I had the opportunity to do a prayer walk in the red light district not far from Remember Nhu, the children's home I was working with. I have always known, in a general sense, what sex trafficking is all about. But to see it with my own eyes is something I will never forget.



 My day started with my team and I relaxing on our day off. That night we went to a night market called the Night Bazaar. It’s a very large market where you can find anything and everything from street food to clothes; electronics to purses, jewelry, paintings and souvenirs. We ate dinner and walked around, looking at the different vendors, and buying anything we might need or want to bring home to a loved one.

                                          

After 2 hours of shopping, we drove to the red light district. On the drive there, we passed by some places that were obviously bars and/or brothels. They aren’t hard to spot. Most of them have blinking lights, large neon signs or a risqué billboard across the street. And sometimes they have all 3 and more.

When we arrived there, we decided to split into pairs, seeing as how we had one of our contacts and 2 other girls who were volunteering for Remember Nhu, making 10 in all. As I walked around and prayed, I was shocked, disgusted, and saddened by what I was seeing. Men, primarily white, were walking around with these young women and girls. They were conversing with them, walking around hand-in-hand with them, and playfully nudging them or patting them on the butt. Five minutes into the walk, I wanted to scream “WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?” and “LEAVE HER ALONE!”
 
I saw a man step out onto a balcony from a room on one of the upper floors of a bar, with his shirt off. I can only assume as to what he was doing in that room on top of a bar. We saw and overheard a conversation between a much older man and a young Asian girl who appeared to be no older than 10 years old. The man was leaning against a motto (a cross between a motorcycle and scooter), talking and stroking the hair of this young girl who was crying, telling her that it will be okay and that the first time is always the hardest.


We also saw families in the red light district getting foot massages and hanging out at the restaurant/bars, oblivious to what was going on around them. One of the sad parts is that while some of these men are only interested in sex, a good majority want companionship and love.

                                  
A few days after we walked the streets of the red light district, we went to a Hill Tribe Village, where some of the girls from the children’s home are from. The village reminded me of some of the homes I’ve seen in South America: dirty, run down, not really much of a home at all, but the best that can be done with what they have. Once you see where they come from, you start to see why (not to say it’s right) people sell their kids: they have next to nothing.


Now that I have a better understanding of where these kids come from and where they could possibly be, I am so in awe of God and how He works. These kids now have a better home, a better life, and more hope for what’s ahead of them in their future.

                               
 

For our ministry this month, my team and I worked with 2 other teams from our squad, at an orphanage called El Shaddai, in Mbabane, Swaziland. The children at El Shaddai, are here because their parents have AIDS, they have been abandoned, or their families are unable to take care of them.




The different ministiries consisted of digging a 9ft hole for a septic tank, working at the baby house (a daycare for toddlers, babies and the kids that live at El Shaddai to go to after pre-school), pre-school, and helping out in the kitchen where they prepare the food for the kids and those who work at El Shaddai. Between the three teams, there were women three who had degrees in education and  one who is in school to be a nurse. Those who had teaching degrees worked at the high school and the one studying to be a nurse, worked at a clinic 2 days a week.




While I had a chance to work in every area of ministry accept the high school, I was most impacted by the pre-school. There were 40 kids from El Shaddai and those living locally, for 1 teacher and a teacher’s assistant. Imagine having little to no training when it comes to teaching and ending up teaching 40 kids! These kids are between the ages of 4 and 7. They are all at different learning levels and some of them are dyslexic. They are taught the same things everyday: the ABC’s, 123’s, and shapes. Every now and then they are taught colors and fruits and veggitables.



My heart broke for these kids because of the lack variety of things they were learning. I’m not saying that the teacher wasn’t doing her best. She may have been. She may have been using all she was given and doing what she could with it. Given the materials they had, there was only so much one could do.

Being with the preschool kids helped me learn a very important lesson: kids will be kids. I have a tendency to be more of a disciplinarian than I need to be. While I love those kids, I wasn’t SHOWING them what it means to be loved. I was only showing them what it means to be disciplined. To me it was obvious that they don’t get much discipline at home. Because of that, I wanted to show them what it means to be disciplined when you don’t obey. Kids are going to disobey, they are going to hit and kick each other no matter what you tell them. My team reminded me that while it’s ok to put them in time-out, they are still not going to listen. They reminded me that I can only do so much in the 3 weeks we were there.




