World Race Krystle Esch -

Remembering a Year Video

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Today is officially the last day of the World Race! I can't believe it! Tonight we'll be flying into Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

The last couple of weeks have been a whirlwind, lots of things to process. This video is a brief summary of things our team experienced in the last 11 months.

Hospital Ministry In Guatemala

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This is from a few weeks ago, while I was in Guatemala, but I never got around to blogging about it... My experience there was great, different from anything else we've done on the race. A group of girls and I stayed in Antigua, Guatemala for about 10 days, and volunteered at a hospital/ orphanage for handicapped people. Their mental and physical disabilities ranged in severity, but unfortunately, many of their symptoms were worsened by lack of stimulation and attention. It was challenging and a little awkward at first, but by the end I had fallen in love with several of the people there, and was sad to leave.

My favorite person to visit in the children's ward was a ten year-old boy named Diego. The children are put to bed in their cribs around 1:00pm, and aren't taken out again until 8:00am the next morning. Even when they're out, they spend most of the day lined up in their wheelchairs unless a visitor or volunteer is there to play with them.

On one afternoon, the courtyard was quiet except for a couple of kids, including Diego. I sat beside him and started tossing a small plastic ball into his lap, and his smile and laugh were so encouraging that soon we were racing around the courtyard playing soccer with a giant exercise ball.

That was the moment for me when I really realized that each one of the people there had unique personalities hidden behind their disabilities, it's sad that they're not always discovered. Something changed for me, and from then on I found it much easier to connect with the residents. I especially looked forward to seeing Diego's smile each day!

Diego and me

We also spent a lot of time in the young women's ward, which doesn't usually get as many visitors. The day before we left we were able to take 10 of the women out to lunch at a fast-food chicken restaurant down the street. It's a rare treat for them to go out like that, so there was lots of smiling, clapping, and even dancing that morning! We had so much fun with them, it was a really special experience for all of us.

Although we weren't in Guatemala very long, it was a really impactful time for me. It's tempting to ask a lot of "why?" questions in situations like that, but I just accepted that there are things I don't understand, and that God is at work in the midst of suffering.
I was blessed by Diego and others, I believe that their reward in Heaven will be great, and it makes me smile to imagine the day that they are liberated from everything that hinders them and brought into glorious freedom.

"...our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope thatthe creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God... Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies... But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently...

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him..." -Romans 8:18-21,23,25,28

Us with the 10 girls we took out to lunch

Me with Lupe, my lunch date!

The Heart Of Jesus In The Dump

Tue, 8 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Today we visited a city dump in Managua, and I was completely humbled. Not only because of the conditions that the people live and work in, but because of the greeting I received.

You can smell the dump long before you actually enter it, a mixture of burning trash and things rotting. There are flies swarming everywhere, so I was thankful for the light rain because it seemed to keep them off us a little. As we were walking in, I just kept praying "Jesus, help me have Your heart here today."

We had no agenda, so Aaron, Jeanette, and I were walking around, praying and seeking whatever the Lord had for us there. I was just saying to them how it's sometimes awkward to be in those situations, because I don't want people to think that we came there just to take some pictures and say we came. Right then, a woman working yelled and waved at us. We waved back, and after a short exchange with Aaron, she suddenly dropped her tools, ran over to us, and greeted us with hugs.

She told us that her name is Michelle, she's a Christian, and she's been working in the dump for fifteen years, since she was 12. I noticed two colorful plastic rings on her fingers, and when I pointed them out, she didn't hesitate to take one off and place it on my finger, saying something I didn't understand, and gesturing to her heart and mine.

She held our hands, and we walked and talked for a while, until the light rain started turning into a downpour. Before I knew it, Michelle ran off into the garbage pile, and returned with a muddy piece of tarp that she put over my head and hers. We all huddled together until the rain died down, and then

she led us to her house nearby.

It was a tiny shack, with barely enough room for one small bed. Her twin daughters sleep there, she said, and she and her husband sleep on the floor. In the corner was a barrel of clothing, and she insisted on giving me a dry shirt out of it that I could change into.

We stayed and talked for a little while, praying over her and her home, and making plans to meet again later this week. She found a small umbrella for me to use while walking back to the entrance, where she flagged down a garbage truck for us to catch a ride on back to the street.

I was still in somewhat of a state of disbelief as I looked back and waved goodbye.

From the first moment she ran over, Michelle had shown me nothing but selfless love, the kind that many Christians only talk about. She was constantly looking after my needs, offering everything she had to me without expecting something in return. She didn't need to do any of it, she could have waved and let us keep walking. I was praying for the heart of Jesus, and I encountered her face-to-face. We talk about going to places like that to minister to people, but I was the one ministered to. God, help me to love people the way that I was loved today.

More Pictures From The Dump:

Pictures of Pacaya

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A lot has happened since I last blogged... We traveled for four days by bus from Panama up to Guatemala, where we stayed for about 10 days before getting back on a bus to come to Nicaragua, our last country! I can't believe it!

I'll try to catch up on my blogging, there's a lot to tell... But for now, here's some pictures of us at a volcano we visited in Guatemala.

We were even able to roast marshmallows over the lava! It was one of the coolest things I have even seen or done. Seeing the power and beauty of God's creation in a whole new way was incredible!

