The one where they’re in Georgia, NOLA & Jaco

Gainesville Ga: 

This chapter in my life has flown by. One day I was saying goodbye to my family in a place I have only been to once and then the next I was saying goodbye to the same place but this time I have found it to be home. The 5 weeks that I had spent in Gainesville was a time of change and growth. Change on who I think God is, change on who I am and change on how I see the world. On September 11 I said goodbye to my family, and headed off for the biggest adventure of my life, and the longest I have been away from home. The biggest adventure of my life thus far has turned out to be tent sleeping, storage container showers that are so moldy, they have grown mushrooms (don’t worry they are clean now), rain for a week straight (TWICE), and moldy everything. But with all that I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love my tent, I love my people, I love the teachings and I love the world race. I have learned that I can make it through hard things and still find joy in them. My time in GA was sweet, and will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Samaritans Purse in NOLA:

After my 5 weeks in Gainesville, we left in the early morning for New Orleans to help in relief from hurricane ida. Going into the trip I was really nervous because it was going to be a lot of hard manual labor, but now being back in GA as I write this I can now say that I enjoyed every moment of the work. I can say that in full confidence now because my SP team was hard working, encouraging and strong, not just physically but also spiritually, when the humidity was 90% and I was sweating more than ever, I was reminded that the work I am doing is an answer to someones prayer, it is the light in the darkness of the storm. Every homeowner that I was blessed to serve had the joy of the Lord in them, it encouraged me. Even though their homes were destroyed in some way from the storm, they were still praising the Lord, which is just a great reminder to see. Relying on the Lord for your joy and not your circumstance. During those 2 weeks the saying ‘Beautiful girl you can do hard things’ became one of our many sayings because it’s true. Samaritans Purse was hard, we woke up early, went to bed late, and worked all day in the sun, but that became another learning opportunity. We learned that through Christ we find our strength, our strength to laugh when a log fell off a wheel barrow, strength to rejoice in the Lords joy when we are in a house infested in black mold. Strength to always choose our teammates when things get hard. I left SP knowing that I can do hard things.

Debrief: 

When we left New Orleans we drove back to Gainesville for 5 days. During those 5 days we did debriefing, which is essentially processing what happened during training camp and SP. But it was also preparing us for COSTA RICA! Debrief was a sweet time. We celebrated Halloween, we got to see our coaches and learn from them. We essentially hung out for 5 days before our life got crazy. 

First week in Jaco Costa Rica: 

Jaco is our first stop in Costa Rica and so far it has been a dream. We are a 10 minute walk to the black sand beach, and just surrounded by pura vida. Jaco is a small area but it is in desperate need of Jesus, but it’s also a place that has already been filled with familiar faces and a local fruit stand. Our first week of ministry was working with the homeless community and helping them prepare for rehab. We basically just hung out with them all day, we played checkers, soccer, and learned each other’s favorite bible verses. I really loved learning their heart and how the Lord continues to bless them everyday. To get to rehab they men have to stay sober for the 3 days that we are with them, I remember them telling me how hard it is, but their want for a new beginning is greater than that addiction. That reminds me of how before following Jesus we are stuck in our past life, broken and sinners but when we accept Jesus into our hearts we are set new, free. It’s such a beautiful feeling. We are just getting started here in Costa Rica but I am so excited to see where that takes us!!

What is after Costa Rica? 

When I first signed up for the race our next stop was supposed to be Thailand but because of covid we had to change countries. When we were told this it was definitely heart breaking but it was also such a beautiful reminder to trust in the Lord fully and remember His plan is greater than ours. While we were in Samaritan’s Purse we found out we are going to COLOMBIA!!!!! I am so excited 🙂 I have zero expectations on what it’s going to look like but I am so eager to see what the Lord has in store for us. 

thanks for reading 

Grace!