UPDATE: Halfway Through the Race!

Hello again! It has been a long time since you have heard from me. We experienced a big move to a new blog platform and its taken a while to get the kinks worked out. I’d like this first post on the new blog to be a little update! It is officially over halfway through the race and I have been through 2 countries since I last posted a blog (oopsies). I love sharing photos, so this update will be a bit of a photo diary. Enjoy!

 

In Guatemala (September-November 2022), we worked with an amazing ministry called Reindom.

After our time at Reindom, Whale Team 6 met up with the rest of P Squad in Antigua for a week of debrief. At the end of our time in Guatemala, we hiked a volcano called Acatenango. It was amazing!

 

Once we left Guatemala, we flew through Houston, Newark, and Munich to get to Bucharest, Romania. I got to meet my mom in the Houston airport and it was so sweet to see and hug her.

 

After landing in Romania, we traveled to our new home in Craiova. There all 30 of us racers lived in this missionary house along with the Pastor of the Craiova church plant and his family. We shared 2 bathrooms and 1 kitchen.

 

Whale Team 6 was able to do some street evangelism together. This picture was taken in the botanical garden near our home. We met and danced with this sweet man who was mourning his late wife.

 

 

One of my ministry opportunities in Craiova was teaching a bible study called “Hard Topics.” There, anyone is welcome to come and engage in conversations on difficult aspects of the scriptures and faith. I got to teach “What is the Trinity?” alongside my friend Mikahla. If you like a challenge, try explaining the trinity to unbelievers (who also don’t speak English)!

 

 

One ATL day, the girls from my team (the femwhales) got to take a day trip to a border town on the Danube River called Orsova, Romania. Beyond the river behind us is Serbia!

 

P Squad got to enjoy Christmas together in Romania! We ate tons of mac’n’cheese, had a secret Santa gift exchange, and worshipped the Lord together.

 

For Christmas, Olivia drew and painted our team’s spirit whale (/marine mammal). I hand-lettered our names and we made them into stickers for the whole team. They were so cute!

 

During our ATL time in Romania, we traveled the Transylvanian Alps, and we were able to visit Dracula’s Castle. After touring it, we hiked this cliff across the river to a cross that overlooks the whole town. The cross had Mark 8:35 inscribed on the back and, from this lookout point, we were able to get this awesome view of the castle at sunset.

 

 

We stayed in another famous town in the Transylvanian Alps called Brasov. Here we saw the historic  Black Church, passed out flowers, and did some street evangelism.

 

 

By the end of our time in Romania, P Squad got new teams as well as new raised-up squad leaders! This means Whale Team 6 has officially been disbanded (sad face), but I have a new team:

1-800-Ask-a-Farmer

(super super happy face)! Then our squad took a private bus from Bucharest, Romania to Tirana, Albania. This was our new team getting dropped off at a gas station/bar in the pouring rain with no cell service and no money. Good news: we survived!

 

During our time in Albania, we went to a popular beach town called Durres. If you look really really really closely, you can see Italy on the other side of the Adriatic sea. (may also need to use your imagination a little bit).

 

 

Our ministry hosts in Albania gave us this amazing opportunity to join them on a family trip to Greece! We got to visit Meteora and stay in Athens for a few days. We hiked, ate gyros, explored historic sites, ate gelato, and walked all over the city. This is me and Abigail at the Parthenon.

 

 

Back in Albania, we were able to take a traditional Albanian dance class. It took us a little while to get it, but we had so much fun learning. We are now ready to attend any Albanian wedding or party.

 

 

Our team was able to express some of our American culture by celebrating Galentine’s Day together. We had a delicious meal followed by Jordan’s homemade chocolate truffles and brownie cheesecake. This day was marked with love and laughter.

 

 

At the end of our ATL time in Albania, we traveled to the traditional mountain village of Kruje, Albania. We got to spend a few nights in a castle and woke up to this mountain view each morning. Our time in Kruje was sweet and restful.

 

 

Lots and lots of time water coloring on the race! I especially enjoyed this outdoor painting session in the mountains.

 

 

 

After ATL in Albania, P Squad hopped on a bus and took a lil 20 hour drive to Istanbul, Turkey.

 

 

Hello Istanbul! My squad was able to spend a week of fun and evangelism training together.

 

1-800-Ask-a-Farmer had the opportunity to share our experince in Albania with the squad.

Praise God for all He has done!

 

 

One day, we got to explore some cool parts of Istanbul. This is the famous historic Hagia Sofia Grand Mosque! Do a lil google searchy search and read about this thang, its truly amazing.

 

 

This is the interior of the Sofia. The history of this building is fascinating and worth your time (seriously, look into it). We had guided tours by these volunteers who are university students that spend all their spare time in this place. They were by far the most devout Muslims I have ever met and we had fruitful conversations with them in the mosque.

 

 

Exploring Istanbul required fuel… traditional Turkish Pide fuel. These pide (they are basically football-shaped pizzas) the Elijah found were so cheap and so delicious.

 

 

On our final squad fun day, we took a ferry to Princes Island in the Marmara sea.

 

On Princes Island, there are no cars or gas vehicles. We were able to bike all over the island and got to stop at an old Orthodox Orphanage. It is the biggest wooden structure in all of Europe.

 

We were all smiles on squad fun day! Here, you can actually see Istanbul across the Marmara Sea (no imagination needed).

 

 

In Istanbul, I was struggling to have peaceful sleep. Here is a picture of my teammate Victoria praying Psalm 91 over me before bed. I love doing life in community!

 

 

Our time with the squad came to an end and we had to say goodbye to Istanbul. the Farmers got on a bus and went to Biga, Turkey where we will be living for the next month.

 

 

Today, we made some friends! They shared traditional Turkish tea with us and a funky, healthy drink called Boza (it is made from boiled millet and gives me apple sauce vibes). We are excited for what is in store for us in Biga, Turkey!

 

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. I also thank you for your patience as we have navigated the transition to a new blog platform. I hope you will be hearing from me regularly once again, just like the good ole days in Guate. I hope this update finds you well; I love you all!