Kuna Yala

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We came back from the islands yesterday morning. The 10 days we spent there were some of best days of the race for me! The island that we stayed on was small, you can walk from one side to the other in about a minute. It's packed with many small houses made of reeds. We slept in hammocks in the church building, which was fun once I mastered sleeping on my side in one. There wasn't much privacy, since there was no door, and 3 sides of the building have blocks with holes in them. At first I felt a little like we were living in a fish bowl, but it didn't take long to get used to it.

When we weren't playing with kids, or hanging with the locals, we did a variety of things... led a youth Bible study, did several children's program's, gave testimonies, picked up trash, prepped the Pastor's boat for re-painting, and helped re-build some church walls on another island. "You don't build your houses like this in the States?" a guy asked me as I watched how to attach the reeds with twine. "No, not quite" I said. But I am now much more confident in my island-hut-wall-building abilities.

We also took a couple of outings to nearby islands to swim. The water was beautiful! The day before we left, we took about 15 kids from the church swimming with us, it was so much fun! At any given moment I had kids hanging on my back, climbing on my shoulders, and grabbing at my arms. My throat, nose, and eyes were burning with salt water from being unexpectedly pushed or dragged under water, but I loved every minute of it! I'll remember that day as a highlight of the race for sure.

It was a great experience to be so immersed in the Kuna culture, we were all sad to say good-bye.
Our living conditions were not luxurious- We drank greenish-yellow river water with some sketchy looking "floaties" in it, used a squat toilet that opened up over the ocean (I did a routine cockroach check before using it at night,) and took bucket showers- but I feel strangely refreshed after our time there. It was just what I needed to be energized for the last leg of the race, and I'm looking forward to whatever comes next!

Headed For The Islands

Thu, 29 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After another 16 hour bus ride, we're back in Panama! We've been staying in Panama City this past week, tutoring at an international school, and doing various other ministries.
Tomorrow morning our team is leaving for 10 days to go to Kuna Yala, a group of Islands North of here inhabited by indigenous people called the Kuna people. We're not exactly sure what we'll be doing during our stay there, but the local missionary we'll be working with has said that there is a need for encouragement, teaching, and prayer for the local pastors and churches.
We'll probably be out of touch until we get back to the city, so I'll update you again then!

The Panama Canal

Update from Panama

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Sorry I haven't updated my blog in a while... Here's what I've been up to-
Aaron, Christie, Jackie and I came down to Panama last week to do some setup for the rest of the squad. We'll go back to Costa Rica this weekend for debrief, and then we'll all be coming back here around the 25th.

There's a lot of urban ministries here in Panama City that we are really excited to get involved in. We found a cheap hostel to stay at in Casco Viejo, which is an older part of the city. It's in a great central location, and they've given us an amazing deal, so we were rejoicing about that yesterday!

With the exception of Aaron, I've been away from the rest of my team now for over a week now. It's been strange, and has caused me to think a lot about what it's going to be like in a couple of months when we'll be going home... It will be so hard to leave them!

Please pray that things will continue to fall into place for us here. We have a couple more contacts to get in touch with before we leave. As the first World Race team in Panama, we're hoping to build some lasting relationships with people and ministries here that can be continued by future teams. It's our first real time doing setup, so it's been a good experience, and we're looking forward to being here next month!

Learning to Be

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Several weeks ago, when our team was praying about what to do during our last few weeks in Africa, we felt the Lord was telling us to fast and spend time in solitude with Him before we went anywhere else. So we fasted together and prayed for three days.

I have to say, it was kind of difficult for me. Not the fasting, or the praying, but the "not doing" part of it. Time in Africa was running short, and I was anxious to go. To help the poor, feed the hungry, love the unloved... But over and over again God kept saying to me "intimacy first."

I was talking about it with Aaron, how it was difficult to not feel like we were wasting precious time, and I said something to him like "Three days seems like a long time now, but when you look at the big picture, three days of your life isn't much if it teaches you how to be intimate with God." Afterward I started thinking more about what I had said, and realized how true it really is.

A couple weeks later, as we were preparing to leave Africa, I was thinking about the future, about the passion God has given me to care for orphans, and I was wondering if and when (not so much if as when, actually) I would be able to return to Africa to do that. Soon, I hope. My heart always beats a little faster when I think about it, and I start to get a sense of urgency.

As I thought about it that day though, I was suddenly reminded of the woman who anointed Jesus with expensive perfume.

me and Traci dressed up for an evening out in Costa Rica

He praised her intimate act, and rebuked the disciples for accusing her of being wasteful. "The poor you will always have with you," he said. I've heard Bible lessons on that story before, but here's what it meant to me at that moment:

There will always be orphans for me to care for. But even the urgency of their needs cannot come before my intimacy with Christ. It is never a waste of my time, or anything else, to place "being" before "doing." Something Gary Black said that sticks out in my mind is "lovers always out-do doers." If I am constantly seeking intimacy, my "doing" will flow naturally out of love, and my oil will not run dry. The impact I have on the orphans of the world will be far greater if I can learn this lesson first, and then pass it on to them as well.

