Happy Holidays everyone! I apologize for not writing sooner. I am in fact, still processing through the difficult transition of being home. I will write soon and update each of you on what's next and how the transition into country #16 - America - has been for me. In the meantime, I have some dear friends who need your help. There are a few one my squad unable to raise the complete amount for our world race journey. They are now responsible for paying off the remainder of their expense. Transitioning home is difficult regardless and a little scary with no income or job. I ask each of you, my dear supporters, to prayerfully consider a financial contribution on their behalf. What better way to make a difference this holiday season than to bless someone who spent the last 11 months selflessly furthering the kingdom of Christ? This donation is tax deductible. Allow me to introduce you to my friends:
Auston Copeland is truly a man of God. After my teammates Trevor went home due to Malaria, Auston spent a month with my team in order to encourage and bless us. He loved on us selflessly and spent the month making us laugh, cooking us delicious dinners, and speaking words of encouragement over us. He made such an impact on us that my teammate Jessi wrote a blog about him which you can read here: http://jessimarquez.theworldrace.org/?filename=auston-copeland He has been called by God to attend a ministry school in Spain beginning in January which he will also be in need of support for. He would be so grateful for any financial help you could offer him and is presently only in need of a mere $85. If you would like to contribute to Auston you can do so by following this link: https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20Auston%20Copeland&tuid=5053699
Jessi Marquez is unique in the way she loves freely, gives selflessly, and lives her life with passion and abandon. She draws people like a magnet in a rare and special way. She hears God's voice unlike anyone I have ever met and through her experiences with God, she invites those watching to draw nearer to Him as well. She lives out the words that she speaks and has been called into a life of ministry. I know that God is going to use her in big ways and am excited to watch where He takes her next. While the rest of us returned to America on November 20, Jessi felt God asking her to spend two extra weeks in Europe completely alone ministering to the lost and the broken. Jessi followed the heart and will of God at great cost to her and we all cried as we watched her open the door to her taxi which would be the first of many God would open for her in the two weeks which were to come. Jessi still owes over $1000 and if you would like to contribute you can do so by following the link below: http://jessimarquez.theworldrace.org/?filename=bio If you would like to hear about her adventures traveling solo in Europe you can read her blogs here: www.jessimarquez.theworldrace.org.
It's 7:30 AM. I have been up since 3:00 after a mere two hours of sleep on the cold, hard, airport floor.
I haven't really slept all week. I am exhausted. I am jet lagged. I am emotional.
I am back in America.
I am already experiencing culture shock. Last night I purchased dinner as well as today's meals all in one credit card swipe in order to save on overseas credit card fees.
Then I remembered:
I don't have to do that anymore.
I forget that the people sitting next to me can now speak English and understand what I am saying. When ordering, I no longer am required to use a million gestures and poor sentence fragments in other languages until they understand what I am asking for.
I do it anyway. It's habit now.
I cried in Starbucks today. I was ordering a drink and thought I saw someone from my squad walk by. I turned around and there were no familiar faces to be seen. I am normally surrounded by friends at every moment everywhere I go and I now find myself sitting here in the airport completely alone.
Yesterday we left Romania in flight to NYC. We all flew together and used the time to say our final goodbyes to one another. We are all taking different flights now to our various states. Most of the planes have already taken off. I am the last one at the airport. Like the slow ripping off of a band-aid, I have said goodbye to my new family and forever friends one by one. Goodbyes have been heart wrenching and I can't seem to stop the tears as I think of the many ways my life has been impacted by the people I have spent this past year with.
My future begins today. This transition hurts and it's hard but it's time now to take the next step. To hear where I am headed next in this crazy journey called life stay tuned for my next blog.
airport goodbyes
In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am so thankful for the role each one of you has played in my life. May God richly bless each and every one of you.
The sun set over the tiny village of Censua ending our final day of ministry and I looked at our classroom with a mix of emotions. Tyler played his mandolin and my team sang "Marvelous Light" as our little students danced and clapped before running up to swarm us with hugs. I cried as I hugged these precious children goodbye and still can't believe how quickly they captured my heart.
We have been in Moldova for two weeks now leading an English Camp for 30-50 children. We spend the afternoons here teaching English words along with Bible Verses and songs. We also do crafts with them and play games outdoors. These kids are unlike any I have ever met. They come flying towards us when we see them with hugs that last forever. This is a big change from our first few days here when they were unsure what a hug even was. They take good care of each other. The siblings stick together and everyone shares with one another. When we throw out candy to the crowd, they cut it in two or three parts in order to share with those around them. They don't have much but they truly appreciate what they do have. I have learned a lot from watching these kids interact with one another and have loved my time spent in Moldova
It feels a little surreal to finally be saying this but I return to America this weekend! I am counting down the days in anticipation of fast food, indoor toilets, hot showers, and most importantly, my loved ones. At the same time I am recognizing how special these past 11 months were and how hard goodbyes are going to be. I am so thankful God has blessed me this past year by allowing me to show His love all around the world. I am ready for home now though, for normal life and a little bit of comfort, for my own bed and after living in constant community I am more than ready for some alone time!
