Oh hey there friends! It's me! From a whole brand new page! If you have read my most recent blog on gretchenwaters.theworldrace.org you know that AIM is making a big switch in websites and you can now follow my World Race journeys HERE on this page. Below I have posted some prominent and popular blogs that will help you see into a couple of my trips overseas while participating and leading. Looking f...
once again, a whole year later, i write from my bed in asheville, north carolina after yet another wild 9 months. the past year of my life has been nothing sort of challenging, transitional, inconsistent, and undeniably hard. BUT!! (as always) it has been one of the most growing, fruitful, and fulfilling seasons of my life. in august 2021 i moved back to georgia to support and lead a group of 5 women thro...
so here’s the thing, i’m sitting on a hostel bed in san jose, costa rica. & that wasn’t the plan. but i had a lot of other plans that haven’t gone exactly the way i was hoping or expecting. how did i get here? let’s go back to almost a month ago… i finished up my time as alumni team leader for my 5 gals - literal angels whom my heart cannot help but love so much. we spent two weeks at la montaña chr...
The last time I wrote a blog, that wasn't a life update, I was living in the Dominican Republic and prepping my heart for both the end of the race & the beginning of team leading. My summer can be described as grief, release, understanding, friendship, travel, & understanding the kindness of the Lord. The beginning of September brought me into the new season of Alumni Team Leading in Gainesville, Georgia. Rig...
Here we are. Month 9. In two weeks we touch down in the States and this thing called the race is over. It feels as though we’ve been here forever. But also, where did the time go? I remember the excitement of loading up the truck and driving the 2 ½ hours to AIM base. Watching familiar faces flash by my window who I vaguely knew from GroupMe. I was led into my first campsite (there were many moves to come...
Today I saw the kingdom of heaven in a five year old boy. He came out of the house across from the base pavilion, wandering over to the swing set. After sitting for hours alone, I could use the company. At first he pretended I wasn’t there and kept swinging his small legs back and forth. A few more questions later he got up and began walking away. Thinking it was time to give up I watched as he approached a so...
It was day two of ministry here in Santiago, Dominican Republic and my team was making it's way through a neighborhood. We had visited an older, Catholic family, a hesitant Haitian woman, and an 18 year old girl who needed healing. With under an hour until break a woman beckoned for us to enter her home. We crowded around the dining room table while another woman took her spot on the bed. There was a small infant...
For years and years I spent most of my time in the dance studio training to be a classical ballerina. Dedicated hours to create images and expressions for performance and future careers. I had been dreaming up a life for so long I lost sight of who I really was and everything else I had going for me. One thing led to another and dance basically left my life in the middle of high school. But there was something...
Way back in Gainesville, Georgia I learned a lot about freedom. The understanding and meaning of freedom, how to live in it, and even what it looks like to NOT live in freedom after learning what it is. And now I'm experiencing yet a new layer of what true freedom is. When i first came to Costa Rica the Lord gave me a word: Liberty. Liberation. A deeper freedom that only some can experience....