N Squad tribute from my team One Love to our World Race family- quick recap of some of our fav. moments from our year! Love you guys! Remember this is not the end but the beginning!
Well...we are officially wrapping up our 11th and FINAL country of the race! Man, time has flown...I can NOT believe we will be back on U.S. soil in less then a day...11 countries, 11 months, & now less then 11 days till HOME-crazy! When we began I thought almost a year of my life...how will I ever be able to be gone from my home, family, & friends that long and here we are...finishing up...God...His grace...His mercy...He is enough...He gives exactly what we need...here I am approaching the end of my journey...well...this journey...there will always be others.... ;)
So...we arrived in Moldova 2 weeks ago after an 11 hour train ride from Macedonia to Bulgaria...a 10 hour bus ride to Romania...then another 12 hour train ride to Chisinau, the capital! World Race "style"...anything to save $! Our squad stayed together for one night in Chisinau before we split and went our separate ways all over Moldova. Most of us hadn't seen each other since we arrived in Ukraine, so it was a sweet reunion! Our squad had a briefing with our Moldova contacts on our first day. Moldova is the poorest country in Europe.Then on Monday my team loaded a van and took off to Balti, a good size town about 2 hours away. Balti is known as "the northern capital." It is an old soviet factory town and still appears the way you might imagine... It's a bit grey, gloomy, and almost abandoned looking. The streets seem dark and unkempt but there are still people and motion in the city center...
This month we were working with a church in Balti & SportQuest . Check it out: http://www.sportquest.org/ In our first meeting, Uri, our main contact, proceeds to tell us about the game our team is playing in the tournament. My friend Emily quickly interrupts to say that she doesn't even know the rules and positions of basketball...well...the only problem with that is it was "futball"... that's when I knew this month was going to be "good"...hahah. No worries we did not let her moment go unnoticed...love you, Em!
Our boys played & Tanna reffed...and ash, em, & I did skits, pics, etc...and froze to death..cuz you know my mad soccer skills;).but back to the ministry...SportsQuest is a really awesome ministry! They have locations all over the world that bring in athletes to train and connect with communities. We were so blessed this first week, because the founder, Kent Susud, was in town visiting from the states. It was so interesting to hear more about his ministry and visions. He had some amazing stories from their first sports camps in rural Africa that made our time there seem sugarcoated! Kent is a mighty man of God and God used him to encourage us a lot the few days he was there...kind of sad that our team was split our last month...but ...what else...oh so def. had a moment in Moldova when I thought this is my life...really...walked outside our home to see a dead body & continued on to work...great way to start the day...only good part of this was the inappropriate laughter moment I had when Ashley tried to tell me, "no, it's just a garage sale."hahahha...so weird...yeah...well...just a quick update on our LAST month!...I'm just sitting here...pulling an all-nighter- soaking in these last moments with some of my "family"... in a few hours we will head to the airport to end...no not end...but begin a new journey...crazy..talk about surreal...so bittersweet...well...got to go pack...get ready New York City...here we come!!!
Check out this video that one of our contacts and friends made us-recapps some favorite times from our ministry in Ukraine. CCX is a wonderful ministry that works with university students- we partnered with them to pour into students all over the city of Kyiv! God did so much this month- it was hard to leave. Pete, thank you sooooo much for this video!!!! It is amazing! What a blessing to actually have footage/pics. of candid moments in ministry with the students. Thank you! Warning...if you are Baptist you may not want to go any further if not...get ready to cut rug...there's a lot of dancing...classes, worship, just hanging out, etc...that's just how we roll...we dance everywhere...Enjoy guys!
Check out this video my friend/teammate, Em, made the other week (thought you guys might enjoy it- video is such a fun way to share b/c I feel like you get more of the experience)...few clips all thrown together...things that she was going to get rid...music & clips...and you get a little taste of Africa...turned out to be quite the hit. Just a reminder...It is so much easier for us to video the random/fun/sometimes not so fun events like...cows, rafting, etc...b/c we are not working in those moments...it's much harder to get clips and pics. of us in action (b/c we would have to stop:)...which is sad that pictures and videos don't get a chance to capture some of the most amazing, encouraging, glorifying moments to Christ...but good... b/c i would rather be too busy doing ministry and telling stories later...Here's my team.
just to give a glimpse of more of what life was like in AFRICA...THIS IS AFRICA! ENJOY!
got 10 stalks of sugar cane from people who were thankful for bringing the HOPE
ate goat meat for the 1st time- yum!
played "football" with a bunch of kids in Uganda with the an amazing African sunset
went to an African wedding which was fancier than any American wedding i have seen
prayed for people in the rain as they accepted Christ
rafted the Nile (same river Moses went down-seriously)
led 4 different sections at a youth conference about hygiene, being a model youth, guidance/counseling and conflict resolution
shook hands with the Ugandan King
ate eggs and fries for 14 days straight
ETC...