Sights of Moldova
My entire squad leaves today on an overnight bus to Romania where we will spend our last few days together saying goodbye and re-uniting with our leaders and coaches. Be on the lookout for my final goodbye blogs from Brasov, Romania.
The sun was lazily setting behind the church
building arraying the sky with beautiful shades of oranges and reds. My team and I were sitting on a grassy bank
holding a Bible Study for the youth in our community. As we finished, we sat cross-legged eating
delicious crackers and drinking Cokes out of glass bottles. We began to sing, "You make everything
glorious." Then it hit me, I was in the
midst of living a special moment. I held
back tears as the youth we had come to know and love sang praise songs to our
Jesus in broken English. I glanced at
the faces which had grown so dear. I saw
Kezlaan, wearing a huge grin as he sang wholeheartedly and attempted to mimic
the motions we were making up on the spot. I felt his joy penetrate deep within me. How could it not? It is so
contagious. I saw Giggles laughing and
singing simultaneously while stealing peeks at the boys. I saw Steven with his servant's heart passing
out a second round of cookies. And
there's little Jabez chasing the cows and popping dirt into his mouth. I saw toddlers, barely walking, drinking out
of coke bottles half their size and I couldn't help but simply stop in
recognition of the moment I was living. A special memory in the making.
Moments.
They pass us by so quickly and are nearly
impossible to capture. I have lived an
incredible story this year and I wonder how many once in a lifetime moments I
have taken for granted. Now they have
passed me by, many of them already forgotten. Slipped away. Ungraspable. I spent many of these moments wishing them
away, dreaming of the mediocre as I wallowed in selfishness with thoughts of
the food I was craving and the people back home I was missing. I didn't grab hold of the once in a lifetime
experiences I was living.
It's the moments that truly matter and I want to
recognize and embrace them. I want to
live a life of passion and abandon.
Now that the race is almost over, I am grabbing up
each moment. I am hungry for them. I notice them, appreciate them, and cherish
them. Why is that we don't appreciate
the things we have until they are slipping away? I've had enough with longing for the
future. I want to start living for
today, for the NOW. With that being
said, I'm going to get off this computer and go laugh with my team. I'm going to go cherish another moment.
Our
time in Romania has come to an end. We
left at 3 am Sunday morning and began our 14 hour van ride to Chisinau, Moldova
where we met up with our entire squad for one night. After a cultural debrief we
once again packed up our bags and hopped on a bus to Censua where my team will
be spending the next two weeks. Somehow
Eastern Europe turned into Africa during our four hour long bus ride. The ride was only supposed to be an hour and
half now that I think about it. Only in
Africa does time not mean a thing and you can normally expect to double or
triple each hour from what you have originally been told. So anyway, I'm now back in Africa um, I mean
Moldova and I'm in yet another outhouse squatting over yet another hole in the
ground.
Here are my thoughts:
"After six
months of squatting over toilets and holes, I really should have this thing
down to perfection. How is it I am still
worried about peeing on my feet and I still can't keep my balance without holding
the dirty wall in front of me?" (tip:
squat as low as possible keeping pant legs right around the knees to avoid any
accidents.)
"It sure would
be nice to wash my hands after I finish up in here. There's no running water though, or
soap. I guess I could walk to the well
to get some water but it's really, really cold. I could heat it but wait, there's no gas for our stove. Aaaah, well, there's always tomorrow." (tip: hand
sanitizer only works three times in a row. After that, better find some soap.)
"How many days
have I been wearing these clothes now? 4
I think. And I haven't showered in the
same amount of time. And now I discover
we won't have access to hot showers for another 13 days. Can I go 17 days without a shower? That's a new high. I wonder if I'll change my clothes between
now and then. They are comfortable and the
warmest I have. Probably not." (tip: as you step
into your hot, steamy showers today and have a warm, fluffy towel awaiting you
be very, very grateful.)
Welcome to an inside look
at our first two days in Moldova. It
feels like I took a step back 100 years. I have only seen one car as most people use horse and carriages for
transportation. It's pretty here though, sort of looks like a gloomy fairy
tale. The sunsets and star filled skies
may have Africa beat. This is looking to
be our roughest living conditions yet but we can handle anything for two weeks,
right?
