So, I've been back in the States since around Thanksgiving and in that time I've gone through quite a few emotions (which is really strange for this typically emotionless person).  For about the first month and a half I didn't want to see people, talk to people, interact on any normal basis...I was just tired of being around people 24/7.  My family understood this to a certain extent.  I spent several days at my mom's house, stranded out in the sticks with no vehicle, no money, no desire to do much of anything.  I'm not sure what depression feels like because I'm usually a pretty upbeat/positive person, but there was no semblance of that happy person for what seemed like forever. After a while I started helping out with the farming/ranching with the fam.  I found some comfort in being around the animals and on the open land.  I turned back into a complete country girl...I thought I had lost that girl after living in the "city" for so long, but she came back!!  Suddenly, I got this idea that I needed to start making some money because I can't be in my 30's living off my mom (even though I think she loved having me depend on her again).  I started going back up to Waco to work...I know Waco, Waco is comfortable, it's safe and I KNOW I can work there and have lots of connections. 

Now, while all this is going on I keep having this little thought in the back of my head...something that I'm positive God put in my head back in Macedonia.  I'm supposed to move into my mom's house in Austin that's been vacant for years and get it fixed up so she can sell it.  But, I don't know anybody in Austin, I don't have an easy job in Austin, it's an even bigger city than what I'm used to (and I'm back in country mindset).  God started opening doors.  I was offered a job in Austin by a trusted friend...available immediately.  It's not my dream job, but it's available money and it affords me the opportunity to move into this house and pay for utilities!!  Woo hoo!!  I got really excited about moving to Austin...there's SO MUCH to do in Austin!   

I've been in Austin a week, figuring out the now two new jobs (both in the restaurant industry), getting to know the city again, starting to get things in order then BAM...the question comes that I'd been waiting for but I didn't know I was waiting for it.  "Would you be interested in leading a team this summer?"  My immediate thought..."Ugghhhh, do I really want to do this again...and so soon?"  Just being honest.  My response..."Yes, call me with details..."  I really had been praying about leading a real life team for a couple of months...random.  My conversation with God basically came down to: if you really want me to go, someone will have to ask me...well, apparently He wants me to go...and Robby Riggs knows me well enough to know that if he asks me, I'm probably going to say yes. 

So............I'm leaving June 7 for...wait for it...New Zealand!!  Yes, that's where it all started last year on The World Race and I absolutely loved everything about the country, the people, the culture.  From what I've gathered so far I will also be working with the same contact I had last year and Rob Namba is AWESOME!!!  I don't know all the details yet, but I know that this is exactly where I'm supposed to be right now doing exactly what God has planned.  That's about as much as I know about my life right now...live in the moment and take on the random things.  I heard a sermon this week about wild-eyed wonder and experiencing the fullness of resurrection life and I can't help but hope that's just what I'm doing right now.  Saying yes to God in the most unlikely situations, being excited about the mystery that is to come.  I've never been more pumped about NOT knowing!!!  I love being a clean slate for God to just really work with...being open to possibilities and not tied down too tightly to anything.  Here we come New Zealand...I have no idea who "we" is yet, but you better be ready for us because we are bringing some serious fire with us!!  

**If you would like to help support me on this new adventure you can go to the button on the left of this blog to help financially...and of course I always love your prayer support!!  

So, we're in Ireland...land of the leprechaun's and green clovers!!!  We've just finished with an amazing conference called The Awakening where all the World Racers who are out in the field now plus alumni plus coaches and leadership from our organization come together and worship and have teachings from some incredibly wise men.  My team (which is different AGAIN) was involved in so much of the production of this conference and I'm so proud and honored to be able to serve with people who are so gifted and talented in different areas. 

I know it's been a while since I've blogged so I'm just going to give some highlights of the last few months to get you caught up.

>  Kenya was great and we had one of the best contacts to work with.  I miss that place like crazy!

>  We traveled to Tanzania...NEVER want to experience a bus ride like that again...EVER!!!  Over a three day period we lived on three different buses, one of which was a 19 hour ride through the Serengeti desert on a bus that wasn't completely sealed so we were covered with about a half inch of white dust...miserable!  Then we got to the hotel only to find out that we had two whole hours to shower and rest before we had to get on another bus to travel 8 more hours to our ministry town.  What a life!

>  Our time in Iringa, Tanzania was pretty restful.  Our ministry was about two hours a day (maybe) so we got to do a lot together as a team.  At that point there were five of us girls; Emily Conner, Ashley Huizenga, Alycia Butler and Susie Virzi...and me J

>  We went on a safari to the Ruaha National Park...AMAZING!!!  We saw elephants,  lions (including two who were mating...so awkward and beautiful), a leopard, lots of monkeys, hippos, crocodiles, a creepy looking owl, and hundreds of giraffes.  Such a cool experience to see a beautiful and mysterious environment.

>  Traveled to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on our way back to Nairobi and stopped off in a mall and whose picture did I see up on the wall at the Adidas store...none other than Jeremy Wariner!!!  It was so weird seeing someone I know plastered on the walls of a sports store.  It was comforting seeing someone that is familiar after so many months!

>  Traveled to Uganda to begin our third month of ministry in Africa.  First stop, Jinja, home of the Adrift Adventure Camp.  Our whole squad got to spend three days hanging out by the Nile River and experiencing a place that is spoken of in the bible...it was kind of awe-inspiring to be in the places that you read about in God's word.

