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Drive from Kenya to Tanzania (pictures)



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Kenya in a nutshell



My Month In Kenya

Kenya was a really good month. We were blessed to have AMAZING contacts (Ben and Christine..AKA mama). They always made sure we were comfortable, well fed and relaxed. At breakfast and diner we all got to sit around the table with them and it always felt like family time together.

For the first week we did construction to build a church. We shoveled, mixed cement, shoveled, carried bricks, shoveled, layed bricks and shoveled some more. We got to talk to some really cool guys and start to see the building come together. Even though it was hard work it was actually a real fun time.
For the remainder of the time we got to spend a lot of time at Gilgal high school/orphanage. We spent a lot of time getting to know the students and their stories. I think they were more of an encouragement to me then I was able to be to them. Many of them had heartbreaking stories but continued to have faith in God and a positive attitude
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We also got the chance to evangelize in slum areas
 
At the end of our month we decided to make an american meal for our contacts and all of the people that helped cook and clean for us. We made them cheeseburgers, french fries and brownies. It wasn't an easy task because cooking in an african kitchen is much differnt from what we are used to. It ended with us cooking over coals in the backyard. The brownies were more of just batter but in the world race chocolate is chocolate! It was the first time for any of our new friends had tried hamburgers or brownies...weird huh? Half of them enjoyed it and the other half didn't really want anything to do with it. It was humerous to watch their confused faces when we put the burger on bread with lettuce, tomato and ketchup together.
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renewing of heart and refreshing of spirit



Ok so I haven't blogged in a while. Let me fill you all in on why.

Last month I was in Thailand. It was a month of everything that could have went wrong did. A month of sickness, tears, frustrations, homesickness and claustrophobia.

For the first half of the month we were in Bangkok working in a leper colony. Also for the first half of the month I was sick in bed. Having to stay back by myself in a boring room all the time made me feel really homesick. I wanted nothing more than to be home. After 10 days of sickness I finally went to the hospital. They told me I had bacteria in my intestines (result of food poisoning that went bad) and bad dehydration. They kept me overnight in the hospital with an IV in my arm. When I woke up the next morning there was a show outside of my 14 story hospital room...BOMBS! We turned on the TV and got to watch what was going on in the news right outside my window.


 
 
 
 
 
For the whole month of Thailand I could not get money. My bank put a hold on my card because of all the fraud going on in Thailand. I tried about 6 different banks and none of them could help me either. So it was a month of always asking team mates to buy me things and pay for food/transportation...and a month of having long tabs of debt to pay off.

For the second half of the month we were in Pattaya. We had to fit 9 girls in a VERY small room. We slept 3 to a bed on a box-spring mattress. In Pattaya we did red light ministry. It was really hard to talk to a young girl and then watch her get bought by a man 3 times her age. Since I was sick in Bangkok I never got to do my laundry before we left for Pattaya. EVERYTHING was dirty. I tried to wash it at the place we stayed at in Pattaya...the washer broke down on me leaving me with wet soapy clothes and no dryer. Because it was so humid outside my clothes were still wet 3 days later.

My internet NEVER worked. Everyone's  internet would work and as soon as they would let me use their computer...the internet would stop. I just wanted to talk to home.

I thought that Thailand was going to be one of those months that just sucked and I would learn nothing from. WRONG. The problem all along was me. It was my attitude towards things and my stubbornness. I didn't want to be cheerful through all my trials, I didn't want to go to God to give me strength, I didn't even want to be on the race anymore. When it was finally time to leave Thailand and fly to Kenya I was so happy to get out of that country. Once in Kenya God really hit me hard. I was not going to be able to go through the rest of the race letting my frustrations get in the way and I certainly wasn't going to get through the race on my own strength. I finally threw my selfishness aside and went to God for help (DUH..what I knew I should have done all along). I didn't like who I was in Thailand. The world race has a habit of bringing out the worst in me. It is like a constant state of brokenness...a constant process that causes me to realize something I don't like about myself and allowing God fix it. God said "so what are you going to do about it? You know what you don't like about yourself when your frustrated, how are you going to fix it?" I couldn't let my frustrations get the best of me anymore. I couldn't let anything affect my walk with God or cause me to stumble and shut down. I don't have to do things on my own because God is there when you need him and even when you don't.