There needed to be a balance between love and discipline. It took some time before I found that balance. It’s not that I didn’t love them. But there’s a difference between how much you love them through discipline and how much you love them through affection. When I found that balance, the last week was much better. There were still days when I wanted to pull my hair out!

 

Personally, I am not one you will find hiking a mountain or in the woods. It’s not something that really appeals to me. But I have found that, while on the race, not only is it good exercise but there are some places that are worth it. Doing ministry on a mountain is awesome! I get to wake up every morning, look out the door and see God’s beauty.

Looking out from where we live, you can see the top of a waterfall. There was some talk about going to the waterfall and how many people wanted to go. One day, my teammate, Nick, asked me if I wanted to hike to the waterfall with a small group of people. I was very hesitant about it, but I figured why not? When would I get another chance to see a nice waterfall in Swaziland?

Not long into the hike, we came to a stopping point. We could see the waterfall, but we could not figure out how to get to the other side where we could get a better view. We went many different ways, trying to find the right path, but never made it. After trying and trying and trying, I was over it. I was tired, thirsty (I drank most of my water bottle) and wanted to get out of the hot, draining sun. While trying to find the waterfall, we came across and beautiful stream and decided to rest before calling it quits.

Shortly after we left the stream, I was dying. “What the heck was I thinking?” and “I want to die.” were the thoughts running the through my head. Most of the people I was with, decided to take the path that led to the primary school not far from where we live. It was safer, not as steep, and not very grassy. Seeing that I was taking baby steps and looked like I was dying, Nick, Steven and Lauren (some of the people I was with) decided to take a short cut that was steeper than the path.





As we climbed, it got harder and harder for me. While were resting, out of nowhere comes a Swazi man and asks us if everything is alright. We told him that we were just resting. At that point I got up and started up the mountain again. When he asked us if I was alright, we told him I was just a little tired. Without any notice, he randomly picks me up on his back, piggy back style, and starts carrying me up the mountain. I told him that while it was nice of him, he didn’t have to carry me. He didn’t say anything and continued up the mountain. He was huffing and puffing, so I mentioned multiple times that if he was tired he could put me down. He said he was tired and still continued up the mountain with me on his back. When he finally did put me down, we thanked him and asked what direction he was going in. Fortunately he wasn't too far out of his way. We thanked him again and continued hiking. Luckily for us, and thanks to a Swazi man, we were not too far from where we were living.

I have learned to go with my gut if I’m hesitant about a hike. Thanks to God for the help I needed. I also know to make sure I have Swazi man with me when I hike. Or a native man, depending on what country I’m in!
 
 
 

Hello, everyone! I wanted to share a video I made of my first 5 months on the race and all that I'v experienced. It has been awesome and I'm so blessed to have the opportunity to be on this race!
 

http://youtu.be/RA-89rDs_Vg

If you are a coffee lover, Eastern Europe is the place to go. For our fourth month, my team and I were located in Korca (pronounced korcha), Albania. “Albania? Where’s that?” were the thoughts running through my head. To be honest, I didn’t even know that Albania was a country! For those of you who don’t know where Albania is, let me give you some insight. Albania is located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south and southeast.




For our ministry this month, we worked with Campus Crusade for Christ (also known as Cru), a ministry that focuses on college students. Their goal is to “see as many students go from a place of unbelief to a place of belief in God.”  In Albania, it is known as Student Life.  Our first week in Albania was the students second week of school. We handed out the Student Life magazine to the freshmen. Along with the magazine, the students received a test which, if taken and handed in, entered them into a drawing where they could win a USB drive or a cell phone, and a contact information sheet. We had a picnic with the freshmen, a day filled with good conversation, games, soccer and volleyball! At the end of the week, we had a welcome meeting, a chance to share with the students what Student Life is all about. They also learned the cupid shuffle!! At the end of every day, we went to the student’s dorm rooms and visited with them, hearing their stories, sharing our stories, and sharing the gospel with them.



