Today marks 100 days since I left home to launch on the World Race!!! I’m constantly amazed at how much has happened and the ways that God has moved. To celebrate, I’ve created a list of 100 blessings that have happened in our 100 days (in no particular order).
- Sweet Maria. Our favorite Guatemalan abuelita.
- Pillow talk with Jenna Watry
- Quotes of the day
- Chocolate rice (especially late at night)
- The gift of tongues, aka remembering more Spanish than you actually learned in high school
- But actually, the gift of tongues
- Holy Spirit baptisms
- Friends who watch 13 hours of Lord of the Rings Extended Edition because you’ve never seen it
- Honey butter popcorn. If you’ve never tried it, do it.
- Dogs in every home we visit
- The late night crew
- Late night talks
- Late night snacks (in addition to chocolate rice)
- God providing more than we need
- Random songs about random things
- 6 girls with nothing and everything in common
- Becoming family and creating a home together
- Having people that make up the other 2/3 of your logistics brain
- Literally sitting at the foot of a volcano in the 24 hours when it’s not exploding
- Riding up to said volcano in the backs of trucks (somehow without injury)
- Binge watching The Chosen
- The best photographers
- Scrapbooking
- So many people being open to the gospel
- The WiFi room
- Duolingo
- Hotel pools before we got kicked out
- $10 air conditioning
- 4000 colones laundromat
- New music
- Friends who write worship songs
- Spontaneous improv
- Hair wraps
- Spontaneous tattoos (even though it didn’t feel like a blessing in the moment)
- More coffee shops than I can remember
- 30 Quetzal ($3) Converse in the market
- Learning to surf
- Fighting for friendships
- ATV rides
- A smoothie a day
- Beach sunsets
- Church in a garage
- Personal Uber drivers (shoutout to Fernando)
- Fitting 6 people in said Uber and thanking God that the brakes didn’t go out
- Pollo Campero ice cream
- Pollo Campero food. Sometimes. Not really, but you take what you can get.
- Beauty for Ashes in a hot chocolate shop.
- Sweet Maria’s panqueques
- “Con permiso!” First thing in the morning (or “Ay perdon!” per Jenna)
- Cafe Arenales (it’s like a mocha milkshake, so basically heaven on earth)
- Jenna’s guac
- Watching a volcano explode on our 2nd night in Guat
- Finding both AC AND WiFi in 1 place
- FaceTime calls from home
- Marco Polo
- Street food
- God time in a beer garden (who would have thought??)
- A little bit of Asheville in Antigua
- Surprise birthday parties… and a funeral
- Ice cream cake
- SEVEN BAPTISMS IN ONE DAY!!!!!!!!!
- Sweet letters from friends to send me off
- Being welcomed into the most grand and most humble homes all the same
- Random trips to the city for dinner
- Being Maria’s pack mules at the market
- Teaching Alex English (“jes!” And “Que cute!”)
- Valentines dates with Powla
- Getting impromptu Spanish lessons from Clarita
- Sorting 1,000 guisquiles with Carmelina and Genesis
- Learning what a guisquil is
- “Hola Gringas!!” And hugs from Leandro
- Watching the 3rd To All the Boys
- Getting fresh flowers from the market
- Learning all about the Destiny Assessment
- Chikys. Seriously, they’re so addicting
- Getting to see scarlet macaw, toucans, bats, and iguanas all in your front yard
- Sorting trash (I know what you’re thinking, but it really was a blessing)
- Random photoshoots on the beach at sunset
- Learning who you would’ve been friends with in high school
- Preaching for the first time ever (yep, that happened. I’m still processing)
- Bikes that prevent you from walking in the heat but fall apart
- Needing an ID after making 3 purchases with the same card and some random guy offering to pay for you
- Snuggles, even when it’s hot and sticky
- Finding a deep tide pool on a very long beach walk
- Painting the entire city in murals
- Praying over the city during Semana Santa
- Washing more windows than we can count
- Discovering new podcasts
- Really good Indian food in Costa Rica
- Getting to see a surfing dog
- Being spoiled in every housing situation
- A new ring in each country
- American thrift stores
- No positive Covid tests on the team (one of 2 teams without it!)
- God somehow multiplying our cash to have exactly the right amount for the hostel
- Everyone making the flight after being less than a half hour from missing it
- Discovering how to download free e-books from the library (and probably reading way too much)
- Rooming beside the guys’ bathroom and hearing the best music and conversations
- So much life change. Us and the people we’ve met.
- Spiritual freedom
I can’t believe we’re already 100 days into the Race! God has been so good and so incredibly faithful to us. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s easy to see how He’s moving and growing us. Stay tuned for more blessings and adventures in the Dominican Republic and beyond!