I feel like ever since I have been in Kenya I have had a brand new attitude about things. Yes, things still went wrong..I lost my favorite necklace, my internet still didn't work, I thought I lost my shoes, but none of it mattered. As soon as I started relying on God's strength and not my own my attitude completely changed. Thank Jesus for his grace and patience!

I guess Thailand wasn't a complete disaster after all. No, I would never want to relive the month I had because honestly I was miserable. But I do dwell on how horrible it was because God used it for good. He taught me a valuable lesson that will carry on for the rest of my life. Sometimes there are trials but there is always a light at the end if you let God use the for good.





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You Know Your In The Malaysian Jungle When....



 



You Know Your In The Malaysian Jungle When...
  1. 1.     Roosters start crowing at 2AM
  2. 2.     You get a leech while bathing in the river (Miranda)
  3. 3.     All the men go running into the jungle with spears to catch a wild boar
  4. 4.     20 geckos climb your walls at night time
  5. 5.     You see your teamate go into the bushes with just a chair frame and you know its to poop with (Matt)
  6. 6.     You never feel dry because you sweat so bad
  7. 7.     You Wake up with s swollen face and rash all over your body and don't know why (Lauren)
  8. 8.     You Have chickens run into your "bedroom" and jump into your bags
  9. 9.     You Eat flowers and bark off trees
  10. 10.You can swing off vines into the river
  11. 11.You see a 2 year old using a machette as a toy
  12. 12.You wash your clothes and bathe at the same time
  13. 13.Diner consists of fish, chicken, duck, board or turtle and ALWAYS rice.
  14. 14.You get pinched by a scorpian during group worship (Lauren)
  15. 15.Your head itches and you don't know if its from dirt, dandruff or bugs
  16. 16.You see a family of 5 on 1 motorcycle
  17. 17.You start communicating with grunts and hand gestures because ther is no translator
  18. 18.A 62 year old man is sitll having babies
  19. 19.Using a fork seems foreign because you eat everything with your hands
  20. 20.The ants and centipedes are the size of texas
  21. 21.You run out of water and start drinking from the stream...hoping you will be OK
  22. 22. Bamboo can be used for anything and everything
  23. 23.Your lips swell up for days from eating raw mango (Miranda and Karen)
  24. 24.A 47 year old has 13 children and 27 grandsons
  25. 25.You have to teach english even though they can't understand what directions you are trying to give them
  26. 26. Your bathroom is 5 steps outside of your "home"...AKA...the tree line
  27. 27.You dont wash your hair for 5 days straight
  28. 28. 90degrees feels like a cool day
  29. 29.The men only acknowledge you after you go logging with them
  30. 30. You have to clean your nolgene with bleach because it starts to smell like a fish bowl
  31. 31. You can either choose the head or tail of the fish they serve
  32. 32. Kids watch you from all angles while you bathe
  33. 33. 5 year old girls carry around their 3 day old sister everywhere
  34. 34. Spilling things doesn't matter because you can just sweep everything through the bamboo floors
  35. 35. You have to chase your soap down the river everyday
  36. 36.  You feel like your teeth are going to fall out from all the sugar in your drinks
  37. 37. Your legs look like you have chicken poz but its just mosquito bites.
  38. 38. You pull a fish spine out of your mouth and havn't eaten any fish
  39. 39.Hanging a mosquitio net makes you feel like a princess in a palace
  40. 40.You have to take a 15 minute uphill walk just to get to the begining of your work day
  41. 41.Babies get dropped in your lap and then pee on you
  42. 42.Slap-jack is the only way to interact with the pastor
  43. 43.You don't where deodarant just to keep the mosquitoes away.
  44. 44. You look down at your bowl and realize there are small fish heads all through your vegetables
  45. 45. You let a 14 year old boy drive you on his motorcycle while wearing a sarong, no helmet and no shoes.
  46. 46.Walk through a rubber tree forest
  47. 47.Let someone pierce your ear with a needle and string (caleb)
  48. 48. Watch children climb a vine like they are half monkey
  49. 49. Put garlic in your water to keep mosquitoes away
  50. 50. After you leave the jungle the first thing you do is find some oreos and icecream and soda.
                                      
                                    Leech (Miranda)                                                      Bad Rash (Lauren)
 
 
Ear Pierced (Caleb)
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Filipino Friends Forever



 

My Filipino Friends Forever

I never thought I would be able to love people as much as I loved the filipinos. I was with them for one month and my heart loved in a way I never knew possible. There is no way to describe it except to say that it truely was God's love coming through me.

