Posted in Malaysia by Kendra Floyd on 5/4/2011
although it is sad to be leaving the world race in three weeks, i am also getting incredibly excited about coming home. this is a glimpse into why i am thrilled.
mexican food.
driving.
being alone for more than 15 minutes.
having everything i need to take a shower accessible in the bathroom.
a bed that has pillows and sheets.
english church services.
the radio.
a closet that is stocked with clothes.
new shoes. really just my old shoes, but they will seem new.
air conditioning.
cleanliness.
a functioning waste removal system.
target. goodwill. tj maxx. hobby lobby. dollar stores.
being able to choose who i want to hang out with and when i want to do it.
southern style breakfast. biscuits. bacon. yum.
organizing my bedroom.
drinking water from the tap without getting a parasite.
book stores.
not having to pack multiple times a month.
sunday afternoon naps.
fresh laundry.
pinto beans and cornbread.
my little mermaid shirt.
sundrop.
people smiling back at me.
no more heinous smells all the time.
my own phone.
english speaking children.
dollar menus.
flushing toilet paper.
paper towels.
getting my teeth cleaned.
southern hospitality.
united states dollar. no more converting to other currencies.
dish washer.
singing at the top of my lungs alone in the car.
buying toiletries at walmart.
high speed internet that is readily accessible.
couches.
not feeling guilty about my lack of blogging.
refrigerators. not having to label my food.
not having to hide my stuff (toiletries, clothes, etc.) so people don't "borrow" it.
no jet lag.
having an income.
american hospitals.
spending time with my family and friends.
being able to share what God has done in and through me during the past year.
i am flying home may 29th. i cant wait to see everyone and hopefully enjoy some of these luxuries with you.
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Posted in Thailand by Kendra Floyd on 5/3/2011
i am writing a blog.
this has always been a particularly challenging part of the world race for me.
i love reading other's blogs. i love when someone's writing can take you by the hand and take you the places they have been. when words become music. fluid. drawing you into someone else's world with a pen (or in this case a keyboard).
i have never been a good writer. you can ask any teacher that has ever read one of the many research papers i have written. i imagine they had to consume multiple cups of coffee and perhaps, stuff themselves with chocolate just to get through the first page. this is something i have come to terms with. i think that my scattered brain and perhaps a mild case of attention deficit disorder are to blame and that is just how God created me. i write only when i am asked to. however, i have epically failed at that. i was asked when coming on the race to write blogs every month, but sometimes i feel it is easier to just write a short post on facebook about what country i am in and what my ministry is for the month. according to my mother and a few friends this is not enough. so...
i am writing a blog.
the last blog i posted was in the Philippines. whoops. that was exactly 68 days ago, which means i have done A LOT more than i could possibly cram into one blog.
so this is the shorter and much sweeter version of what i have been doing the past couple of months.
i left the philippines and journeyed across the south china sea to the people's republic of china. hong kong to be exact. initially, i was not excited about being in china. mostly because i had loved the philippines, but the lack of freedom was also not appealing. however, my views on being in hong kong changed quick, fast, and in a hurry. actually they changed as soon as i walked into the nicest living conditions i have had on the race. my entire team had not only 2 apartments for 6 people, but we also each had our own room. LUXURY! my room included a mirror, down comforter, closet, and feather pillows. we even had a couch, which is practically unheard of on the race. i couldn't have asked for anything more fantastic. these accommodations were provided by the organization we were working with for the month called Crossroads Global Distribution. Crossroads is an amazing organization that connects global resources to global needs. for example, as soon as they heard about the recent earthquakes in japan they organized immediate relief, which is ongoing. during my time at Crossroads, when i wasn't basking in my glorious bed, i worked with a sector of the organization called Global Handicrafts. Global Handicrafts was started in an attempt to provide for the needs of craft makers in the third world by providing them with a place to sell their goods in a fair trade environment. i worked as a shop hand, doing inventory and also in sales. i learned a lot during my time working there. the community that runs Crossroads was incredibly warm and inviting, providing us a new "family" for the month. hong kong is an amazing multicultural city. i would definitely love to travel back there someday.