Reflecting on the 3 months we spent in Africa, I can see that this is a central theme of what God is teaching me. Not just going to church, but being the church. Not just doing the will of God, but being the will of God. It's freeing, actually. Especially as the end of the race gets nearer, and I'm compelled to seek God's will for the next unknown phase of my life. As Andrew Shearman said to us, "The will of God is that you be." Then whatever way I go, to the right or to the left, I will hear a voice behind me saying "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21

Snapshots of Madrid

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Back to The Other Side of The World!

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

More than eighty hours after leaving Badplaas, South Africa, with stops in Madrid and Bogota, we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica! It's strange to now be back in the same timezone as my home!

We've spent the last several days recovering from jet lag and searching out ministry opportunities for this next month.

I think that my team will be leaving tomorrow for a smaller town about 3 hours East of here.

It's exciting to be in a new country and learn about another new culture. Maybe I can finally learn some Espanol!

Catching some sleep in the Bogota, Columbia airport...
that's me under the red blanket, with Traci beside me

Africa Slideshow

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Ignite Africa Slideshow from Traci on Vimeo

Ministry in Mozambique

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We came back to South Africa from Mozambique yesterday, we had an amazing time there! In only about 10 days we were able to accomplish a lot. We stayed with a missionary named Don Foster, who works with Iris Ministries. About two months ago he took over the "Benjamin Project," for young men who grew up in Iris orphanages, and are now finishing their education and being equipped for life on their own. There are about 11 guys between the ages of 22-25 who live at the base.

Don with two guys in the program

Before we left, our team spent 3 days fasting and praying about what God wanted us to do in our remaining time in Africa. When we heard about Don and his ministry, we all knew that it was where we needed to go. Reflecting now on the last week and a half, I can see even more clearly that we were exactly where God wanted us.

Don is working on his own, and when we came he told us that he was "at the end of his rope," in desperate need of help and encouragement. We worked together with him to make and a list of needs, and did our best to meet as many as we could during our short stay. The other girls and I had a great time blessing Don by cooking, cleaning and doing our own "While You Were Out: Mozambique Edition." We also took care of some other needs around the property, including hauling cinder blocks, chopping down a tree, leveling dirt for a new church building, and giving tick baths to 3 giant Bull Mastiffs.

living room before....and after!

When we weren't busy doing manual labor, we had the chance to visit two Iris orphanages, go on Jesus Film outreaches, attend an amazing worship service in Maputo, and take 26 boys from an orphanage to a reservoir for an afternoon of swimming (and washing hair for those of us in need of a shower.)

So it was a busy 10 days, but I enjoyed every minute of it. It was a great way to end our time here in Africa. Today we'll start our debrief, and on Sunday we leave for Central America. We have a 24 hour layover in Madrid on the way, so we're looking forward to getting out and seeing some of the city!

Also, you might have noticed that we've had a new face in our team pictures... Tracey Caufield has been with us for most of our time in Africa, and officially joined our team last month. We're so excited to have another family member! You can read about her story on some other blogs:

"And Then There Were 8" -by Aaron

"team Ignite just got a little more awesome" - by Megan

We're off to Mozambique!

Sat, 5 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This is just a quick note to let you know what's happening...
We're in South Africa right now, this afternoon half of our team, including me, will be leaving for Mozambique. The rest of the team will join us there in a few days. We'll be helping a missionary there who teaches life skills to orphans, and does evangelism ministry.
We probably won't have internet there, so I'll catch up with blogging again in a couple of weeks when we come back here for debrief. In less than three weeks we'll be headed to Central America! Thanks for all you prayers and support!

An Easter to Remember

Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This Easter has to be the most memorable one I've ever had. Our whole squad went back down to Nsoko for the dedication of the church there, and Pastor Gift's ordaining.

It rained all night Saturday night, and when we got to the sight it was a muddy mess. My flip flops weighed about 10 pounds each within minutes of stepping off the bus, so I went barefoot the rest of the day along with many others. I finally got around to trying to wash the mud out of my skirt yesterday.

It was such a priviledge to be a part of the church planting. G-42 has a huge vision for a community center, marketplace, and orphan homes there. I'm excited to see what happens in Nsoko over the next few years!

Roadtrip!

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Traci, Megan, and I found ourselves with some free days a few weekends ago, so we decided to rent a car and take a little roadtrip to Nelspruit, South Africa. We had so much fun! We got in contact with some local South African missionaries, and they blessed us by letting us stay with their son and his wife. The house felt like a five star resort to me: nice beds, fluffy towels, a pool, and wireless internet! It was great! Having our own vehicle was a luxury too, we enjoyed being able to go wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted. And thankfully, Traci had no trouble driving on the "wrong" side of the road!

We asked our host if there was anything we could do to help out with her ministry, so one day she sent us to organize a room at their base. It was full of boxes and suitcases of donated items, so we sorted through everything and bagged it up. We couldn't resist trying on some of the very interesting clothes we found while we worked. We laughed and had fun the entire time!