One more fun
fact for all my dear readers: we walked
to "town" yesterday to stock up on groceries. Town ended up being one teeny-tiny grocery store with very limited
amounts of food. We stocked up on enough
pasta to last a week and when the team was told they could each pick out a
small treat, Tyler chose a battery. (That's how you know desperation on the race has reached a new high!) On the way home, I stepped in the hugest pile
of cow manure I have ever seen. I
somehow managed to squish it between all 5 of my toes and all throughout my
flip-flop. Did I mention I have no idea
when I will get to shower next?
These are the moments I am going to miss. I come home in less than three weeks and
cannot believe how quickly time has flown. I can't wait to catch up each of you back home who have loved and
encouraged me throughout this crazy journey. See you soon!
I want to share my story with you, and invite you into a glimpse of my world. When I was born my mother was a single parent and unable to support me. She looked to family for help, and was rejected. So she tried to raise me, but was unable to earn enough money to feed me. She decided to send me to a state institutional orphanage. At this orphanage there were literally hundreds of babies and children. The workers were few, and so often times I would sit in a soiled diaper for hours on end. I would cry in pain from the rashes and infections of not being properly cared for. To silence my cries, the workers would inject me with sleeping medication. My cries did cease, however, my body started to stop functioning. My body was not developing properly as an infant, and my brain was not getting what it needed to grow. At the age of five I became handicapped and mute. My mother came back to claim me and take care of me. However, the doctor told her that I would remain in this condition and never be healthy again. This burdened her heart because she wanted her child back, but would not be able to take care of a now handicapped child.
A few weeks later, an organization decided to claim me as their own. The brought me to a home where I would have a mother and father for life. I would have 15 brothers and sisters and people that told me they loved me. After some time, proper nourishment, and the overflow of Gods love being poured into my life...I was healed. My body began re-developing and my brain started functioning properly. I currently run a kitchen in a hotel and on my off time I get to visit and serve the elderly. I have more energy than most people you would ever meet, and Gods light shines out of me.
I'm sure by now you realize that this isn't my story. However, this is a story of one of the workers named Kosmine. who was taken in by Caminul Felix. I decided to share this story as my own to show you that these aren't just stories but PEOPLE. If you heard of this happening to your friend, well it would shake your heart a bit. These people, these stories...these are our friends. These are the people that we have been blessed to see every morning this month. These testimonies are the reason we are here. It is these stories, these people, that make the trials of the world race worth it.
I am beyond exhausted. 10 months of traveling will do that to you. I am constantly changing countries, foods, climates, you name it, and my poor body just needs a break. Let me tell you, I love my days off. As in, I look forward to them the entire week. I know, I am a terrible missionary. Sometimes though, I just want a break. I want to sit in a room completely alone and not have to talk to anyone or lift a finger for an entire weekend. Okay, let's make that an entire month once I return home. I deserve it right?
Maybe not. On Saturday morning when I woke up my first thoughts were of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. He didn't take breaks. He was constantly surrounded by people. He retreated only to pray and even then, he was usually interrupted. He handled these situations with grace and a supernatural amount of patience and love.
I should have known that if God was speaking these things to me first thing in the morning on my day OFF that my day was not going to go as planned. My team was told that there was a change in plans and we would be having lunch at the home of our contact and then delivering food in a nearby gyspy village. After a limited amount of grumbling, we were on our way.
What a blessing the day turned out to be.
First off, I met the sweetest girl from England named Pollyanna. She came to Romania for a four day mission trip and put me to shame with her enthusiasm and passion for missions. She spoke life into my team and renewed our energy with her encouraging words. She reminded us that we are lights in this hurting world and that even if our lack of energy has slightly dimmed us, we are still lights in the darkness and are still being used. What a little fire-breather this girl turned out to be.
Onward to the gypsy village. This little community was located at the garbage tip which basically means these people live among piles of trash. Their homes are hidden away and made out of rugs and scraps located within the dump. Because these people are perceived as criminals and have lost many of their rights, they have retreated away from society. They have formed their own communities and generally are very poor and uneducated. We were able to meet them today and provide them with bags of groceries. I hope that they experienced the love of God this afternoon.
These people literally live in a dump. They have made their houses among piles of trash. And I complained about not getting a couple hours off today. What must God think of me some days?
I love how sometimes God just yanks me out of the mediocre and hands me something so much better through lessons learned and divine interactions. I grumble and complain and attempt to explain to Him how tired I am and how hard I have been working but thankfully He doesn't let me sit in my filth. He brings people to breathe back life into my and gives me a far better day than I would have had laying in my bed.
These are the moments I came on this trip to live. The moments that matter.