my team sightseeing in hong kong. this describes us well. except i don't have a head. photo credits: http://www.juliettesteele.theworldrace.org
my wonderful month in hong kong had to close, so i traveled with my team on an overnight train to beijing to meet the rest of my squad. beijing was a lot of fun. we got to experience "real" chinese culture there. the great wall of china. biking around tien men square. the forbidden city. the silk market. and a lot of rice (speaking of rice, i DO NOT enjoy most asian food. it has been quite a challenge).
representing ZCA on the great wall of china.
soon our time of adventure in beijing ended and we were on a plane to bangkok, thailand. after a couple days waiting for the floods in thailand to go down we hopped on a bus and spent the night traveling to phuket. phuket is an island where many westerners vacation. when we arrived at the bus station our contact mark loaded our packs and drove us to our new home. SHE. Self. Help. Empowerment. SHE is an organization that provides a way for women that have been in the sex industry to learn a new trade (english, tourism, and jewelry making) so that they will hopefully be able to provide for their families through those trades. april was "womanistry" for my squad, which basically means the males and females on my squad are split up to pursue different ministries. so i lived with 21 females at the SHE base all month. the 21 women were then split into two teams. our days were split between manual labor and going into the bars to talk to the women. every other day my team would drive about 30 minutes away to the other side of the island to a piece of land where SHE is building a new base. our job was to clear the land. weed eating. raking. shoveling gravel. a lot of fun new things i have never experienced before. truthfully, i am not a great weed eater. some think it is easy, but not when you are weed eating 4 foot "weeds/trees" on a couple acres of land. i continuously prayed for a big green tractor to drive up the road. it never happened. luckily, i got a pretty good base tan while working on the land. it was all worth it. don't worry i used sun screen a couple times. the days that we weren't clearing the land we would spend our days prayer walking in the city and around the bars, begging God to break the chains of injustice that occur there nightly. every night when we got home at 8pm we would have a time of worship to prepare for the night ahead. our nights involved time in patong (the beach where the bars are located). while in patong i spent a lot of time interceding for the prostitutes and our teams that were ministering to them every night. ministering in this case doesn't necessarily mean sharing the gospel, more like providing them a way to get in touch with SHE so they will have the opportunity to teach them a trade and share the gospel at the same time. my month in thailand was overwhelming and tiring, but fun and fascinating at the same time.
team 2 celebrating our last day clearing the land.
fun facts about my time in thailand.
i thai boxed my team leader as a form of feedback on phi phi island. (i won)
i had the opportunity to spend a day off at a beautiful pool by a beach, but got sunburned after only a couple hours. oops.
i celebrated the thai new year with a water gun.
i spent a lot of time at 7/11 in hopes of avoiding asian food.
i was a finance leader for my team for the month.
i got to celebrate 3 of my best friends birthdays.
i prayed over a giant buddha on a hill that overlooked some of God's most beautiful creation.
i got to minister in the bars during the biggest water fight in the world. literally.
i got to see beautiful women takes steps out of prostitution. a gift from God.
after my thai boxing victory.
thailand, month 10, has come and gone. on the 28th i traveled from thailand to malaysia on yet another over night bus. then rode in a minibus for a few hours to a ferry that took us to meet our squad (our men that we hadn't seen all month) on an island in malaysia called penang. we spent two nights in penang waiting for our transportation to our ministry location for the month. during that time, i got to eat at a chili's while watching the royal wedding. VERY exciting. and eat the most delicious naan i had ever had.
soon i was out of a budget hotel and on a super comfy bus to my latest local. kuala lumpur. the capital city of malaysia. i am incredibly excited to be here in my LAST MONTH on the race. i can't believe month 11 is here. seriously, i thought it would never come to an end. i definitely have mixed emotions. leaving my current family to go back to my original family. weird. unlike anything i have experienced before. but it hasn't ended yet, and i fully intend to finish well. this month my ministry includes teaching english at bermese refugee schools, crusades in a village outside the city, homeless outreach, prostitute outreach, and working in two restaurants. the next three weeks should be busy, but amazing. please pray for our squad's safety this month, clarity for me in decisions about my future post race, and that i will finish well or at least finish in a way that only brings glory to God.
ok. this wasn't that short, but maybe a little sweet?