We did have one unfortunate experience, however: my bag was stolen while we were at an internet cafe. Since I'm our team treasurer, I had our money and debit card in the bag, along with my own credit cards, camera, laptop power cord, and some other misc things. It has been stressful trying to deal with our team finances for the past couple of weeks, but things are slowly getting worked out. We were told that you haven't really experienced South Africa until you've had something stolen, so I guess now we have! Trying to fill out an incident report at the police station has left us with some memories to laugh at as well. (Read Traci's blog about the incident- "Stolen Goods" )

Overall, it was a very fun and relaxing weekend. We ate sushi, watched movies, bought a couple new shirts (getting new clothes is quite an event on the World Race!). Most of all, we were incredibly blessed by the people that we met. It was just what the three of us needed.

Philippines Revisited

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This is a flashback to a couple of months ago... Traci was able to finish this slideshow from our time in the Philippines. Looking back, I'm amazed at everything we experienced there! Enjoy!

Being the Church

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Last Sunday I attended one of the most beautiful "church services" I've ever been to. There were about 25 people in a scattered circle of couches and chairs. One man welcomed everyone, and then led us into worship with a guitar and singing. For the rest of the night there was no agenda. People shared scriptures, prayed aloud, sang, whistled, laughed, sat, stood, walked around, shared things the Lord was putting on their heart... no agenda. We ministered to the Lord and to one another. It was beautiful. And the presence of the Holy Spirit was strong.

As I was sitting there, I thought to myself "Why do we do it, why do we like to confine God to a program in a bulletin? What are we so afraid of?" We'll scare people off. It will be unorganized... messy... chaos maybe. We won't know how to fill the alloted time slot... or worse, we'll go over the alloted time slot.

Maybe we're afraid that if we take away our nicely prepared order of service, we'll be faced with the reality that there's nothing actually there except a building. Or maybe we're afraid what might happen if the Holy Spirit really did show up. After all, He has a reputation for making people look drunk, or take off their clothes and dance.

I've sat in so many church services in so many different churches and seen the same thing. People are bored. I'm often bored. But of course, you can't let that show because church is not supposed to be boring. So what do we do? Better chairs, better lights, better coffee, better musicians... Suddenly it's not so boring. It's fun and attractive, and before we know it we need a bigger building to hold all the people. But we haven't really solved anything.

When you strip everything away, we're still left with people who are hurting and dying inside. People are battling addictions and depression, marriages are falling apart, and nobody wants to say anything because at church you're supposed to have it all together. And if you want to, you can sit in the pew every Sunday and never be personally challenged or held accountable.

Small or large, conservative or charismatic, it doesn't matter... too many people go to church every Sunday, but never experience what it's like to be the church. I've been one of those people in the past. But I don't want to be anymore. These past 6 months I've been learning what it means to be the church. It's not easy.

It means opening yourself up to other people, exposing your wounds, confessing, forgiving, and being held accountable. It means humiilty and sacrifice. Intimacy and vulnerability. It means loving people whether you want to or not, and having your heart break for the lost and dying. It means letting God out of the conventional box we so often put Him in, and finding out that He's way bigger and wilder and more mysterious than we can ever know. And it's amazing.

praying around Moses' family home

Learning From Loss

Thu, 6 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

We buried Mcolisi yesterday. The past three days have been some of the most exhausting, most emotionally difficult, and most incredible days of my life.

It started on Monday when Traci and I went early in the morning to take Mcolisi (also known as Moses) to the hospital in Manzini. His persistent cough wasn't getting better, and we wanted the nutritional specialist to advise us about treating his malnutrition. After some lab tests, x-rays, and many long, hot hours, the doctor confirmed that he had pneumonia and said we needed to admit him. Traci had to be somewhere after lunch, so I spent the rest of the day in the children's ward with Moses. There aren't enough nurses to provide care for all the patients, so we had to have someone else stay at his bedside 24 hours a day. We had only begun to worry about how we were going to work that out.

It was a long rest of the day for me. I didn't have much with me since I hadn't been expecting to stay long. I sat on a wooden bench in front of Moses, crowded by other mothers watching their babies. Aside from showing which bed to put him in, the nurses didn't give any direction, so I was left with many questions. I finally managed to get one of them to hook his IV up and show me where to get milk for him. As a nurse, it was good for me to understand what it feels like to be a family member overwhelmed with concerns, since I'm usually on the other end.

Later that night two girls from the FYM team came to take my place. Part of me really wanted to stay the night, but I figured I would go home, rest, and come back better prepared the next day. I went to bed early and slept hard. I woke up at 5:15 in the morning when Molly's phone rang. Somehow I just knew. Even before I heard the voice on the other end- "Moses just died." I can't really describe how I felt just then. It wasn't shock, denial, or even sadness. I just sank into the reality of it- "This is it. This is the answer to our questions about what happens next in his life."

We dressed quickly and went to the hospital. I tried not to look at the bed where I'd last seen him as we walked past. We went down the hall and caught a glimpse through a doorway of his familiar baby blanket on a table. I went over and carefully unwrapped it, and then stood there and just sobbed. I knew he was dead, but part of me kept expecting to see his chest rise, or his face to make one of its silly expressions.

His mother was notified, arrangements were made, and we drove back to Nsoko that night to attend the 6am funeral the next morning.

He was buried in the middle of a hot, dry, dusty field. It was a surreal experience. Of the many ways we imagined his life ending up, this was not one of them. We had prayed over him so much, and I knew that his life would be greatly significant, that he would not be just another child who dies in obscurity in Africa.