Needless to say...Africa...well...it was AFRICA...TIA! I'm sure the video speaks for itself...tough, beautiful, amazing...& rewarding...thousands came to know Christ- & God used us...humbling! ...it makes everything worth it and I can look back and know He was glorified...which in the end...that's what it's about...thankful!
Disclaimer: things may appear nicer than reality...just remember...you can't smell things...but side note we did get our own rooms (1st time the whole race I've had my own space- it was fabulous & it was only $2.00 a night...what!?!...TIA:)
Hope you enjoyed seeing where we lived while in Uganda! Hope to post a bit more a/b what ministry was like in a few days:) Also...just an update...we are officially in Europe- Kyiv, Ukraine to be exact...talk about culture shock (Africa to Europe)...more to come! BUT for now...just a little insight to what's going on right now...ministry is going amazing...we are working with CCX and doing English clubs, worship & bible studies, meeting tons of people, & hanging out with & challenging University students in what/why they believe the different things they believe...encouraging some of them to know/experience God for he 1st time or for some just to go deeper with Him...basically just pouring into them- and you guys know how much I'm loving that- we love it here!
Miss you guys!
AND thank you so much for all your prayers, encouraging words, love, and support with all the stuff going on with my family...has meant so much to me and them! Thank you!!!
OH...and ps. found out I will be coming HOME on NOV. 24th...just in time for Thanksgiving!!! Can't wait to see you all again...look forward to some very sweet time!
easiest way to update- i recieved the news that my Granddaddy is gone. He has moved on to a better place after struggling w/ cancer for 92 days-God has taken him home & healed him! He was an amazing man that touched so many lives & hearts. We will always love & miss you! Please keep my family in your prayers! Thank you all for your love & support!
As some of you know or have heard by now, I recently flew
home to be with my family and visit my Granddaddy for a few days. This visit
was very unexpected, bittersweet reunion for me. I was sitting in a random
little internet café somewhere down some alley in Morogoro, Tanzania using my
30 mins. of communication for the week catching up on my emails. Trying to read
as many emails as possible in my short frame of time, I was scrolling down
trying to see which ones I should read 1st since I knew there was no
way to get thru all of them when my eye caught one titled "Granddaddy."
My heart dropped because it is very
rare that my dad will email me anything other than the forwards that fill my
inbox. A few days prior to flying home I found out that my Granddaddy has stage
4 lung cancer. I lost it. As if I don't already stand out enough being the only
"Mzungu" (white) girl in a room full of black Tanzanian men...and tears streaming
from my eyes definitely didn't help me blend in anymore. I pulled it together
to try to see past my tears and blurry vision to finish reading past the only
words I needed to see "Granddaddy" and "cancer" to find out the doctor actually
was very optimistic about his situation. Despite Granddaddy's age of 92 yrs.
the doctor said he needed to stay positive because he was in better shape then
some 40 yr. olds...and with chemo....
I felt frustration that he had lung
cancer...of all the different things to be sick with...why that, God? I couldn't
help remember the story my Granddaddy had shared with me a few years prior
about how when he was late teens/early twenty's he smoked because it was new
but right when the news came out that it could harm or kill you he quit
immediately. I know smoking is not the only reason someone may get lung
cancer...but I couldn't stop my mind in that split second to just going towards
anger. The truth is I will never know how or why he got lung cancer, and I can
say now that is okay...I don't have to know because ultimately God is still
sovereign so the why/how/everything else I've thought doesn't matter. God is
still good. I can't even begin to explain all the emotions that were running
through me, but most of all my heart just hurt for him and selfishly thinking
about what I was losing.
My second email a week or so later
said that chemotherapy was not going to work. The chemo knocked him out- he
went from doing okay to not even knowing what was going on (took too much
out him). After one treatment my father was emailing me telling me that he and
his brothers had decided to not treat it...apparently it would only give him 3 to
4 months more (and quality of life is huge to him). I hate that I did not get to
contact my family, friends, and supporters beforehand to communicate
what was
going on (& for that I'm sorry...but it prob. would have made coming
home even
harder b/c I wasn't there for me),
but I literally decided and
was flying out of Africa on my way back to the U.S. within 2 days of my
decision
barely even getting to share my flight schedule with my parents (let's
just say
I was lucky to have a ride home from the airport).
