A quick Recap

I am sitting on the airport floor in Istanbul, having just woken up from a nap and decided to write a blog. I am so grateful to all of you who support me by reading my blogs, and I want to keep you updated on how God is moving. We left for the airport this morning at 9 am. Wait, actually, I think that was yesterday morning. Anyway, while we waited for our flight, our squad was moved by Holy Spirit and had the opportunity to minister to a few people through prayer. This squad is on fire and eager to share the love of Christ and the freedom and healing that comes with his love with other people. Then, we boarded our ten-hour flight, which found me here sleeping on the floor.

I wanted to briefly recap my time at home before leaving again. It was busy but still refreshing. I loved reconnecting with friends and family, and it was a blessing to have the opportunity to share some of the testimonies God gave me over the past year. Along with going dancing, coffee dates with friends, and church, I got to be a part of two weddings. The first I just attended, and it was for a friend I have known since high school. The second was that I was a bridesmaid, and my brother was getting married! Praise God for his timing because his wedding happened just three days before I arrived back on base with The World Race. Both weddings were beautiful, and I feel privileged to have had a part in them. Other than that, I went rock climbing several times, hiking a couple of times, and just spent time with my family at home, resting and preparing to return to the field.

Well, so much for finishing this blog at the airport. I spent the rest of my travel day sleeping at every chance. After 22 hours of flying and a 72-hour-long travel day, we made it to South Africa last night and just finished our first day of ministry. We settled into our mission house with our wonderful hosts last night and woke up bright and early this morning to go to the kids’ ministry. I am so excited to be doing kids ministry! I haven’t been able to work with a whole lot of kids this past year, and it is nice to get to love on these guys.

There’s not much else to say about South Africa since we haven’t even been here for 24 hours, but I can update you on my time in Gainesville, Georgia. I loved my time on base with AIM despite the busyness. The first ten days were just for the squad leaders. I met my co-leaders, Reagan and Jaiden, who are absolutely amazing, and our mentor, Kara, and our male mentor (“man” tor) to disciple the men on our squad, Elijah. I love my leadership team and am so excited to learn from each of them. I have already learned so much. The teachings from our ten days of training were also amazing. I feel filled and ready to lead while simultaneously feeling so unqualified. I think that’s an excellent place to be, though. I don’t ever want to feel qualified without God, so I know that God will get the glory from my time leading because there is no way I can do this apart from him.

The next 14 days were for the new World Racers, who were coming for their trips! I was blessed to learn how to drive a 15-passenger van to the airport, pick several of them up, and drive them onto base. God has some big things in store for this squad, and I can’t wait to see how he moves. I am already so inspired by their faith and boldness to step out in obedience to Christ, and I love all of them so much.

Okay, so I have been attempting to write and post this blog for almost two weeks now and apparently can’t seem to do it. So, I am going to keep it short and hopefully write a more detailed one soon. The first two weeks here in South Africa have been amazing. My team and I are working with an orphanage, and we love spending our days with the kids there. We also chose our team’s name. We are the Pykkewyne, which means Penguins in Afrikaans. We felt our team was friendly, welcoming, and joyful; penguins represent that in our opinion. Some of us went bungy jumping for our first adventure day and had an amazing time. 10/10 would recommend. Before I sign off, I want to ask for your prayers. P-squad is so hungry for the Lord, and I have been praying for us to see the Lord move in new ways and to stretch us. You can also join us in praying for the country of South Africa and for the children who we are caring for at the orphanage. People here need to know the good news and feel the love of God! Thank you all for your patience with me. Stay tuned for my next blog soon!