As I watched them lower his tiny casket into the ground, and heard the dirt falling on it, I knew that he wasn't one of those children. His life was only 7 weeks long, but in that time he has touched the world. Those of us who knew him, held him, and loved him deeply have been forever changed by his life. Every person who saw him or heard his story has been affected.

It's been hard to experience this kind of loss, but the Lord is teaching me so much through it. I know that this kind of pain is something that I have to go through. Even Jesus experienced loss and grief. It also creates in me a sense of urgency. How many more babies died in Swaziland alone today? How many more mothers are sick and dying, leaving helpless children to fend for themselves? How many families are starving because drought has killed their crops? These are things that I see everyday now. And it's hard. But if there's anything I can learn from Mcolisi's life, it's this: I can make a difference. If a tiny, sick, helpless baby can change my world in 2 weeks, how many people's worlds can I change?

I really encourage you to also read these blogs by my team!

Traci's blog

The Life and Death of Moses- by Seth Jr.

This Is Our World- by Aaron

We Have A Baby!

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

There's been a recent addition to our family. His name is Mcolisi (pronounced with a click), which means "peacemaker" in Siswati, and he's a beautiful, 5 week-old baby. His four older siblings attend one of the care points that our team works at. His father abandoned the family, and his mother, Pelile, is sick with AIDS, unable to care for him. His 7 year-old sister was in the process of learning to be a mother when we learned of their situation.

Pelile agreed to let us care for him, so long as we bring him to the care point each time we go so that she can see him. When Traci took him from his home last week he was severely dehydrated and malnourished, weighing less than 5 pounds. Since then his health has been improving, and it's been a relief to hear him crying more these last few days as he gains strength.

We've been giving him antibiotics for a respiratory infection, and some special nutrients and electrolytes in addition to his regular formula. His "crib" is a wash basin that is the perfect size for his tiny body. A few of us have been taking turns with him sleeping in our tents, since his coughing and crying keeps at least one of us up most of the night.

Having him has been a huge joy to our team. In less than a week I've grown to love him so much. It's never tiring to watch his tiny face with its growing variety of expressions. He's passed from one set of arms to the next throughout the day, and he's a constant source of attention for the staff and tourists at the safari.

We're not sure yet what's going to happen to him when we leave. Pelile was admitted to the hospital the day before yesterday. There are several excellent homes for abandoned and orphaned babies that we know of, but it's a difficult and serious thing to ask a mother to sign over adoption papers, even when she could be dying.

So for now he's ours. We pray, prophesy, and speak life over him every day, dreaming about the possibilities that his life holds and the peacemaker that he's going to be.

For more stories and pictures of Mcolisi, check out my teammates blogs:

Don't Forget Me

how can I love one boy so much?

Ngunya & my lion friend

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

This month my team is helping at different care points in Nsoko, Swaziland. Every month, food for local underprivileged children is delivered to the care points, and the "gogo's," or grandmothers, are responsible for cooking and feeding the children who come each day. The children also receive free teaching for several hours each morning. The care point that I'm working at is called Ngunya. There are about 12 children between the ages of 2-5 who come regularly. Alexis and I have been helping teach the kids, and we're working on making some new charts and teaching aids for the teacher. We're also having a workshop later this week for the teachers from all the different care points, since most of them are uneducated and eager to learn new strategies and ideas. Please pray that our preparations for that will go smoothly, and that it will be a blessing and help to the teachers.

Also, we are priviledged to be camping at a safari lodge, where we wake up to the sound of roaring lions no more than 50 yards away, and have ostriches rummaging through our trash bins! I love it!

The Mystery of God, and The Shadow of His Wings

Wed, 6 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

My time here in Swaziland has been filled with teachings and debriefings with AIM staff and other pastors. Last week I had a one-on-one with Gary Black. We started out talking about the race and how it was going for me. He questioned me about some other things, and we talked about what in my life was holding me back spiritually. He also told me about different spiritual gifts that he saw in me, and ways that God could use me. At the end he helped lead me through a prayer to release the burdens and fear that were holding me back, and to accept the spiritual gifts God has given me. Afterward he told me that he was going to help hold me accountable to walking in those gifts and not letting fear hold me back. It was a very freeing experience for me, and I left with a feeling of excitement at what God is doing in my life.

The next day I had another one-on-one, this time with Mike, and I told him what had happened with Gary the day before. We talked about moving to the next level spiritually, and how there is no going back once you make that commitment. I didn't know exactly what it would mean in my life for me to move to the "next level," but it was something I have been wanting, and I knew that I was ready. So we prayed, and again I left with a feeling of excitement and anticipation of the ways that God was going to move.

That night in our evening session with Gary, he talked about jumping into the mystery of Godletting go of the different ways that we've always perceived God and allowing ourselves to live fully alive in the mystery of Him. I knew that something significant was going to happen that night for me.

At the end of his talk, everyone stood up with our eyes closed and our hands open and we began to pray. My hands started to tingle soon after I put them up, but I didn't think too much of it. Gary encouraged people to speak out things that the Lord was saying to them, and to prophesy over each other, but I just continued to pray. I knew this was something I couldn't do on my own, so I kept praying for the Spirit to come and fill me. After a while I noticed that I was swaying forward and backward, I couldn't help it it was just happening. Gary came over to me and told me to speak out what the Lord was telling me. He put his hand on my forehead, and as he did I felt an incredible rush of the Holy Spirit like I've never felt before. I felt like I was being physically pushed forward, and the only thing that was holding me up was his hand on my head.