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Posted in Philippines by Kendra Floyd on 2/23/2011
i have always wanted to be a mommy. some of my first memories are of me walking around my house with a baby doll on my hip, playing house. i loved "taking care" of something. i always wanted to be exactly like my mom. i liked the things that she liked. our favorite color was purple. we loved our kids, even though mine were only baby dolls.
as i got older the idea of being a mom seemed less than appetizing. you know..the whole giving birth part came into play? ew. however, i got past that and fell in love with children again.
the two years before i left for the race my days were filled with kids, and i loved every second of it. i guess that is the main reason i am here right now. i couldn't stand the sight of starving children with no mommy to love them. or a young girl selling her body to feed her family. the thoughts disgust me to my very core. i needed to go. i needed to help.
monday night is a night i will never forget. we left the YMC, our home, to go do street outreach. some of us are fasting our lunch everyday so we will be able to feed the kids on one street in Manila at night. i wanted to see who i was feeding, so i loaded up in the bed of a truck to go meet some street kids.
truthfully, over the past 8 months i have become numb to poverty. i have been living in the middle of some of the most impoverished communities in the world for a while, so somehow it has lost its sting. its like when you walk into walmart, but you haven't been there in a long time and you are super overwhlemed. i mean there are like 100 aisles of anything you could possibly need. but if you go in walmart once a week for a while you learn where your favorite things are located. you get used to the hustle and bustle of everything walmart. that's how i feel about poverty right now. i'm used to it.
so after about a 10 minute drive we arrived at the street corner where about 20 kids were hanging out. we hopped out of the truck and went to meet some of them. i noticed that most of them were holding plastic bags in their hands. little did i know that they were filled with glue that they use to get high every night. some of the kids are only 11 years old. they have to get high every night because they have no food to eat. they are hungry, but the glue curbs their appetite. this is a harsh reality all over the world. at that moment....
i realized that i was
on one street corner
on one street
in one city
in one country
out of the whole world
filled with kids just like these.
how could i let this happen? what was i going to do to make this right? i can't let this happen right before my eyes? where are their families?
all these thoughts are going through my head. i think i am going to cry. i can't cry in front of these kids. they don't need my pity.
that is when i met RJ.
RJ is 13 years old. his parents are dead.
when i asked him where he lived he said that sometimes sleeps at a friends house, but he looks as if he has been sleeping on the streets for a while.
RJ has a lot of spunk. I really like him.
we continued talking for about 20 minutes when he looked me in the eyes and said "mommy?". he only speaks tagalog so communication is limited without a translator by my side. i was caught off guard. was he asking me if i had a mom? he asked Ate Pem, the translator to come translate for us. He said "will you be my mommy?". at this point i don't know what is appropriate. he is not a child. he is a 13 year old boy who fends for himself everyday. then i realized he only wants someone to love him. all of the questions i had asked myself before had been answered. i had to show this little boy that i love him the way his Heavenly Father loves him. I had to show him that the world has not forgotten about him. i had to be his mommy.
i responded with a smile and "of course i will be your mommy".
the picture RJ colored for me last night at outreach.
i am now the proud mother of a 13 year old boy. i never thought i would be able to say that when i was only 21, but it couldn't feel more right. every night this week i will be going back to see RJ and his friends on that street. please pray for RJ and the other children there.
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Posted in Philippines by Kendra Floyd on 2/9/2011
i got sick on monday night. just a 24 hour bug of some sort. it felt more like the beginning of my death, but after about 12 hours of making friends with the toilet, I started to feel normal again. everytime i'm sick i feel like it will never end, but it always does. but getting over it is never fun. i guess due to the hydration induced by this unknown illness i have had a headache for a few days. i thought maybe it was a caffeine headache. sickness=no caffeine. so i went on an adventure with my team leader/coffeeholic, sami to starbucks.
like most adventures in the philippines, it all starts with a tricycle. they call them "trikes" here. basically it is like a motorcycle with an attachment. they fit about 10 people on each trike. it only costs 7 pesos (like .20 cents) so its the only way to go.