Last month in the Philippines I made true friends. Friends that showed me more kindness and love than most people ever had.. They lived in Lower Manggahan-a squader community that we worked at all month. The first day we walked into Lower Manggahan my thoughts were of how dirty, smelly, and foreign the place was. The houses were made of wood, tin, cloth and other random materials. Trash lined the dirt paths and hundreds of kids ran around EVERYWHERE. They would run and jump on you like you were thier own, personal, human jungle gym. I quickly learned to love this community and see it for its true beauty.  Now it has become my home. A home that I love and long to be back at someday.  

Darriel, Joas, Apple, Rommel, Eliza, Richard, Naiomi, and Ivy (all around the age of 19) accepted me into their friend group. Even though I was the outsider, the foreigner, the American...they didn't treat me any different. I felt as if we had been friends for a long time. I never felt like there was a cultural differnce between us...all that mattered was that we enjoyed our time together and would have a lot of fun.

We went to the community for our scheduled morning bible studies and afternoon feedings...but I also spent all of my free time there as well. Not because I had to but because I wanted to and looked forward to spending more time with our new friends.  Night times were always the best time of day (probably because the little kids were asleep so it allowed us to spend more in-depth time with them). We hung out at the basketball court to play guitar, dance, sing karaoke, talk and just hang out.

Joas is an amazing dancer and moves his body like I have never seen. He taught us a dance to the song "insomnia" that we tried to perfect. It was fun to learn and watch him laugh at us because he was  so much better than we were.  

        
     
 We got the chance to take our friends to a waterfall. We spent the whole day just swimming, jumping of cliffs, talking and relaxing. It was one of the best days of the whole month.

                The last 3 nights in the Philippines we decided to sleep in the Lower Manggahan community. We layed out sheets on the basketball court they brought us pillows to sleep on. I wanted to soak in as much time as I had left so I literally did not sleep for the last 3 days we were there (made for an easier sleep on our travel day for Malaysia J ).

                Leaving the Phlippines was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I could have stayed there for the rest of my race time and been perfectly content with it. This made me start off Malaysia with not the best of attitudes. I didn't know how I would ever love anyone else like I loved my filipino friends. I didn't know how a month could get any better than the one I just had.  I had left my heart in the Philippines and did not how to transfer it to Malaysia.

                I am now at the end of my month in Malaysia. After a lot of prayer I was able to finally get my heart to be here. Yes, I still miss my filipino friends and think about them all of the time, but I love the Malay people as well. I feel like God is showing me how to love ALL his people with a supernatural love. Hopefully the supernatural becomes natural and loving people with God's love is just an everyday normal for me. 

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Living in the Malaysian Jungle is like living in 1910



 

I have been living in the Malaysian Jungle with team Malachi for 1 week now. 

·         It is VERY HOT and I sweat all day long

·         Bathroom time= You walk outside of where we are staying...shout that you are going to the bathroom (because everyone and their mother can watch you if they wanted too)...walk 5 steps to the tree line...find a stick...dig a hole...squat and go.  Usually you are surrounded by chickens.

·         Bathing- You have to walk into the jungle and down a long, big, steep, dirt hill. Most of the time I end up "snowbaording" down the dirt and end up on my butt. Then you walk through a bunch of tall grass and cross a wobbly bambo bridge. Now your at the river...once again, everyone and their mother can watch you bathe so you have to remain fully clothed. Sometimes the girls even follow us down and just sit and watch us bathe. A few days ago I looked down at my leg and discovered that Yes...there were leeches. I have never had a leech before so I didn't really know what to do. All the other girls on my team screamed and ran in circles. Karen  tried to pull it off but it just stayed stuck to my leg. Eventually I grabbed it with 2 hands and pulled real hard. It stretched out real far like a gummy worm and then finally came off and flung across the river...hitting Lauren in the leg. This caused a whole new commotion of screaming and running in circles. An unforgettable bonding time for team 12:18 girls.

·         Food- For breakfast we eat a few crackers, fried dough or fried bananas. Lunch and diner always consist of rice with fish. The fish are just cut in half so you either get a choice of the head of the tail (skin, scales and all) I am not a big fish eater so for me this is not an easy meal to get down. Once in a while they will include some chicken, wild board or ram. Mango,coconut, sugarcane  and tapioca make a nice snack sometimes. The time frame between lunch (noon) and diner (9-10pm) is hard for all of us. We all like to eat...so  not eating for 9 hours and eating diner so late at night is not easy. During diner we go into the paster's bamboo stilt house and sit around a mat laid out on the floor. We never have any utensils to use so we always use our hands. I love this time of our day...not only because by the time diner comes around I am starving but also because it is like we are one big tribal family.