I tried to speak, but I couldn't, so Gary helped me sit down. As I sat I suddenly felt a blackness engulf me. Later as I was trying to describe it, Gary asked if I knew what it was called. I said "no," and he said, "The shadow of His wings." When he said that, it described it perfectly. It was a feeling of something completely surrounding me, and in that moment I felt entirely safe. It was incredible.

I continued to pray as I was sitting, and I knew that whatever was supposed to happen that night wasn't overthat there was something more. I was praying to God "don't go yet, don't go yet." After a few minutes I stood up and lifted my hands again. The physical feeling of the Spirit coming on me was even more intense this time, my body was trembling. I finally prayed out loud "OK, God, I get it. I believe that You can use me in this way, and I'm sorry that I doubted "

Gary came over to me again, and I heard him say something to the rest of the group about the Spirit being on me. He said to them, "If you have any doubt or you need healing, have her pray for you." Then he said, "Man, I have doubts, you can pray for me." He took my hands and put them on the side of his head. Without thinking, I began to pray for him. Instinctively I moved my hands to his forehead, and the force of the Spirit was so great that I felt like my hands were burning into his head. It wasn't a super dramatic prayer, but there was no hesitation, the words just flowed. I don't think that I've ever prayed with as much authority as I did at that time.

When I finished, one of my teammates came and I began to pray for him as well. At that point I had to sit down because I could no longer stand. People gathered around me and I prayed for them one by one. Some were people that I didn't even know, but I just prayed whatever the Lord spoke to me.

By the time the last person came, I wasn't physically feeling the Holy Spirit as intensely as I had at the beginning, but as I was praying, I could distinctly hear the things that God wanted me to speak to her. I was watching her face, and I knew without a doubt that my words were not my own, they were exactly the words that God wanted her to hear. Afterward, she had tears in her eyes as she confirmed to me that that was exactly what she needed to hear at that timethat it meant so much to her that God had spoken those words to her.

So my desire to go to the next level spiritually was definitely fulfilled that night! I experienced God in a way that I never have before, and I know that I will never be the same. I feel like I finally broke through something, I've jumped into the mystery of God, and there is no going back.

I'm in Africa! And I love it!

Fri, 1 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After over 4 months in Asia, we've moved on to Africa and I'm so pumped to finally be here! It's my first time on this continent, and like everywhere I go... I love it!! My team laughs at me because wherever we happen to be at the moment, I usually say that it's my "favorite" place.

I was starting to wonder about that as we left Asia. I want to travel across the entire world. How will there be enough room for each of these "favorite" places in my heart? And how will I know where God wants me if I love everywhere? Then I remembered something that Molly had written to me in a note.
We had passed out folded pieces of paper with the names of each squad member on them. Without looking at the name, we asked God to give us words for that person, and we wrote them down. Then at the end we opened the paper and gave the note to that person. Her note to me contained a lot of truth that I needed to hear, but the truth for that moment was something like this "Relax into loving people with God's love and not your own."

It sounds simple, but in that moment it was profound to me. I don't have to worry about trying to figure out which place captures my heart the most, which people group I'm most "called" to, which country I could most see myself living in. God has given me a heart for the world, and I am content in the present wherever I might be. It's not just me loving this place and these people, it's God's love in me. And there's enough to go around the globe.
So yeah, this is my favorite place in the world right now! It's beautiful and the people are beautiful, and I love it!

The Least Of These

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

There are certain people from every country we've been to who have touched my heart in a such a way that I will never forget them. Last month, that person was a homeless Tibetan man. The first day I saw him I was just wondering around, taking pictures of the area. I briefly noticed the heap of blankets near the prayer wheels as I walked by, but didn't realize that there was a person under them until I turned around and was startled by the rather wild man staring back at me. I smiled at him and continued on, but later he kept coming back to my mind.

Megan and I decided to buy some bread and an orange to take back to him. His face was hidden under the blankets as we walked up, and I was a little uncertain how to approach him. After a moment he popped out and we handed him the food. He set it down beside him and pulled the blankets over his head again, so we kind of shrugged and went on our way. Later I walked back and smiled as I saw the orange peel lying nearby him.

In the days that followed I made it a habit to stop by and bring him food. Armed with some Tibetan phrases, I tried to ask him his name, but got only mumbles in response. I was never quite sure whether he was in his right mind or not. Nevertheless, I chatted happily with him each time while I opened a to-go box of food and handed him some chopsticks. On about the third time I visited him, he finally smiled slightly back at me, and from that moment I began developing a love for him that I can't really explain.

I was excited to see him each day, and didn't mind putting on my many layers of clothing to go and visit. Several times I woke up in the middle of the night and prayed for him as I thought of him sleeping in the freezing weather outside. The one Tibetan phrase that I was most excited to learn was "God loves you." I wish that I could have talked more with him, but this month was a lot about me trusting that people could sense the Holy Spirit in me, and that He would speak to them even when I couldn't. I also trusted that even through my simple actions, I was serving not just a homeless man, but Christ himself.