Our second week, we went through the contact sheets and set up meetings with the students. Because cafes are anywhere and everywhere, they made the perfect place to meet students. Out of all of the meetings we had with the students, there are 2 that stood out the most to me. One morning, one of our contacts, Juli, my teammate Jamie and I met with a girl who was in her first year and studying finance. We thought we were meeting with her alone, but we ended up meeting with her boyfriend as well. Juli talked a lot in the beginning, and then asked us if we had any questions for her. Jamie and I went back and forth asking her questions about her life and sharing tidbits about ours. The girl, like most Albanians, came from a Muslim background, although she did not practice it. She believed in God, as most of the students I met with did, but didn’t believe in Jesus. I believe that most of the students find it hard to believe in Jesus because to them Jesus is just another “good” prophet, so why believe in him. If they do believe in him, they don’t fully understand that Jesus is God. They don’t understand the trinity. This young girl seemed very interested in what we were saying to her. Her boyfriend, on the other hand did not. His actions and lack of interest clearly stated that he didn’t want to hear it and that his girlfriend shouldn’t either. I think this girl would have loved to know more but was intimidated by her boyfriend. She was interested but at the same time wanted to please her boyfriend.



The second meeting was with three girls who were roommates, two of the girls were friends from high school and the other girl was cousins with their fourth roommate. All three girls were studying to be a nurse. Juli, Jamie and I met these girls at a café across from the campus. We had already met these girls before in the dorms, and were happy to get to know them better. A little ways into our conversation we started talking about if it was hard or not leave home to go to school. All of the girls said yes. They didn’t live far from home and went home on the weekends. One of the girls completely opened up and shared one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard. Her dad died when she was 16 (she’s 19). The dad she’s known all her life was really her step dad. Her biological dad died before she was born. A month before she started college, one of her sisters died due to a whole in her heart. It broke my heart. If I wasn’t it shock, I probably would have cried. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to experience that much death in life at a young age.



Our last week in Korca, we continued to meet students at cafes and share the gospel. We also had another meeting where the Student Life staff presented a slide show that showed the difference between the kind of love the world knows and God’s love. My team and I did a skit called the “Lifehouse Everything Skit” (if you’ve never seen the skit before, you can look it up on youtube).  We also taught them one more dance, the Cha Cha Slide!
I had a great time in Albania. Because the students are so fascinated with Americans, there were times when it seemed like being there was doing more harm than good. But it’s not about me; it’s about God and what we’re doing in his name. It was a good month of ministry and great cappuccinos!!                                                                                                                                                                                       
 

Ecuador located in the north-western part of South America. It is bordered by Columbia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. My team and I were in a village called Huaticocha, located in the jungle. Our ministry consisted of clearing land for what would soon be a missionary school for the local community, going from house to house to pray for and encourage others, doing different activities with the children, (sometimes) leading the church services and teaching people english. We made friends with some of the boys (also known as the Jungle Boys) which turned out to be one of our biggest ministries. Just by hanging out with them, we were able to talk to them about the Lord and share our stories with them. We always had a blast with them!!

 

Peru:

 Peru is located in western South America. It is boredered by Ecuador and Columbia on the north, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. We were located in a district ofTrujillo, one of Peru's largest cities. Our ministry was working with kids in a children's home and building a chldren's home.( If you need to make concrete or dig a trench, call me!!) Unfortunately, our ministry was cut short due to an incident that happened to our contacts. For safety reasons, we were moved to Huanchaco, an hour from where we were staying. The upside to moving away was that we were right on the beach. We made the most out of the time we spent there. We were given the chance to make our own ministry whether that be growing closer as a team or making friends with the local surfers. The location was wonderful, the surfing was fun, and the water was FREEZING!!
 

Bolivia:

Bolivia is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, Chile to the south west and Peru to the west. We were located in Cochabamba which is in the Andes Mountains. Our ministry was working in orphanages, building an orphanage, working in a restaraunt that helped support the orphanages, and washing homeless children. We were blessed this month because we got to go to an english speaking church. We were able to meet and work with some of the American missonaries serving in Cochabamba.

 

My first 3 months on the race were awesome! I fully enjoyed meeting and serving with every person I crossed paths with. It is hard for me to pick a favorite month or ministry. In Ecuador, I enjoyed working with the kids and listening to other's stories during house visits. In Peru, I enjoyed going to the children's home and having fun with them in the park. In Bolvia, I enjoyed working at the cafe.

God has truly blessed me by giving me the opportunity to experience all of this. My prayer for the ministries that I have helped with is that God will continue to grow them and continue to bless them and help them make a difference where they are serving!