·         Dishes/laundry- Dishes and laundry are done down at the river. So now you not only have to walk up and down the big steep hill but you have to do it while carrying buckets full of clothes or dishes.

·         Language- The people of the jungle speak Malay and no english. We did not have a translator here with us this past week so communicating is near impossible. Motions and repetition is the only way to even try. We did teach the pastor how to play slap jack and he caught on pretty fast. We just have to find creative ways to spend time with them without using normal conversation.
·         Landscape/environment- The landscape around us is beautiful! There are mountains, banana trees, bamboo, stilt huts, tall grass, lots of chickens, big spiders, lots of lizards,....It might not sound the prettiest but it really is amazing to wake up to everyday. It is one of the environments that gives you a feeling that pictures can't even begin to capture. We sleep in the concrete church that is also used for schooling. Chickens often visit us inside the church and a few lay their eggs in here. Roosters crow all night long and often wake me up a few timse a night. I feel like I am living in the year of 1910.

·         People- The people here are BEAUTIFUL. They are alwasy serving us-cooking our meals, sweeping our floor and even lining up our shoes outside. Even though we can't communicate a smile goes a long way. There are many children. The pastor himself has 13 kids and 27 grandchildren. The children are are well behaved and eager to learn.

JOB- Teaching english to the children. We are teaching them the alphabet, letter sounds, how to put words together, numbers and colors. This is not an easy task since we dont have a translator and they dont understand directions you try to give them but they are smart kids and catch on fast.
 
 
 
J
 
 
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New teams and new places



 

 

At the end of month 3 our teams have been switched! We will be starting off Malaysia in a new way.

My team lost Susie and gained Emily Young and Karen Wheeless

This is now our team: Matt Herrick, Caleb Dufresne, Simone Grauer, Lauren Sims, Miranda Roy, Emily Young and Karen Wheeless

My previous team was called 12:18. This name was based off of the verse 1 corinthians 12:18 –" But God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as he wanted. " This name was based off of how much we did not like our team at first and had to trust God that we were all placed together for a reason. As the race progressed we all began to see the meaning of our team name and were able to realize why God had put us together.

My new team name is 12:18. Yes you read right...even though we have a changed a little we still have the same name. Except this time it has a complete new meaning. It is now based off of Matthew 12:18 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, My beloved in whom My soul delights; I will put My spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations."

I was worried at first that it might be hard to accept 2 new people into a group that has already been through so much growing and learning together. We have only been together for a few days but I feel as if we are all molding together really well. I am excited to see what God has in store for us as a new team.

We arrived in Malaysia on March 29th. Our team is staying at the Kuala Lumpur International Church until Sunday. We are doing street evangelism and preparing to do the Easter service for this Sunday. Come Monday morning we will be leaving for the Malaysian Jungle!!! We will be living with the indiginous people for 2 weeks. I don't really know that much except that there are probably no bathrooms, the houses are on stilts and we will probably be eating wild boar and lizards. I will not have internet connection very much this month but will try to keep you updated when I can.

I still have some blogs from the Philippines I will be posting. I did not have a lot of time last month to post them because all of my spare time was spent in the lovely community we were working in with our amazing friends!
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The Philippines in Pictures



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       
 
 
And of course every country has its' beautiful landscapes!!
 
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The swamp monster is coming through my skin!



"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." –Psalm 147 : 3

 
Well I'll get straight to the point...BROKENNESS SUCKS!!!

It's not fun for me to fall on my face before God and cry to the point that I could mop the floor with my own tears. It's not fun for me to re-live all of the bad memories in my life. It's not fun for me to feel all the grime and junk  come up through the pores of my skin (metaphorically speaking of course). BROKENNESS IS NOT FUN....but it is needed. 