After about 5 minutes on a trike we change transportation to a "jeepney". in all my experiences on random forms of transportation throughout the world. the jeepney is by far my favorite. they look like a miniature school bus mixed with a limo and a hearse, painted anything you can imagine, from jesus to unicorns to american flags. they are like party buses. about 30 people can fit in one and they have the music blaring with all of the latest tunes. america needs to adopt the jeepney as the newest, coolest form of publc transport. and again it's only 7 pesos... of course on the way to the tanay (pronounced tay-tay, makes no sense!) mall we took the wrong jeepney and ended up in the wrong place. so we hopped on another jeepney to go the opposite direction. then they made us get off and walk across the busy street to another jeepney that finally took us to the starbucks.
i'm not a huge starbucks fan. too expensive for what it is. coffee. i can get free coffee at home. however, i can't get free coke zero. so i walked to the supermarket to get myself a delicious, cold coke. supermarkets here are awesome. they have all kinds of american foods. like salsa and tortilla chips. my favorite! anyway, when i got back to starbucks to meet sami i saw that a girl was sitting with her. that is when i met cassandra.
cassandra lives near the mall. she is 13 years old. she loves world racers.
i guess when i was gone she walked up to sami to ask if she was a world racer.
i guess that shows how much we really do stand out here.
cassandra then told us about how she had met many world racers in the past.
they had invited her to Bible studies, out for food, and just to hang out.
she told us how much she loved them. how they had treated her like their sister. how they had been concerned for her. how they taught her how to forgive the people who had hurt her.
as she told us those things i realized the impact that i can make on any persons life that i have met on the world race. people just like me had changed this 13 year old girls life. sometimes it feels like i'm just making friends, but i now know that the impression that i make on people daily can really affect their lives and how they encounter Jesus.
so sami and i talked to cassandra for a while, but sami was in the busy of writing some important e-mails so i decided to go with cassandra around the mall. we were able to talk for a while, eat ice cream together, and just get to know each other. soon enough we had to go. so we crossed the busy street, said goodbye to cassandra and hopped on a jeepney we knew would take us home.
moral to this story. you could be the person that someone needs to change their life. just a conversation or a hug. be aware of your impact on the people around you.
we plan to meet with cassandra again on friday afternoon. please pray that we will be able to make an even greater impact on her life than the former world racers.
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Posted in South Africa by Kendra Floyd on 1/16/2011
so this month has not been a typical month on the world race. we are living at the "Budget Backpackers" hostel in St. Lucia, South Africa. St. Lucia is a small, homey resort town on the indian ocean. i never thought, when i signed up for a year of volunteering in a world full of poverty, that i would be doing ministry in a resort town in South Africa. this month has looked anything but ordinary, so i'm going to give you a look into one day in St. Lucia.
the day started when Xander picked up my team at the hostel. usually the person that comes to pick us up is about 30 minutes to an hour late, but he was only 15 minutes late. that was surprising. we left the hostel, jumped in the back of Xander's safari type truck and drove to the crocodile center. our job was to help Xander excavate 2 croc nests. so we walked to the small cage that housed about 6 crocs, male and female. Xander, Caleb, Nathan (the hostel manager), and a worker at the croc center went into the cage to do the digging. this nest was particularly hard to find. after around 20 minutes they finally hit an egg. the egg was unfortunately destroyed, but it led to the other 38 eggs in that nest. my job was to record, from outside of the cage the mass, length, width, and fertility of each egg. when we finished they started searching for the next nest, but never found it. so we decided the only thing to do after that was hold baby crocodiles! i was scared at first, but when I saw Xander's 2 year old son pick one up i knew i could be brave enough. crocs don't feel the way you think they would that are actually pretty soft and squishy.
 me holding a 1 year old crocodile.  one of xander's sons. he jumped in the croc cage to get the baby crocs out for us.