"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25:40

Quick Update

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Hi everyone, I have a lot to catch you up on from the past several weeks, but not enough time right now...
Our team is leaving for a closed Asian country, so for safety reasons we will not have any internet/ phone use for the next several weeks. Please keep us in your prayers! Here are some requests:

We have a 50 hour train ride ahead of us, so pray that we will use that time wisely and will be able to minister to those we meet.

Pray that we will be sensitive to the Lord's voice, and bold in following His direction.

Pray for continued unity on our team. We've been told there's a spirit of criticism in this country, so pray that we will come against that with encouragement!

Pray for strongholds to be broken and the Kingdom of God to advance!

I'll write more when we return, thank you for your support!
PS- I'm super excited that we get a break from the warm weather for these next few weeks! Seeing my breath this morning was amazing!

The Best Amazing Greatest Day Ever

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

From a couple weeks ago...

When I first imported my pictures from today to my computer, I labeled the folder "best day ever pictures," but Megan and I agreed that more adjectives were needed to adequately describe the day. So it's now the "best amazing greatest day ever."

Jeanette, Megan, Seth and I left after lunch to visit Pastor Robert Nunez and his wife, Virgie, again. We had about an hour after we arrived before they planned to start worship, so I set off with a small following of children to walk around the neighborhood. As we went, more and more children joined us, laughing at my attempts to remember (and pronounce) all of their names. They eagerly guided me through alleyways, around mud puddles, and across bamboo bridges. Holding their hands and laughing, I was already thinking what a great day it was turning out to be.

Before we started worship, we were able to present Pastor Robert with a new guitar. "Glory to God!" he shouted, raising it high, and immediately he began to play. The church we stood in was a cramped bamboo hut with dirt floors and a roof that leaks when it rains. It is also the pastor's home, their tiny room attached serves as a Sunday School room. But as we worshiped, I was reminded again of what little importance the physical structure of achurch really is.

Later we led the way to a community basketball court/ stage area to do a children's program. Virgie told us she usually has about 25 kids in church, so we should plan for 50. We did, and still ended up hastily cutting more ribbons to have enough for the angel craft we did later. We all agreed it was probably the best children's program we've done so far. Kids, adults, and teenagers alike were gathered around, cheering at the games, singing the songs, and shouting the memory verse. I helped tie wings on coffee filter angels until the last bit of daylight was gone.

We had dinner back at the church with several other pastors who had come along with us. Pastor Robert and Virgie stood and watched while we ate, as seems to be the custom here. It was a simple meal of rice, fish, and soup made with cabbage, sweet potatoes, and bananas. We were told that the fish was the best fish in The Philippines, and it was delicious. We were humbled though to think that these precious people would offer us the best there was, even as the rain began to fall and leak through their thatched roof.

We prayed and said goodbye, as the children gathered our belongings for us. Carrying our bags and water bottles, they ran with us through the rain to our truck. A boy not older than seven held my hand to guide me across a slippery area. They stood waving their hands and shouting our names as we pulled away.

I've definitely had days with more interesting or exciting events than today, but there was just something about it... Even after just two days, that community has become a favorite of mine.

Into The Arms Of The Father: III

Fri, 7 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This morning I went back to check on Marvin.
All night long his family had taken turns manually pumping his Ambu bag. His father was tired, and seemed distracted as he did it now, so I offered to take over. I watched his tiny chest rise and fall with each pump, and stared into his unblinking eyes. Now and then a tear would slip down his cheek. I wondered where his mind was, knowing it was far from his deteriorating body.
His doctor came by to see him and she estimated that he had no more than 72 hours to live, regardless of any treatment he received.

This afternoon we learned that his family decided to remove his breathing tube and take him home so that he could comfortably pass away. He died before they could.

The past few days have been emotionally exhausting. I don't really know why God brought me into Marvin's life so near to it's end. Maybe for his family. Maybe because I've been praying for brokenness. In any case, I'm still thankful for the chance to be part of this story. I couldn't help but smile tonight as I imagined Marvin being welcomed into the arms of The Father.

Into The Arms Of The Father: II

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

As we approached Marvin's hospital bed, I saw that he had been intubated. His cousin was erratically hand pumping oxygen to his lungs, his eyes red with tears. I gently reminded him to keep a steady rhythm. Marvin's father was leaning against the wall, the same anguished look in his eyes as before. Occasionally he would gently pick up his sons' hand and let it fall back to the pillow, as if willing him to regain life. His mother wiped the sweat from his forehead with a dirty rag.

I learned then that Marvin had bacterial meningitis. The medicine he needed, Phenytoin, was to keep him from having seizures. We took the prescription to the pharmacy across the street, and returned with $50 worth of medications and IV fluids. After praying with the family I returned to the base, fell down on the nearest bed, and sobbed.

A few hours later I returned to the hospital to check on Marvin. The medication had still not been given. A doctor was there now, and she said that the first dose needed to be a larger amount. We would need to buy 3 more $25 vials, and 2 more every day after that. The doctor told me again that his condition was very critical, and even if he survived he would have permanent brain damage.