It is during brokenness, when you have nothing left, that you can see God the most because you are finally out of the picture. He is your daddy...cry on his shoulder. He will gladly sweep you up into his arms and talk to you in his soft, gentle voice. To get through brokeness you HAVE to be close to God. You have to say "please God, hold my hand and walk me through this mess." He doesn't want you to go through it on your own. God doesn't use brokenness to tear you down and leave you in shambles, he breaks you so that he can finally re-mold you as He desires. God is getting rid of the gunk in your life so that there is more room for LOVE. As much as I don't want the whole world to know the gross stuff in my life I decided to share my story anyways....hopefully it can help at least one person.  So here goes....
 
 
I grew up knowing God, loving God, and choosing God--until I was a junior in Highschool. That is when my party life began. Instead of choosing God I chose alcohol, sexand a worldy life. I distanced myself from God. I knew what I was doing was wrong...but I didn't want to do anything about it. I let those things in my life satisfy me...and lets be honest...it felt good to be in charge of my own life. I had a lot of "friends" and always felt like the center of attention. But being in charge of your own life doesn't ever work out for your benefit. Without letting God be in charge of your life...you are guaranteed to have a downward spiral.   A lot of my "friends"  betrayed me, lied to me, cheated me, etc. My  way of dealing with that hurt, was to party more and "forget" the pains people had caused me.
 
                                                                                                                                                                                  

There comes a point when pain can't be covered by more pain anymore, and that is what partying was doing. I finally decided enough was enough and began to get out of the party scene. I  CRAVED God again. I had been running away for far to long. Living life on my own wasn't working...I not only wanted God but NEEDED him desperately. 
Getting out of the party scene wasn't easy. People stopped  calling me once they discovered I wouldn't be at the next big party.  There was no one to hang out with on weekends.. because nobody wanted to skip a cool party to just- hang out. I began to realize that my popularity consisted of extream superficiality. I went from feeling like the center of attention to feeling depressingly ALONE.  Because I engolfed myself in the party scene...I was no longer surrounded by christain friends and good influences. I felt as if I was on my own. I was going to have to make a choice...98% of my friends, feeling good about myself and partying it up OR God. Although God should be the obvious choice...it wasn't a concept I wanted to grasp. Choosing God meant learning how to give up "my world" and learning how to be satisfied with God. Did I want to take the path less traveled?...the path with huge boulders, roller-coaster hillsl, thorn bushes, quick sand and booby traps...HECK NO!!!! But something in my life had to change and deep down I knew that meant choosing God.
Making the right choices in my life meant even more lies and betrayals from my friends. I would be on the right track for a while, someone would stab me where it hurt the most and I would revert back to what I knew....Drinking. I didn't want to deal with the issue,  so I would just push it down deep inside and "party it away", just so I could feel good in the moment. The next morning I would feel guilty about drinking and that would lead to even more pain and regret. There were times where I stayed away from alcohol for a year time and felt so close to God, but when something would happen that I just didn't want to deal with...I was right back into the party scene.  This was literally a 3 year tug-o-war game in my life. I would take 3 giant steps forward and then 4 giant steps backwards. Honestly, up until a month before I applied for the World Race this was still an ongoing thing for me. Did I sign up for the World Race with wrong intentions...SURE DID!! After I was on the right track (for the 200th time) I wanted out. Not just to another city...I wanted to get FAR away from that dark hole of a town I was living in.  The World Race was a way to not
only get far away but to keep myself on the right track for good. After I got accepted I remember saying "Ok God, its you and me this year...you better show up in huge ways and teach me to hear your voice and wack me hard so that I don't come back to this nonsense ever again."

      
                              

So where does that leave me now? Well, it left me plastered to the ground on my face before God, crying my eyes out. All the betrayals, lies, hurts, pains, junk and grime that I had pushed deep down inside me and "partied away" was now coming to the surface. All the emotions I didn't want to feel were bubbling up and pouring out of me. As I was sobbing on the floor I kept wondering why noone was coming up to pray for me and help me through this mess. That's when God clearly said "Hey, remember when you said its me and you this year?...well here it is...learn how to work through this with ME and not by leaning on other people." The funny thing is I had people come up to me afterwards and tell me how they wanted to come pray with me but God strongly told them not too. My teamate Lauren was the first person I saw when I looked up. She was sitting there, starting at me...a good comic relief after a good cry. She said God told her not to pray with me so instead, she just sat and waited for me to be done.  As I walk through this brokeness, its not easy and its not fun, but the end result will be totally worth it. It hasn't been the fastest process but thats ok. During the up times in my life God has showed up hugeHe has touched me in ways that will make me never doubt him. However, it is in the down times that he showed he will NEVER leave me or forsake me. He was always there to catch my tears and remind me of his never ending love. I am ready to be refined and made into the person God wants me to be...so that he can show up in even crazier ways than He already has. He is saying "ITS TIME!" Run to me and don't look back. Grab ahold of me and lets Go!! 