you might be thinking: what does finding crocodile eggs have to do with ministry? this is really hard for me to explain. over the course of the last seven months i have realized that my entire life is ministry. as i walk down the street, go to the grocery store, watch a movie with friends, play volleyball, or go to work: every single thing i do is ministry. that is why this month our team prayed and decided to pick a ministry that is more like what our ministry will look like at home. life. we are working with people that need Christ at the croc center. we are doing ministry in the hostel everyday as we make friendships with the people that are moving in and out. we are sharing the love of God with every person we come in contact with.
back to my day. Xander drove us back to the hostel. we ate lunch and headed to the beach in Cape Vidal with Nathan and Trevor (our contact for volunteering). we rode in Trevor's safari truck to the beach which is about 30 minutes away from St. Lucia. the beach was absolutely beautiful. the water was clear, the wave were a little to high for my taste, and the beach was surrounded by beautiful green hills. we went swimming for a while. i got trampled by a 6 foot wave. lost an earring. and had a ball! when we were done swimming we had a braai (south african for barbecue). i tried the most delicious sausage and had a kebab or chicken. we talked for a while and decided we needed to start driving home.  cape vidal
we started driving back, when Trevor asked me if i wanted to drive. i told him that i had never driven a manual before, especially not on the wrong side of the road!!! but trevor insisted that he was going to teach me. so i hopped in the driver's seat of a safari truck in the middle of the savannah to learn how to drive a stick for the first time. trevor didn't give me any direction. he only told me to put my foot on the clutch and he would shift gears for now. so i started the truck and of course stalled out. no big deal though, he was not going to let me stop trying. i finally got going and drove 8 people to a look out spot over the bay. when we got out they all cheered me on for doing such a good job my first time (i know they were only being nice)!
at the top of the hill you could see both the ocean and the bay. it was an absolutely magnificent sight! caleb asked if there were any trails to the water and there was one a few minutes drive away. so i hopped back in the driver's seat and drove to the beach. it was lined with rocks and the sun was starting to set. so we climbed on top of the rocks to enjoy the view for a few minutes and continued our journey. after we got back in the car trevor told me we were going to do something illegal. i responded with NO WAY! i have seen "locked up abroad" on the national geographic channel. but he told me that it wasn't really illegal, he meant that it was closed after sunset. but he works in the park, so it was fine as long as he was in the car. i then let out a sigh of relief and continued on. he directed me to a "road" in the middle of no where that looked more like an animal path! but i followed direction and kept driving. we found out that it was actually a safari path. so it was really cool. i felt like a safari guide. once we had been on the road for a while Trevor let Rachel and Robby try their hand at driving a manual too. we had so much fun. i felt like i had conquered a major life lesson. trevor got back in the driver seat and we drove back to the hostel. had feedback and went to bed.
our time in st. lucia has been so blessed. i have many cool experiences that i never thought i would have. we have had the opportunity to minister to people from all over the world. please pray that we continue to have more opportunities to share God's word.
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Posted in South Africa by Kendra Floyd on 1/16/2011
because my last few blogs have been pretty serious i thought i would lighten my blogs mood. traveling the world is not what i thought it would be. so i thought i would share with you all some of the things i have learned about traveling that you might not know.
1. The internet is accessible in most every part of the world.
one of my worries about coming on the world race was communication. i knew there was a chance that i wouldn't be able to talk to my family or friends for a long time. i was scared that i wouldn't be able to get in touch with them if there was an emergency or they wouldn't be able to get in touch with me. scary thoughts. what I didn't know that even in the most remote areas of Africa there is a good chance that you can drive about 15 minutes and find an internet cafe. of course, the internet is not high speed and it could take you 30 minutes to upload 1 picture to facebook, but it serves its purpose: communication.
2. Hostels are the only way to go.
there is something about a hostel that is like home away from home. not to mention they are SUPER CHEAP. you can typically get the same amenities as a condo or house rental that you can at a hostel. pools, internet, beds. it just makes sense. its less than half the price of any other type of accommodation and you get to meet cool people while you are there.
3. English is almost universal.
i can honestly say that everywhere i have been in the whole world, someone in the area speaks english. everywhere. you never have to worry about being misunderstood!
