Goodbye Latin America

Dominican Republic.
1. I liked: going to the field to have the world’s best coffee ever. This is not a joke. The world’s best coffee awaits you in a random family in a random field in the DR. I also liked living in a place where we walked everywhere–ministry, grocery store, internet.
2. I loathed: being stung by jellyfish and having to have my oozing puss arms drained.
3. I loved: living in a house with four teams, a home we aptly called The Real World: Missionary Edition.
4. I learned: how much I needed to learn. I learned that much of my life was performance based–that I was completely incapable of sitting still and still feeling worthy of being loved.
5. I laughed: Too many times to count. The last few days of visiting Yakairi as her burns were recovering, we spent a lot of time laughing as she ripped out my hair and greased it up.

Ecuador
1. I liked: jumping off a bridge. Seriously.
2. I loathed: the food–specifically ceviche. And eating it on Valentine’s day. And eating Hope’s too to keep us from being rude. And the weather. It is a proven fact that I need sunshine and warmth.
3. I loved: the kids at Joel Osteen Academy–especially my fourth graders and Jorge, my eleventh grade brother. And the chai lattes in Quito.
4. i learned: that the Lord has anointed me in ways I never knew before. I learned how to learn.
5. I laughed: practically every night with Cadence as we watched ridiculously classic movies (Casablanca, The Godfathers I, II, and III, etc.).

Peru
1. I liked: the women with whom Kaity Grace and I did door-to-door evangelism.
2. I loathed: being SO feverish that I was wide awake and convinced my mommy was with me. Then the doctor telling me that I had given myself asthma by walking on the cold tile floor, and the solution was to not eat ice cream or chocolate. And the HOT PINK cake. Laredo, Peru could also be in sharp competition for one of the ugliest cities ever built. But in spite of that…
3. I loved: the people. Playing volleyball non-stop with all of them.
4. I learned: to stop seeking man’s approval when worshiping God. I learned how conforming to a church’s standard can stifle your own walk with the Lord. I learned that nowhere in the Bible does it say that you cannot dance. Quite the opposite, actually, if you were wondering.
5. I laughed: playing darts with everyone in the church–including the youth as they were on stage during worship. And they actually played along with the game anyway. So much laughter.

Honduras
1. I liked: having a three day silent fast. Truly. Probably my most filling and revelatory three days of the race thus far.
2. I loathed: Leaving.
3. I loved: is it bad if I keep saying the people?

4. I learned: How to rest. How to be loved for simply being–not for my doings.
5. I laughed: really hard when Kaity Grace and I had a paint war while painting the wall–and no one else found it funny.

El Salvador:

1. I liked: how much we laughed at the attacks of the enemy..
2. I loathed: speaking Spanish and being the coordinator and organizer. It was definitely a tough month.
3. I loved: having a month with Bekah Byxbe and Team Quiet Storm… having a lot of conveniences of the States, such as Pizza Hut, and a pool…the beauty of the waterfalls

4. I learned: that my worth and my value was solely in the Lord. That I needed to be obedient to His voice… how to bring words spoken over me before the Lord and ask what was HIS voie and what was human voice.
5. I laughed: singing to the DVD of 90’s Divas–Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, etc–with Elizabeth and Bekah…every time we did donuts in the back of the truck.