This month we are located in Oradea,Romania where we are working at Caminul Felix which is an orphanage with 200 children. Caminul
Felix has been around since 1990, and has developed "villages" all
around the world. The concept is this, they build houses and have a mom
and dad in each one. Each couple takes on anywhere from 8-18 abandoned children. I
love this concept because the children feel like they have a home, and
they do. They have a bed to call their own, and when they get older,
they have a family to visit on the holidays.
We
have only been here one week, and it is quickly becoming one of our favorite months on the race. In the
mornings, we do construction on future homes in the village. In the
afternoons, we are divided and spend 2-3 hours with our families. I
can't believe I have only been here for a week. When I walk into the
house, the kids greet me with HUGE hugs. We dance around, play
vollyball, laugh, and talk about life. We have been able to share with
them the love that God has for them.
My main mission this month is to show these kids that they are not orphans. THEY BELONG to a much larger family. They are God's Sons and Daughters and they are fully loved.
The majority of this blog was written by my teammate Jessi Marquez. You can read her blogs at www.jessimarquez.theworldrace.org
"The Ukraine is like a coloring book with shades of blacks and greys and whites. You have the ability to splash color on the page with every step you take as you share the love and joy of Christ to the Ukranians."
-Paraphrased words by my leader Tara as she spoke to my squad.
I thought of Tara's words often this month while in Ukraine. It really is colorless here at times. When I stood in the airport waiting to enter the country, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it here. There were no lines to get to the customs counter, just a jam packed room and everyone shoving forward to be at
the next available window. I got pushed and shoved and even yelled at
(in Ukrainian) by the guard when I got pushed over the sacred yellow
line. At this point I hadn't slept in a bed in over 36 hours and was in my third
country within that same time frame. I really wasn't in the best mood.
The city of Yalta was a part of Russia until 30 years ago when Crimea was given to Ukraine, There is a lot of history here and a lot of underlying hostility. No, the people here may not smile at you when you smile at them. In
fact, they will look at you like you are up to no good. That's a scar of
the past. When you live in a world where smiling gets you sent to the
front lines because you stick out as a trouble maker, your stone face
becomes your saving grace. However, when you get talking to people, you
will find the most helpful and warm people who have so much to offer. For example: an adorable older woman at the post office who gave us money for stamps one day.
So this month we colored away in our coloring books. Our splash of color? Blue. That's the color we painted a fence that streched as far in both directions as the eye could see. We painted 5 days a week this past month at a getaway center for pastors and also spent a day at an orphanage painting some more Add the colors red, yellow, and green to our color palette.
And now on to Romania to spread some more color, some more joy, some more love. We have safely arrived after four days of traveling via three different trains. We are very happy to finally have a change of clothes and a hot shower. We begin our ministry at an orphanage tomorrow, please continue to keep us in your prayers.
I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been praying for Trevor this month and give you a quick update. His Malaria progressed quickly and attacked his spleen which resulted in surgery. He was then flown spleen free to London where he spent a couple days before being flown back to the states where he will continue to recover. He is now doing much better and we are incredibly thankful to God for his healing. It was a scary couple weeks. Unfortunately, Trevor will be unable to join us for the rest of the race. We are mourning the loss of him on our team but are excited for the plans that God has for him. My teammates have written more detailed blogs. Feel free to follow the below links if you are interested in hearing the entire story of Trevor's sickness and healing. Please continue to keep him in your prayers.
Jessi Marquez is unique in the way she loves freely, gives selflessly, and lives her life with passion and abandon. She draws people like a magnet in a rare and special way. She hears God's voice unlike anyone I have ever met and through her experiences with God, she invites those watching to draw nearer to Him as well. She lives out the words that she speaks and has been called into a life of ministry. I know that God is going to use her in big ways and am excited to watch where He takes her next. While the rest of us returned to America on November 20, Jessi felt God asking her to spend two extra weeks in Europe completely alone ministering to the lost and the broken. Jessi followed the heart and will of God at great cost to her and we all cried as we watched her open the door to her taxi which would be the first of many God would open for her in the two weeks which were to come. Jessi still owes over $1000 and if you would like to contribute you can do so by following the link below: 
"After six
months of squatting over toilets and holes, I really should have this thing
down to perfection. How is it I am still
worried about peeing on my feet and I still can't keep my balance without holding
the dirty wall in front of me?"
Onward to the gypsy village. This little community was located at the garbage tip which basically means these people live among piles of trash. Their homes are hidden away and made out of rugs and scraps located within the dump. Because these people are perceived as criminals and have lost many of their rights, they have retreated away from society. They have formed their own communities and generally are very poor and uneducated. We were able to meet them today and provide them with bags of groceries. I hope that they experienced the love of God this afternoon. 