4. The world isn't scary.
the media paints a picture of the world outside america as being violent. that if you leave america you will definitely get mugged around every corner. this is not true. i have found that people are generally good. i know that there always need to be safety precautions taken when traveling, but overall there is nothing to be afraid of.
5. Most of the world is boring.
i have been to 7 countries in the past 7 months. you would think that every second of my life is incredibly exciting. it's not. i have been bored on the world race more than i ever have at home. you think about the world. so big. so many things to experience. so much adventure to be had. but i find it to be just like home. the news portrays the world as only that: news. but the world is actually just as boring as your neighborhood at home. you have to make it exciting.
6. Having stuff doesn't matter.
i started the world race with one big backpack and one school backpack. every month i have lost a little more stuff. right now i don't own much. only a little bit of clothes, toiletries, and electronics. you can survive with only one backpack of stuff and be happier than you ever have been. i find myself getting caught up in the idea of having stuff often. but you really just don't need it.
7. You don't need a cell phone.
i don't think i'll ever take a cell phone with me while traveling abroad. i haven't had a cell phone in a while now, and i really don't ever want to have one again. when i had one i was on it ALL THE TIME. you can get so caught up in having it on you at all times, but when traveling you just dont need it. if you want to contact someone you can use the internet.
8. Real, organic, unprocessed foods like bananas in Malawi and mango in Dominican Republic are 10X more delicious than their American counterparts.
i have never tasted anythign as deliecious as the fresh fruit in the tropical areas i have been. bananas, mango, litchi, pineapple, kiwi, watermelon, granadilla. SO delicious. the food of the world is misinterpreted. with the exception of mexican, you can get almost any food you want in any part of the world. i miss mexican food.
9. We should move a little slower.
life depends on time in america. however, the rest of the world moves just a little bit slower. things always get done, just not in a timely manner. this has been pretty difficult for me. i am a very punctual person. i hate being late. i usually arrive early. but as i've traveled i have realized that being on time doesn't always matter. i know that will change when i come home, but abroad it is something you just have to endure.
10. Everyone is searching for "something".
most people who travel are looking for "something". as Christians we know that they are looking for God, but most of the time the people looking only know it as "something". that is why i am still traveling. i want to make that "something" look more like God.
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Posted in Swaziland by Kendra Floyd on 1/1/2011
"The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, but walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable."
Intro into DC Talk's song "What if I stumble"
I have been a hypocrite. I have been rebellious. I have claimed to be a Christian, but denied Jesus through my actions and even my words.
Yet, he still saved me by His grace. I stand redeemed.
"But because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgression, it is by grace you have been saved." [Ephesians 2:4-5]
He leads me through everyday with His words. He has given me knowledge.
"The sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. It wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back." [Isaiah 50:4-5]
He freed me from the law and calls me His daughter, an heir of the most high kingdom.
"How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God." [1 John 3:1]
He gifted me with all of those things and much, much more, but I still take advantage of them. I am still a sinner. Before coming on the World Race, I didn't quite realize the amazing love God has for me. I didn't understand that the spiritual world is more real than the one I am living in. I didn't put God first. There are so many things I didn't do, but it was so hard to see that I was in the wrong. Everyone around me was doing the same things. I was so distracted by consumerism, people, selfishness: AMERICA, that I couldn't see beyond the present.
I LOVE AMERICA. When I was there I couldn't wait to leave, but now I can't wait to get back. You have every resource at your finger tips. You have freedom to do almost anything you could ever want to do. The best customer service in the world can be found there. America really is the land of opportunity. But, it is so hard to see through all of the Americanism. [Americanism: I don't know if this is a real term, but in my mind it is a combination of consumerism, selfishness, materialism, pride, greed, and individualism.] Like I said before, I LOVE AMERICA, so don't hate me for saying those things. They are truths that I have had to realize about my home. When I was home it was so hard for me to fully comprehend Christianity because of Americanism. Christianity is the opposite of that definition. Jesus focused on loving others above himself. He was homeless, and owned almost nothing. He wanted for nothing but the love of His Father. He clothed Himself in humility. He lived in community with the disciples.