Words can not express how thankful
I am that I got to spend sweet, precious time with my Granddaddy. We even got to
make pancakes together for breakfast one last time. Though he did complain
because I "slept in" till 8:30 a.m. (which I felt like after 2 days of travel & jet lag anything before 9 a.m. was doing good). I still will never think "sleeping in" is
anything before 10 a.m. I have to remember that this is coming from a man that
when I asked what time to come to his house his response was:
"Sweetie, not anytime before 5" which I then said,
"Granddaddy, 5 p.m. ...that doesn't give much time" he replies, "no, 5 a.m."-
Haha- ohhhhh- for those of you that know me really well...you know that I had no problem
reassuring him that would not be a problem!
1 Cor. 7:29 "time is short" so
don't take one moment for granted. "There is a time for everything and a season
for every activity under heaven...". Ecc. 3:1-8 Share the good news with others- don't hesitate- life's too short.
Live, laugh, & most
importantly LOVE!
Please keep my Granddaddy and family in your prayers! Love
& miss you all!
Love,
Lauren
ps. update on this past month in Africa
coming soon
Why? So that we can bless the people of this area by doing something that noone wants to do, but everyone wants done.
Completely ironic moment of trip? I HATE spiders & am also deathly afraid of them...AND yes I'm working in "Spiderville"
Do I mind? Not at all, cause God is using this. Let me explain.
So this month my team of 6 is paired with another team (Imago Dei) at a Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base here in Brisbane Australia. We were given the first 5 days off for rest- days of sleeping, reading the Bible, and exploring the area. We needed these days hardcore as we had worked the last 2.5 weeks straight doing Soul Survivor & New Wine (youth & family/ kids camps). We had no time off and literally went nonstop with ministry, schedules, and no time to ourselves...not to mention...then we started traveling. We took a bus up most of the North Island of New Zealand over night so we didn't really sleep. Spent a day in Auckland waiting to get to the airport that night at 10 pm. Got to the airport, and didn't sleep at all again. We boarded the plane at 7 am, flew to Brisbane, and after about 48 hours of no sleep, we pretty much fell over. 2 days of travel with no sleep (sleeping on buses/airports/pretty much anywhere we could close our eyes for a bit...but def. no beds:) Needless to say our bodies and minds were pretty tired...so we were very grateful to have some good rest, fellowship with God & each other, and have some fun (will try to share some fun stuff in those days off in another blog:) BUT for now...back to the topic at hand...
Here we are. Rested and ready to go. We met our YWAM contact, Angel, and asked what she would like to us to do this month. She had an interesting response. Angel talked to us about the situation of the city. Mitchelton is an area that is hardcore. They are hard working, they are tough people, and they know how to survive because they have had a lot of obsticals to overcome in their lives. Therefore this area, and the greater Brisbane area, is one of the top areas for bullying, and so the typical mindset isn't how to help others becasue people are busy just trying to get by.
So here is our option. Angel wasn't going to force us to do anything this month because these people dont need pity, they need love. We could do as much or as little work as we liked, but these people have needs. Their need is to see people who live Christ in the good and bad. Then she introduced us to the ditches. Angel attends the local city counsel meetings. There people in all different spectrums have mentioned how they need to clean the waterways because of the random flooding that happens in this area. But the counsel doesn't have the money, the people don't want to raise taxes, and no one wants to do the back breaking work.
Angel explained how if we choose to, we are not just cleaning ditches, but we are really blessing the community and soooooo.......HERE WE ARE!
12:18 has a great chance to spread the love of Christ by doing the job that no one wants to do. But lets be honest, after us girls shoveled in the 213th wheelbarrel load of gravel, and the boys pushed it away, I realized why no one wants to do it. =) Oh yeah, and it might be becuase of the spiders too!
But the point is that we have a chance to bless people, and that Jesus called us to love. So we are committed to serving this area, and letting them know that we are here because Christ has set us free, and we want to encourage them, and show them the love of Christ.
A few nights ago my team gathered to pray over the area and discuss how we were doing. The emotions were honest when everyone talked about sore muscles and the feelings of what happens when the dirt is gone? God what else are we supposed to do?
Matthew 7: 7-8 came to our minds: "Ask and it will be given unto you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door will be opened unto you. For everyone who asks receives, whoever seeks finds, and whoever knocks the door will be opened."
So as a team, we came together and prayed. We asked the Lord to show us why we were here. God we dont have a problem just digging ditches & serving doing manual labor, but we thought you were going to use us in much different and bigger ways. Please show us WHY we are HERE specifically. He has answered and we have been given the opportunity to also pour into some people (which is right up my alley- more to come...but for now I think this is long enough blog- don't want to lose ya:)
I have never been one to brag, but God is pretty cool. Within the day we met Bill & others, and our journey took a twist that screamed "you asked, and now God provided."
