Hello dear friends! Wow. Hard to believe that N squad is heading into month 6 of the race. What an insane journey this has been. As a squad we wanted to invite you guys into what the race has looked like in each country for us as a squad. The story tellers (Meg, Court, and Oscar) facilitated the squad in writing a blog together. So, this blog is the culmination of all 24 perspectives of what each month has looked like for us. Everybody has had a different experience depending on what team they were on, the ministry host they were with, and the personality God blessed them with. As a squad we wanted you to get to hear the many different things all 24 of us have experienced in the last 5 months. Each of the sections was written by 4 different people that did not experience that country together to give a unique perspective on each South American country we have done ministry in. Without further ado….
Colombia
Our word this month was VULNERABILITY!
Scripture—1 Thessalonians 2:8
So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
Colombia was our first country so we learned by drinking through a fire hose. We were bright eyed and bushy tailed and didn’t think we needed rest days or adventure days because the adrenaline was enough to sustain us. We found that all our hosts were eager to pour into us and we were ready to take on whatever they asked of us. One team taught English, one team did youth ministry and two teams were paired with a church doing street evangelism, leading worship, preaching, and going on house visits.
- Sweet month with sweet hosts
- First encounter with leaving a country you loved and having to learn to cope with entering into a new family quickly
- First month you get attached to people and learn you have to leave them anyway
- The “oh shoot, I signed up for this” month
- Learning to live and trust 6 strangers right away
- Learned a ton of Spanish
- Full of arepas and cheese that did not melt
- All the instant coffee you could drink
- Freezing cold showers
- Learning to remember to throw your toilet paper in the trash
- The only month we didn’t clog the toilet
- Looked like Jurassic World driving through it.
- All my clothes still fit
- First month we learned how to play nertz
Ecuador
Our word this month was CHALLENGE!
Scripture—Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another
ALL-SQUAD MONTH. Which means that we have 26 people all eating, sleeping, showering, pooping, and existing in the same space…24/7. Yikes! Our “parents” for the month were Mabe and Fabi who have hosted dozens of squads in past years and they are FANTABULOUS. Each team had their own ministry that they trekked to each morning-Team Fiercely Loved served at Dunamis, team Lit served with CRU, More Amor served at Pan de Vida, Peace of Freedom served at Camp Hope.
- Learned what good stewardship is
- We saw people from other cultures become family
- Thanksgiving!
- Seeing different ministries intertwine.
- Unity in the dirt.
- Everyone was sick. There weren’t enough toilets.
- Sitting around the table eating ice cream all together out of a pie dish.
- 2 teammates being left on the bus and everyone screaming *espera!!!* (wait).
- Allie: are tortilla shells warmer than blankets?
- Stacking over 5,000 bricks.
- Carrying cement up and down a mountain.
- Falling out of packed public transport.
- Being reminded everyday about the fruits of the spirit in ministry and seeing them being carried Out with the whole squad in different ministries!
- Praying words of prophesy over each team.
- Fútbol games!!
- Party bus at debrief in Baños!
- Postcard night: we all wrote a postcard to our past about the lies we have believed and then another to speak against those lies and who God says we are…then we burned the lies!
PERU
Our word this month was FAMILY!
Scripture—John 1:12-13
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
This was a hard month for all of the teams! In all these ministries there was a lot of spiritual warfare that was very constant throughout the whole country. Peru felt very heavy and dark, but despite this we were able to form relationships with many Peruvians and Venezuelan refugees. We were challenged in different ways throughout the month. Some that stick out to us are being obedient to the Lord and saying yes every day, even though it was physically and mentally challenging. Focusing on Jesus being our number one companion, and what it looks like to love the least of these like Jesus did became our mantra. Also, no matter what you feel about a situation, God can still use it to further His Kingdom. Also, we learned that Kingdom isn’t just standing in the pulpit, it can be found in feeding children broccoli and so much more!
Lima, Peru
Worked with YWAM
Relational ministry
Worked with churches
Taught English
Cusco, Peru
Ministry at the church
Evangelism
A lot of spiritual warfare
Cusco, Peru
Worked with an orphanage
Helped remodel a house
Were mentored by our hosts
In the middle of the jungle, Rio Tambo
Unplanned ministry
Poured into kids on the outskirts of town
Did community with a chiefs’ family
Bolivia
Our word this month was FREEDOM!
Scripture—2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
People: By far the nicest people we’ve ever met. Poorest country but the most giving. We would walk into a home with nothing and they would run next door to buy us a drink. Just giving everything they have. Meeting kids in rehab you can see the progress they’ve made and they just wanted love. The juxtaposition present seeing all the scars on their bodies from gang wars but at the end of the day they’re just kids wanting to play. Kids are kids depending on their environment it really effects their outcome. Two of our squad’s teams had a Bolivian dad.
We felt so welcomed. It felt like home. They would also tell us a lot of stories. The kindest, most gentle people we’ve ever met in South America. It felt like we were leaving a second family.
Ministry: painting a three wall mural and God blessed us having everything work out and finish on time. Taught kids how to play instruments, encouraged them in their futures and shared testimonies. Another team worked with Samaritan’s Purse getting their medical missions boat ready for its first voyage of the year. It goes to tribes who can’t get into town to receive medical care. The third team hosted VBS programs for children in La Paz and smaller villages, as well as a Beauty for Ashes event. The final team’s ministry was very go with the flow and super relational. For the first week they were at an orphanage just hanging out with the girls. The next week and a half was spent traveling to villages preaching and sharing testimonies.
Things we’ll miss: The slow lifestyle. Feeling at home everywhere we go. Pink dolphins. Ministry team and the kids. Our Bolivian dads.
Argentina
Our word this month was TRUST!
Scripture—Numbers 31:23
Everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
- Maté
- Late night dinners
- Siesta
- Carbs for days
- Welcoming into a family so fast
- National Pride: Messi
- Spanish different than the rest of South America
- Debrief in Mendoza
- Team changes
- Gaucho cookouts/choro-pan/meats
- Tango
- Faithfulness of ministry workers
- Theme of “rebuilding”, the need for it, and how the Lord used us to help
- A lot of work with youth
- Spirit of apathy
- Spirit of restlessness
- Spirit of unity (especially for teams)
As a squad, we had such amazing, life changing and sometimes difficult times in South America but we all grew and learned so much about ourselves, each other, and the cultures we were immersed in, as well as different ways to do ministry in these countries. We are now on a new continent and as for your prayers as we continue to serve the Father!
ALSO!! THE END OF THIS MONTH IS MY FUNDRAISING DEADLINE! Please visit my home page and click that donate button so I can continue this journey on the race!!
@suzannerinks.theworldrace.org