Why can't I see Jesus in America?
Christianity is the predominant religious affiliation in America, with 87% of Americans claiming to be Christians.
Shouldn't that mean we regularly see how God is working all around us?
That almost anywhere we go we see Christians testifying how good our God is?
Why is my generation so scared to embrace the love God is constantly pouring out on us?
Why can't non-Christians see us living like Christ?
One thing I've learned about myself while on the race is that I need to step it up in America. I need to be Jesus to people that aren't Christians. I need to love those that have wronged me. I need to have a heart for people like Jesus. I need Jesus' eyes. I need to change.
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Posted in Swaziland by Kendra Floyd on 12/29/2010
I'm not good at taking situations that happen in my day to day life on
the World Race and putting them into words. Some people can easily
make this life seem glamorous. Some can write a blog about mundane
things, like doing laundry, and make you want to fly half way across
the world to hand wash your own giant tub of foul smelling clothes.
However, I am not one of those people. My journal looks like a 5th
graders: a lot of lists, a lot of grumbling (nobody's perfect, don't
judge me, I'm working on it!), and not a lot of detail. As a World
Racer, one of my ministry opportunities is blog writing. I always
intend to write life-changing, mind-blowing blogs, but they never
quite look the way I want them to. I want to share the crazy, weird
moments with you that I have experienced along this journey, but how
do I put them into words? I want to share with you how God has changed
me over the past 6 months, but sometimes it's hard for even me to
recognize those changes. I want to share with you the things that I am
learning everyday. I think it starts with sharing the little moments
that aren't necessarily epic, but still important.
Yesterday was our contact, Brandon's 26th birthday. I woke up around
8 am with flies swarming me, as usual. We have about 10 pieces of fly
tape hanging from the ceiling all around the building, but there are
still at least 600 flies in here at all times. I might have had a
mental breakdown about it yesterday morning, but that is a different
story all together! So I woke up with a fly on my lip and decided I
had to get out of bed. I made a delectable breakfast of eggs
(over-easy) and strawberry yogurt and went about my day as usual. I
crafted, washed dishes, had quiet time with God, went to get Brandon's
birthday cake, and watched Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix all
before noon. We were celebrating Brandon's birthday during dinner, so
Mari made a feast of MEXICAN FOOD. Let's just say I was ecstatic!
Mexican food is my personal favorite. They don't really have it
anywhere in the world. It will be one of my first stops when I get to
America. She made refried beans, spanish rice, homemade tortillas,
beef (we never get meat, it was amazing), and much more. One of our
friends, Clive, who is a 14 year old orphan that lives near the
compound came to eat with us. He treated himself to 3 plates full of
delicious food! It was so cute. After dinner we were all stuffed and
very happy. We all went into our little nooks in the compound to
deflate our bellies after dinner for a while, and then came back for
round 2 a couple hours later, CAKE! After singing happy birthday and
digging in we all shared our favorite things about Brandon. We all
love encouraging words!
It was really hot outside yesterday, which usually leads to scorching
nights in the compound, and extra flies trying to find their way
inside. This led a few of us outside after cake. The nights here are
phenomenal. It is usually pretty breezy, and there is almost always
heat lightning. So we went out to enjoy the beauty of the night under
the tin roof of the pavilion. I feel like conversations on nights like
those are always good, and this one was no different. We talked about
the church in America, a very insightful conversation.
All that to say: this is part 1 of 2 blogs. I hear that more people
will read you blogs if you leave them hanging? I guess I will see how
that works out. To be continued...
Part 2: Why can't I see Jesus?
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Posted in Swaziland by Kendra Floyd on 12/24/2010
This month my new team, LIQUACIOUS (the word has no meaning, we can't be defined), is working in Nsoko, Swaziland at an Adventures in Missions base. Our ministry this month is traveling to nearby care points to help with whatever need they have. Things like distributing shoes, cooking, volleyball, playing with the children, etc. Nsoko is center of the world wide AIDS epidemic. It is rumored that over 60% of the people in Swaziland are HIV positive. Most of the children in Nsoko are orphans and live with there grandmothers (they call them go-go's). Most of their parent's generations has died from AIDS. However, these children seem to still be so joyful and love the Lord.