>  Within that three day time period was my 31^st birthday...I can honestly say it was the best birthday EVER and I will have to get pretty creative if I ever want to try and top this one.  I got to bungee into the Nile River, then most of our squad went white-water rafting down class 5 rapids!  I was fortunate enough that all of our guys let me go on a raft with them so we could get the most out of our experience...and boy was it fun!!!

***So right now you're probably thinking this all sounds like a bunch of fun stuff and that we aren't really doing ministry...I'm getting to that part right now.

>  We arrived at our ministry sight in Uganda only to be quickly taken to the site of a crusade that our contacts were hosting.  The area was spiritually really heavy and there is a strong cult that thousands of people follow.  My team, which now consists of Emily Conner, Ashley Huizenga, Susie Virzi, Lauren Sims, Caleb Dufresne and Jake Kennedy, went to several different schools to teach the kids about who Jesus is and give them bibles so they can read the truth of the word of God.  Several of the kids wouldn't even take the bibles because their parents were part of the cult and they would be beaten if their parents found them with a bible.

>  Over the next week at the crusade we spoke at three schools and did door to door evangelism and, according to our contacts, 1,181 people accepted Christ that week.  Now, that's a shocking and incredible number of people!  I'm still a little skeptical at the depth of what people understand about the decision they made and my prayer is for a lot of discipleship for those people to really and truly know who Jesus is and the love that He pours out on them.

>  We went to the wedding of the Bishop's son and the Arch Bishop of all of Uganda did the service...and the King of that province was there.  The next day I got to preach three services and one of them had the Arch Bishop attending.  He was there to rest and be fed that day...just a little bit intimidating...and the services were televised so I was apparently on TV!!!

>  That week we put on a youth rally for the youth of the church and the community...in Africa youth can mean anyone from ages 8-35 so it was a broad range that we got to speak to.  It was incredible and the youth were all so attentive and purposeful with their questions.  We really felt a sense that the Lord would continue to work in this community through these youth!

>  Now we've come to Ireland and we've had a chance to get our spirits filled back up at the Awakening.  All the squads who are in the field right now had a dance competition a couple of days ago...guess who dominated!!!  That's right, N Squad (that's my squad)!!!  The level of unity that this process of coming up with a dance for 50 people to perform, teaching everyone how to do it and getting everyone excited about the competition was incredible.  Our squad has never been closer...we REALLY do have a family of 50 young people. 

>  After we performed and WON, everyone asked to see the dance again and, of course, we loved the idea of doing it again.  In one part of it I flip over Caleb's back.  Well, this second time I don't quite know what happened, but I landed bad...really bad...it felt like two knives had been jabbed straight into the front of both of my ankles.  But, I went on and finished.  Two hours later the pain began to really set in...almost instantaneously.  It was really strange because I went from a slight tightness to excruciating pain in my left foot.  I stuck my foot in an ice bucket (hated that) but it just kept getting worse and worse.  I was convinced that something was really wrong...possibly broken...but there was no way that I was going to go get it checked out.  I'm tough, right?  The stubbornness inside of me was screaming for people to stop making such a big deal over this...they wanted me to go to the hospital, they wanted guys to carry me to the car, they wanted me to get in a wheelchair!  Everything in me was resisting letting people help me, but the pain was beginning to overtake my stubbornness.  I was "talked" into going to the hospital to get it checked and now I'm so thankful for all of the prayers and strong words from the squad coaches and AIM staff who got me out of my own stubborn head because in that I got to see God work in the most phenomenal way!!!  Four hour hospital visit later the four other people who were with me prayed over me and asked God to really show up.  Actually I don't really know what they prayed because I was in and out of sleep, but when I woke up there was absolutely NO pain in my foot.  I was shocked!  I was convinced that I didn't need an X-Ray anymore, but I got one and there was nothing wrong...nothing.  They gave me crutches and pain medicine and sent me on my way.  Less than a day later I threw the crutches down and never got the prescription filled because someone greater had already healed me...and a lot of other people through the whole ordeal.  I don't know if I've ever experienced anything quite like the way God worked in my own body and in my own spirit.  I honestly feel a completely different mood has come over me.  I feel alive and excited again in a way I haven't felt in a LONG time.  Wow!

Then we arrived in KENYA!!!!!!!!!!!  We got there on the exact day that I left Kenya last year...and we missed the Baylor Sports Mission team by about 12 hours - I was soooooo bummed!!!  We had debrief for a couple days in Nairobi and my team changed again.  One of my teammates, Sarah, is now the team leader for another team (I forgot their new team name) and our sister Jess decided it would be better for her to continue growing spiritually back at home.  So now we are down to five members.

We left for an 8 hour bus ride to Kitale, Kenya...which included a two hour dance party ...amazing!!  We met our contact, Moses, and his family.  He is quite possibly one of my favorite people now.  We couldn't have asked for a better contact this month and we have really had one of the most incredible months of ministry.  We have done things like hospital ministry, prison ministry, evangelism in villages and in urban businesses, we've visited children's homes, churches, and have gotten to hang out at the local coffee shop and talk to other missionaries from the States and other countries.  There have been so many awesome contacts that we've made here and our team has really been stepping out and experiencing all of Kenya.  God is truly doing something special here and I can't believe this month is almost over.  My experience this year is completely different than our mission trip last year, but God continues to grow my world-wide ministry perspective and He's beginning to give me some vision for my future.  I still have no idea what that future will hold, but I'm so open to what God has in store!!!