Four Months in Photos

This blog is going to look a little different. I’m sharing some of my favorite photos and  moments from ministry in my first four countries: Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, and Cambodia!

One of our most important tasks in Chile was manual labor on the church/house we were living in. This is during the chaos, but we did finish this sanctuary before the church’s first service on our first Sunday in Chile!

My team and I took apart, sanded, stained the wood, and painted the gate at the entrance to the church in only a few days.

As you can see, refurbishing the gate made a BIG difference as you would drive up to the church!

Part of our ministry in Chile was helping students at a local school practice English twice a week. This is us with all of our students on Halloween! (If you’re wondering, the guys with the big heads are Teletubbies, and there were 4 of them altogether!)

Our ministry hosts, James and Coletta, held Young Life meetings on Fridays at their house. Kids from all over their neighborhood came for snacks and sweets, games (including a Spoons tournament), good conversation, and a Bible teaching.

Once a week, some of us would join our hosts in going to a local hospital to pray for some of the children staying there, and give them a bracelet and coloring pages. Their faces lit up when they saw us coming!

In Chile, my team definitely became a Worship Team. We sang Oceans by Hillsong in Spanish almost every Sunday, and on our last Sunday in Chile, we led the whole worship set during the service in Spanish.

In Argentina we worked with a YWAM (Youth with a Mission) base in Mendoza, and ministry looked different every single day. But there were several days where we were sent to local schools to give a skit and teaching about bullying and play some games with the kids.

One afternoon, we visited a neighborhood by a dump and some of us walked through it playing drums (and taught some of the kids to play), while others visited people in their homes and prayed for them, and for the neighborhood.

During most of our school visits, we played Red Light, Green Light (or Rojo, Verde) with the kids after our bullying skit. That was by far their favorite game!

One day in Mendoza, we were sent to a church to do evangelism with them. Some of us stood at an intersection and held signs that said, “Now is the time… Never forget that… God loves you!” Others handed out Spanish gospel tracks, and talked to people on the sidewalk.

In Bolivia, I worked with a girls’ rehab home. We went there every day to help with their chores and spend time with them. They loved Zumba videos!

 On Christmas Eve, we gifted the girls with a spa day, and had a special dinner. We also did worship and prayed over the girls, and shared in the struggle of being away from our families on Christmas. (photo credit: Maria Beiler)

During our Christmas Eve spa day, we washed the girls’ hands and feet, painted their nails, and braided their hair! (photo credit: Maria Beiler)

Cambodia was my team’s Unsung Hero month, which meant we spent our ministry time searching for new ministries that World Race teams could serve in the future! My teammate, Maria, and I got to go visit a couple of churches with a friend she met in a cafe and his family.

We also worked on some projects at the hostel we stayed at in Siem Reap. That included painting the lobby, even if it meant climbing up a rickety ladder to do it! (photo credit: Shannon Sears)

During an event my team and I helped run, where 4 World Race squads came to learn from and serve each other, we had time set aside for evangelism. My squadmate, Emily, and I met a great couple from Brazil, and spent over an hour talking with them in Gelato Lab (one of my favorite spots in Cambodia) and prayed with them.  (photo credit: Emily Adams)

This are the amazing people my team spent our time in Cambodia with: another team from our squad, and a few long-term missionaries that run the hostel we stayed at, Emily, Kelsey and Romany. We learned so much from them, and it was great to serve and live with them! (photo credit: Meg Arahill)

This was my team, Ablaze! At the end of our month in Cambodia, we had team changes. This was our last team time together in Siem Reap. Meg and I are on a new team together, but I’ll miss my old teammates, Zach, Kayla, RJ, Averi, and Maria!  (photo credit: Kayla Taylor)

These are only a few momentary snapshots of the ministry I’ve been doing with my team so far on the Race. We serve and love with all we have, and we love every second of it. I love every second of this crazy season in my life.

But I don’t have all I need to finish this Race.

I’m still about $3500 away from being fully funded, which was supposed to happen by the end of January.

If you could possibly donate any amount to keep me here, to keep me able to continue to serve, please do so! Any amount will help me reach that final goal (and don’t forget, all donations are tax-deductible!). You can donate by clicking the “Donate” button at the top of the page!