Originally posted 4/1/2021 The ministry we worked with in San José was different than most of the ministries I've seen so far. They are located in the heart of downtown, and they specifically work with people from the slums nearby. They have a pregnancy center where they meet with women, disciple them, and help them be the best mothers they can. They also teach women how to make soap or bracelets to sell and pro...
Originally posted 3/29/2021 My squad has been serving in Jacó, Costa Rica, for the last few weeks. It is more tropical there than it was in Guatemala so we are sticky with sweat most of the time. We are also together as a squad instead of being in our specific teams. It has been an adjustment getting used to living in one house with my entire squad, plus part of a Gap Year squad. Our main ministry has been t...
Originally posted 3/18/2021 A little over a year ago, I was living out my wildest dream in India. My squad was spread out across the country serving different ministries, and we would soon be moving on to Nepal. I was prayerfully looking forward to 9 more months on the World Race. Afterwards I planned to come home and get a job as a substitute teacher, buy a car, and move out on my own again. But clearly God...
Originally posted 3/13/2021 I was recently asked “Who is one person you met in Guatemala that changed you?” At first I couldn’t land on just one person. I had met so many people in the month and a half I'd spent there. Where do I even begin? As I pondered that question, I took a walk back through my memories from Guatemala. I thought of all the kids that came to Vacation Bible School with us each week. They w...
Originally posted 2/16/2021 Tuesday, February 2nd was our first Beauty for Ashes event. We decorated the church with roses, fairie lights, and Bible verse posters. My team spent a lot of time praying over the events knowing this was going to be important, which makes it an obvious target for the enemy. We even had people from other teams on our squad praying, and many people at home were praying, too. A...
Originally posted 2/14/2021 Aaron, one of my amazing teammates, wrote this fun Valentine's Questionnaire team blog. It tells you a little bit about each person on our team including what job we have on the Race, what he loves about us, and our answer to a fun question. Please check it out via the link below and get to know the wonderful individuals of Team M.O.M.! Valentine’s Day Questionnaire: Team M.O.M. ...
Originally posted 2/10/2021 For most of my life, I have found myself in some sort of children’s ministry. I served in the nursery at my home church growing up, helped out with the youth group at my church in Florida, and taught for 5 years. Children’s ministry is my favorite, and it is definitely my comfort zone. So when God brought us to Guatemala and my team was placed with a couple who primarily focus on ...
Originally posted 1/31/2021 Team M.O.M. is finally complete! Our last person, Alli, was able to join us on Wednesday so now we are a happy family of six! (We are enjoying the presence of Ari, one of our squad leaders, for a little while) We are settling into our routines and learning how to do life as a team. Everyday we have time set aside to hang out as a team, and we take turns “hosting” team time. The day...
Originally posted 1/21/2021 I have a long list buried in the depths of notes on my phone full of countries I want to travel to. The top ones are pretty typical like Australia, Spain, and Switzerland. And the primary focus has been Europe and Asia. I've been to South America, but I didn't have much interest in going back in the near future, or in going to Central America. Those countries weren't even on my bucket...
Originally posted 1/17/2021 The time for launch had finally arrived. After months of wondering if I would ever go back on the Race I found myself surrounded by my squad mates back on the AIM campus in Georgia. It was what I had been dreaming of since March. Yet I couldn’t seem to fully feel the excitement of it. Things looked very different this time around. We all had to wear masks, we were split into our t...