 

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, pleasing and perfect will of God." –Romans 12 :
 
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starting ministry in minda's community



 

We have arrived in the Philippines!!! 

What a culture shock! Arriving in the Philippines was a much different experience than in New Zealand and Australia. I officialy FEEL as if I am living like a missionary. As I walk up and down the streets I see poverty everywhere. Houses are made out of whatever  material they could find and are not large enough to comfortably fit a whole family.  Garbage is thrown everywhere and it often smells of sewage. The temperature is HOT and HUMID. As soon as I walked out of the airplane it was as if the air was trying to suffocate me. The air is not only thick, but dirty as well. There is so much pollution that you can not even see the beautiful mountains. O...and not to mention the hundreds of flies that seem to swarm around you and stick to your sweaty legs...YUCK!  Traffic  here is Insanity! Riding from the airport to our contact I thought I was going to die at least 5 different times. There seems to be no road signs/lights, no speed limits, or really any road rules at all.

 
 
 
                     ( This toilet was sitting in the middle of the sidewalk...Yes...EVERYONE can see you pee while walking down the street)
 
 
 
 
Besides everything I described above...I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS PLACE!! The people here are amazing. They are alwasy joyful and always friendly. The children are BEAUTIFUL and give you the biggest smiles at the smallest bit of affection you give them. Everyone is hospitable and crave to have a more personal relationship with you. Even a trip to the mall leads in deep conversations and new friendships.

 
 
A group of girls we got to minister too during a regular trip to the mall
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our first week here in the Philippines was used for a squad debrief. A time for sharing, teaching, worship and rest. God took me through a lot and I KNOW this is going to be a GOOD month. I will be writing another blog in the next couple days to explain what God is doing in my life...I promise. ( I know I havn't been the best at blogging – SORRY -- but I feel as if I'm going to have so much more to blog about this month)
Our official ministry started today! My team was one of four to stay back in Manilla where our debrief was held. We are staying at a center called YMC-lets just say its a school, orphanage, church, community builder, etc. All in one J They gave us many ministry options available that we could have a chance to do. Our team (team 12:18) decided that we were going to work with a lady named Minda and her community. We don't know exactly what this looks like right now, we just know that we want to impact her community and give them the love of Jesus. Children's programs, community worhsip, bible studies and feeding programs are a few things we would like to put into effect.  We went into the community today and got to know the people there. I mostly played with the children and talked to the women.  I loved watching the guys on our team, Matt and Caleb interact with the children. Most of the children do not have a father figure in their life. When they recieve attention from Matt and Caleb, their eyes light up and it is obvious that they crave male attention. 

 
 
 
 
 I felt as if I was really just trying to "soak it all in" today. As I was playing with the children I could not help but look around me and see the conditions these children were living in. It was just not a community like I have ever seen before. I kept trying to imagine myself growing up and living in a place like that. I always knew I had it good growing up in middle class America...but to have an experience like that takes it to a whole new level. You can hear all the stories you want and be told how bad other people have it compared to you...but until you experience it yourself...you really have no clue. Yet to see all the Joy and compassion everyone still has for one another touches me. They litereally have near to nothing but you would never know by their spirits. Even though my physical eyes see dirt, grime and despair...spritually, I see/feel Joy and compassion. We went back later in the day to distribue food. All of the kids came running with their bowls. As I scooped rice into each child's dish I just kept thinking please God help this food not to run out because I will not be able to turn anyone away. Thank the Lord we had just enough to feed those who came! I learned that they take food to that specific community every Monday, but it is ususally the only GOOD meal they get a week (except for the lucky few who go to school and get a meal there). I am a person who likes to eat...and who likes to eat good food and a lot of it. Not knowing where their next meal will come from or when it will be...WOW!!! I can not even imagine living like that.

Matt giving out
vitamins
<<<<<<
 
 
 
Giving food to a little boy
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 Our team will be at this community 6 days a week, doing whatever we can to help this community. Please pray for us, that we will hear God's voice, help this community and make a lasting impression of God's love for them. I will be sure to keep everyone updated!!!
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