Last week we were able to plan and host a Christmas party for the kids in the area. We helped the kids make ornaments, decorate cookies, play balloon toss, have a dance party, and fed them lunch. It was so cool to watch kids experience some of those things for the first time. We also had a drawing for presents. When the names were drew to see who would receive the presents all of the kids would cheer and dance around, because they were so excited to see there friends and family receive little gifts like jump ropes and matchbox cars. They were so appreciative of everything that happened that day. It made me realize how much I have and how I have taken advantage of all of it.
Right now, I own a backpack with 2 T-shirts, 2 long sleeve shirts, 1 dress, 1 skirt, 1 wrap, 2 pairs of running shorts and 1 pair of rainbow flip-flops. Plus some toiletries, a tent, a sleeping pad, and a sleeping bag. Some might call me crazy, but I consider myself beyond blessed. I have more stuff right now, just in my backpack, than most of the kids in Swaziland have. And God just continues blessing me. Last month, I didn't have enough money to buy shampoo (no big deal, world racers don't shower much), and this month God blessed me with $2,000!!! Are you kidding me? God is so cool. I asked Him and he generously gave me everything I needed and more.
GOD WANTS TO GIVE YOU GOOD GIFTS
No, I'm not talking about the new Ipod you asked Santa Claus to bring you for Christmas. I mean the CRAZY LOVE and gifts that only God can provide for His children.
I have had a lot of spare while in Africa. Last month while in Malawi the girls on my team started making lists. Things like "The first foods I want to devour when I get back to America", "Things to do before I die", "Favorite movies", "Things I want to see in Africa", etc. We do these just to make use of our time, plus they are funny to look back at! I didn't even think about it, but God knows those things about me. He knows the deepest desires of my heart, so of course he knows the foods that I have been craving for 6 months. I just started making the lists 1 month ago and He has already started giving me the things I want. Not only the things I need, but the silliest things that I just want. He is such a good Daddy and wants to make his children happy. He is not a God of gloom and despair. He is a God of JOY, PEACE, and LOVE. Just like my parents have always given me everything I desire (thanks mom and dad ;), He wants to do the same thing for me! Isn't that crazy that God of the universe wants to please me???
Basically, I am beyond blessed. I am so blessed that I can't even recognize my blessings!
My goal this Christmas is to recognize the blessings God has given me and praise Him for being such a GREAT Daddy. I challenge you to do the same this Christmas. As you open your gifts and spend time with your family, PRAISE HIM! Show Him how appreciative you are for his AMAZING love!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
*Sorry I have not been the best blogger. The African internet is not the best, but I will try my best to blog more frequently!
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Posted in Romania by Kendra Floyd on 10/26/2010
Twas two months before Christmas
and all through the ministry site
Not an ipod was stirring, not even a podcast
Since our showers were cold we didn't wash our hair,
But there were hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
St. Nick didn't come. I know it seems like a gloomy Christmas without St. Nick, but there were gifts. HOMEMADE GIFTS.
 We all dressed up in our silliest Christmas clothes!
Of course you have to actually celebrate before you can open gifts, so we started our night with dinner at home (aka Casa Shalom).
After dinner we found out Daniel had organized a scavenger hunt from our bus stop to the city.
 At one of our many scavenger stops!
When we arrived at our destination Daniel was waiting for us with a rose and a letter for the girls! So sweet.
After a few hours talking about Christmas and having fun we headed back to Casa Shalom. When we got back we baked apple pastries together as a family and opened our homemade presents!
I was Sami's Secret Santa so I made her a coloring book to bring to Africa.
Jake was my Secret Santa and he made me an origami songbird! :)
Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better Christmas. However, I do think we will celebrate it again in 2 months.
Then we all lived happily ever after in our fluffy beds with clean sheets, freshly clean clothes, and fairies dancing in our heads.
*It was actually more like dirt ridden beds, clothes that mildewed while waiting to get hung out to dry, and dreams about American conspiracy theories. But oh well, let the good times roll. Here we come Africa.
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