One of the biggest (and most pleasant!) surprises about the World Race is the community of other missionaries we have met along the way.
My team & I have been insanely blessed with people who have taken us in, loved us, fed us, and laughed at our sometimes barbaric ways. There was Andrew & Abby, my teammate’s friends from Florida who are serving in Kenya as long term missionaries. There were the doctors from Nepal on the short term mission trip who gave us tons of free stuff. And there have been tons of random other people we’ve run into along the way.
Meet Ellen & Todd:
With a passion for Mexican food on par with my passion for black tea & all things minty flavored, my teammates Heidi & Jordan spent an afternoon navigating the hectic streets of Kathmandu for a Mexican restaurant we got word of. Alas, they arrived at the Lazy Gringo – an Arizonian Mexican Restaurant co owed by Ellen & Todd. This amazing couple has been serving in Nepal for over 10 years in the restaurant business, hair salon business, and volunteering at refugee camps.
Ellen & Todd quickly became our mom & dad of Nepal: having us over to their house many, many times for homemade dinners, fixing our computers, letting us use their laundry machine & take hot showers. They took us to church with them, they showed us around Kathmandu, but most importantly they opened up their home to 4 strangers who they called their kids by the end of the month. They loved us, spent time with us, and encouraged us.
Fun Fact: Ellen & Todd are moving to Mongolia in 2012 to serve as missionaries there!
Meet Andy & Monica:
Andy & Monica moved to Ukraine on June 29th. A week later we met them at the English Bible Camp. One day during lunch Andy spoke the magic words to us, “so, Monica and I were wondering if you guys would like to move in with us.” We were looking for a place to go after camp, and their apartment sounded amazing! We’ve been able to spend the rest of the month at an incredibly beautiful house. They have 3 adorable kids who are a ton of fun to play with, and they all put up with our crazy birthday shenanigans & happy dancing at the sight of wifi and a washing machine.
Join us praying for this family as they learn the Russian language and begin to build the discipleship school they came here for.
Thank you to all the families and people we have met along the way that have had us over for dinner, that have showed us around town, that have loved us and welcomed us into their homes.
