other countries.

I have seen a ministry who praises with gratitude, preaches with passion, and prays with fervor. I have seen the testimonies of what Christ has done broadcasted on a national television show. I have seen the generosity of people like never before.

And I realized something. We tend to see Guyana as forgotten, isolated, and hopeless, but I believe the US is every bit as spiritually dark. It’s just that we have nice houses and workaholic jobs and scientific reasoning destroying our faith rather than demonic possessions, extreme poverty, and a struggling economy.

I’ve heard many people say that God has abandoned America because we’ve abandoned Him. It would appear maybe God has forgotten about us, too. I mean surely if He cared He could at least provide a decent presidential candidate, right?

Wrong. It is incredible to me how easily we can let ourselves feel forgotten. It is incredible to me how easily we forget what God has done in our lives. We come up against darkness, and we forget God’s Word and His promises and all the ways He’s shown up in our lives before. And although we feel forgotten, it’s really we who have forgotten Him.

I love the fact that I have a huge scar on my shoulder from a surgery that saved my life because anytime I doubt God’s goodness, all I have to do is look down at my arm. We can never forget what God has done in our lives. We can never forget that we are never forgotten.

If it seems like you are forgotten today, I assure you if you hang on long enough, you will see the faithfulness of our God in the land of the living. If you’re tired and you feel like it’s too hard to believe in God or cling to His Word, don’t forget who your Savior is. Don’t forget that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Don’t forget that your Dad owns the universe. Don’t forget that the war is already won.

There is a hope alive in Guyana. I’ve seen it in the eyes of a woman giving me free fish in the market. I’ve seen it in the hands of someone giving me a manicure. I’ve seen it in the tears welling up from an audience when I preach. I’ve seen it in the hearts of a family I met in my neighborhood while we were praying against cancer.

There is hope in Guyana, and His name is Jesus Christ. There is hope for America, and His name is Jesus Christ.

He has never forgotten you. Don’t forget about Him.

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We just finished up our ministry in Corriverton, and we head to Suriname tomorrow! I have some videos uploaded below, but look for more to come as I hopefully find some decent wifi somewhere. Please watch the videos, as they tell and show many things God has done and is doing that I have not mentioned here.

The most moving experience I have had thus far on the World Race came outside of our scheduled ministry. We met a family this week who moved my heart. We were inviting people to the church service last Sunday and Mary welcomed us into her home. She told us how her dad was suffering from cancer and asked if we could pray for him.

We readily agreed, but asked if we could come back to pray for her father when he got back from Georgetown the next day. When we arrived, we found a family brimming with hope and expectation of us coming. We began to talk with Danny, and he told us about his fight with cancer. He said he believed Jesus could bring him back.

Then he talked about having lost 100 pounds and about his skin turning a different color from the chemotherapy. Then he started crying. I looked at him and I spoke my life promise into him about healing and redemption. I told him I believed God would heal him in one way or another. And he grabbed both my hands as the sobs began to wrack his body.

We naturally flowed into prayer. Chrissy, Hannah, Kristan and I surrounded Danny and lavished the Father’s love on him. As time continued, his hands started shaking and I could tell his body was so weak that he wanted to let go of my hands. But in defiance of the disease trying to control his body, he gripped my hands even harder. And something in me broke.

There is something about staring blankly at our shared humanity that stirs the heart of man. There is something about desperate faith that stirs the heart of God.

Being that close to hurt-real, devastating, hurt-broke me. I can’t describe what it is like to hold the hands of a dying man and come before the throne of the one Who can do all things to fight for him.

Danny had told us that he missed going to church but he couldn’t go anymore because he was too weak and would fall. After we finished praying, I asked if we could bring church to him. He said yes and so we sat together and sang worship songs and cried and worshipped our God together. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever experienced.

We have been back to their house almost every day since then, finding time to go between our ministry commitments. I wanted to share this precious family’s story with you for two reasons.

Firstly, please pray for them in this trying time and please lift up Danny’s healing to the Father. Prayer can move mountains. They said they would love all the prayers they can have. Secondly, I want to encourage you that people are much more open than you think, and God has hurting people all around you who are waiting for the hope that only you can bring. Look for those opportunities.

Saying goodbye to them today was the hardest goodbye yet. Danny started crying when I talked about seeing him in heaven. I said there is never goodbye in Christianity. They told us how much they would miss us. As devastating as it is, how wonderful is it that we were able to build that kind of relationship in a week? Only God.

(I can’t upload photos from my phone but check my Instagram for a photo of this precious family!)

The rest of the squad arrived at our house in Corriverton last night. We had a meeting where the squad leaders told us we are about to move into serious expedition territory. They literally said, “be in Manaus by October 15.” Other than that, we are supposed to go where God wants us to go in Suriname and French Guiana.

We are in charge of our own budget, traveling, lodging, and ministry. Pretty much everything. That is insanely intimidating and also incredibly exciting! This is an opportunity “normal” world racers would never have, and we are coming to God in expectancy with audacious prayers.

When we met for listening prayer this morning, I can’t tell you how awesome it was to see that between the six of us God perfectly laid out the path He wants us to take. It makes a straight line along the coasts. This could change rapidly, but I want to tell you so you can be praying: the possibilities of ministry we hope to encounter are sex trafficking victims, prison ministry, and a leprosy hospital.

Yeah. It’s intense!

Which leads me to my last little section: prayer requests! We are going to need prayer like never before in this uncharted territory.

-We want to be both content and hungry. If God wants our team to hang out and minister to each other for a day, we need to be content in that. But if He wants us to move to a new city every two days, we need to follow that prompting, too. Please pray for discernment as we follow the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
-Pray for language abilities. A lot of people speak English in Suriname, but it is actually mainly Dutch. French Guiana is actually a french territory, not a country, so everyone there speaks French. I don’t think my two semesters of French are going to be enough, so pray for God to provide communication for us in these countries.
-Pray that we are able to stick together as a team, pray continually, and be proactive. If you know me by now, I am honest in these blogs, and I want to tell you that we are going into serious enemy territory and he is probably not going to like it. The demonic activity here is high, and we have encountered a lot of it already in Guyana. Please pray for supernatural protection and guidance as we fight to take back territory from the enemy that he has unrighteously taken.
-Pray for miraculous healings!
-Pray that we love people. The gifts of the Spirit are great, but the Bible says without love they are meaningless.
-Pray that we are kept safe. We are doing some intense things and we are six girls. Nothing is greater than our God, but I also want to be careful and wise about decisions.
-Pray that God allows us to make contacts for future groups and World Racers to come and work in these countries.
-Pray that we come to know God in ways we never would have imagined.

If you’ve made it this far thank you for reading this whole blog post! I know they may seem long sometimes, but I want you all to always know that you are still every bit a part of this journey as those of us on the ground.

I love you all! God is getting ready to blow our minds! I can feel it! I’m praying He blows your mind today with all of who He is.

Tera

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Since I’m doing this blog from my phone, I can’t embed videos into the blog. I have been devoted to uploading this week, setting my laptop under my chair in church to upload videos during service (haha). However, since I’m doing this blog from my phone I can’t embed videos into the blog. In order to watch them, please click the links below.