I knew that we didn't have money to buy the first dose of medicine, let alone the following doses.
I also knew that it wouldn't cure him, he would likely still die. I couldn't keep the tears from flowing as
I talked this over with the doctor. I hated being put in the position of deciding how much care Marvin would receive.
I knew that the family would purchase the medicine if they were able to, so that's what I decided to do.

The pharmacy across the street was out of Phenytoin, so we spent 30 minutes walking in search of one that did. When we finally found it, it was even more expensive than the previous ones, but by then I didn't care.
I came home exhausted and tearfully tried to explain the situation to my team. They reassured me that I did the right thing, and we would somehow get the money we needed.

Into The Arms Of The Father: I

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Today an eight year old boy named Marvin died. I never actually talked to him, I don't really know much about him, but I don't think I'll ever forget him.

When I first saw Marvin four days ago, he was lying limp and half naked in a hospital bed that smelled like a mixture of sweat and urine. His mother sat by his side, holding his tongue down with a padded depressor while his body shook with fever. We visited him with his pastor, having been told he had a UTI, but I knew that it must be more complicated than that. I saw the anguished look in his father's eyes as he fought back tears, and I was moved to tears as well. We didn't stay long, but even later as we drove home I could barely think about Marvin without wanting to cry. We've heard a lot of sad stories, met a lot of hurting and needy people, but for some reason this boy got to me in a way that no one else had.

The next evening we heard that Marvin's condition had worsened, and he was transferred to a hospital here in Bacolod. Yesterday morning our team decided we would help pay for Marvin's hospital expenses, since we knew his family didn't have much money. A few hours later we were told that Marvin had died, and my heart broke. It turned out to be a miscommunication, Marvin was alive, but the doctors told the parents he had little chance of survival. He was not receiving the medications he needed because the family could not afford them. We agreed to buy them, and I was elected to go while my team left for our ministry. I accompanied two ICM staff workers to the hospital a short walk away. I wasn't sure what my purpose that afternoon would be, so I just told God that I was available, and prayed for His direction.

Our Ministry This Month

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I wanted to give you a quick idea of where we are and what our ministry looks like this month:

We're in Bacolod City, on Negros Island, working with an organization called International Care Ministries. ICM has different outreach programs such as medical missions, feeding programs, film showings, and children's ministries.

Our main purpose this month is to visit local pastors on the island to encourage them, help with building projects, make church member visitations, and do outreach programs.

Here are some of the the pastors we've visited so far:

Pastor Sunny Gicalde has a church in a slum that was relocated from the city to the countryside. Right now they have no church building, so they are meeting in someone's house. They've purchased a small lot of land for a parsonage, and are hoping to start building soon. The plot was originally supposed to be for the church as well, but they've realized it's not large enough, and are hoping that they can buy the surrounding lots as well in the future.

Their needs: 50,000 pesos ( about $1,175) for the building project.

Prayer Requests: For the people of Abada Escay, for the building project, and for the opportunity/funds to purchase more land.

Pastor Sunny's future parsonage

Pastor Robert Nunez, and his wife, Virgie, have pioneered Manta-Angon Full Gospel Church for two years. They have about 30-40 adults and 25 children that attend regularly. The weekly offering is 30-60 pesos ($0.70- $1.40) and they live by faith. This is a fishing community, so church attendance is seasonal. Their church building is makeshift, and does not keep out the rain. This community captured my heart more than any we've been to so far on the race. The people are poor, but incredibly generous and hospitable. The children are natural servants. They followed us as we made house visits, and would take off and put on our sandals for us as we entered and left houses. Pastor Robert and Virgie and extremely committed!

Their Needs: A new church roof. 15,000 pesos ($353) to buy a second area for a children's building.

Prayer Requests: To finish the church building, to bring more young people into the church.

Neighborhood of the church

Pastor Robert & Virgie

Pastor Raul Macatunao and his wife, Pastora Norma, have a small church in a beachside community. They have a small bamboo meeting hut and the beach, but are also in the process of building a larger building nearby. We were able to fund a cement floor for the church, which was poured last week. Two days later we returned for a dedication service. We did a children's program, youth program, and women's Bible study here. It is an amazing community!

Their Needs: Funds for church walls, bathroom, kitchen, and lighting.

Prayer Requests: Spiritual growth of the people, and restoration of the young people.

Prayer hut on the beach

Raul & Norma with church members

The new cement floor at the church

Thanksgiving & My Birthday

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I turned 23 on Thanksgiving Day, and it was a great birthday! We have the luxury of a large supermarket nearby, so our team was excited that we would be able to buy food for Thanksgiving dinner. We were even more excited when we found a real Butterball turkey!

We did not, however, in our excitement, check out the kitchen before making our purchases. None of us had seen it at that point since we'd only arrived the night before. We returned home to find that there was no oven. Visions of a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, with toast to eat, momentarily ran through my head.

Unwilling to give up on our turkey though, we finally found a way to cook it. Our hosts brought us a small clay pot with coals, and we placed the turkey in a frying pan and set it over the pot. The rest of the dishes we were able to make on the stove-top with slight modifications. I did end up making a large plateful toast, but only to make into stuffing :)

After dinner my team surprised me with a carrot cake, my favorite!

cooking the turkey

Seth did the honors of carving it

enjoying our meal