Hungary Day 2

Budapest is beautiful. 

Of all the places I have traveled, this is easily one of the most breathtaking cities I have ever had the privilege of stepping into. The architecture and history in this city blows me away, and walking down the streets here feel so surreal. I keep thinking to myself "this is where we get to be? This is where you have asked me to serve God?" Im definitely used to sweating it out and roughing it on all my mission trips, so this one definitely feels like I'm being a little spoiled. Its hard to fathom that in a city so beautiful there could be so much pain. 

But I know it's there. I know it exists. And my heart anxiously awaits the moment I will be face to face with it. I just keep praying the Lord gives my heart the strength to handle it. 

Tomorrow we head to Biscke. The city where the refugee camp is. And I have so many emotions and thoughts stirring around. I feel like the Lord is sweetly doing what He always does….preparing my heart for His people. I would be lying if I said it wasn't overwhelming, because it most definitely is at times. I've been on the verge of tears ALL DAY long just thinking about the faces we will see. The stories we will hear. And the love we will feel for those we encounter this week. I know the Lord is inviting me and my team into a story greater than we could ever imagine, and I'm choosing to boldly step in. Though I feel terrified to. Because I know the Lord is breaking my heart for what breaks His, and I know this is only just the beginning. 

Emily led us in worship this morning, followed by John with a devotion. 

And there are two things that I have been chewing on all day. The first is one of the songs we sang, because music is a big way that the Lord speaks specifically to my heart. We sang "Nothing I hold Onto by United Pursuit" and there's this part that says"

I Give it all to you God, 

Trusting that you'll make something beautiful out of me

Literally I feel like Im constantly telling the Lord this. Mainly because I constantly feel unqualified for the things He has called me to. I feel like the biggest thing Him and I joke about are the things He asks me to do, because 90% of them I have ZERO experience in. (Like being in youth ministry, or becoming our church's Mission Coordinator, or leading people in running) And I find myself constantly saying, "Really God? That?". And the thing that I have learned is that obedience is a beautiful thing. When our hearts are fully surrendered to the Lord and His will, He may ask us to step into things that the world thinks we have no business doing. But He doesn't always call the qualified, He qualifies the called. And through our lack of qualification, He gets to receive the full glory. 

We're teaching English in the camp this week, and Im sure I'm not alone when I say I have NO business teaching English. In fact, half the time Im not even sure I'm speaking English. ha. But I know that the Lord is going to use everything for His glory. Even if its a complete mess (which I'm sure it wont be) He will still accomplish what He wants to through us. Because our hearts are surrendered to His will, and above all else we want these people to know they are deeply loved and cared for…..English is just the doorway in. 

Which brings me to the second thing I have been chewing on all day. Today we read from Mark 10 where Bartimaeus receives his sight. And the part that we zoomed in on us verse 51 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked the man. First of all the guy is blind, but when He heard that is was Jesus, he began calling Him by name. Though people tried to tell him to be quiet, he wouldn't. Im sure the crowd was crazy, and I imagine Jesus just stopping in the middle of the road when in verse 49-51, "Jesus stopped and said, "Call him". So they called to the blind man, 'Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you." Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus. "What do you want me to do for you?' Jesus asked him. The blind man said, 'Rabbi, I want to see.'"

I imagine since he was blind, he probably stumbled to Jesus. And I so wish I could have been a fly on the wall in this moment. To see the interaction between Jesus and Bartimaeus. I think Jesus constantly asks us this same question, "What do you want me to do for you?" And it has been something that has rattled around in my brain and heart all day. 

What do I want Jesus to do for me?

Obviously I want the Lord to have His way. And to give me an overwhelming love for His people. But I think like Bartimaeus, my heart cries out "Rabbi, I want to see". I don't want my own preconceptions to blind me from the real thing. I don't want my expectations to distract me from what the Lord is really trying to show me. I want my heart and eyes to be open to see Jesus fully in each person that I will come into contact with. And to be able to love them the way He has called me to. Radically. Deeply. Purposefully. 

I cant really put into words the state my heart is in. Tender is the best way I can describe it. The Lord is stirring something so deeply inside of me, that emotionally I just feel overwhelmed. With love. With grace. With compassion. I have no idea what we are about to step into. But I know its going to be big.

Hungary day 1

To start off, I would like to apologize ahead of time for this blog. It is being written at most likely the drowsiest of time of the entire trip. Anyways, with that aside, lets get to writing.
Day one of our adventure into Hungary was not too eventful. We hopped on and off multiple endless plane rides, ate at random intervals, and prayed to get some sleep in between. However, as expected, not too much sleeping occurred.
I sat there on the plane trying to force myself to sleep, but could not even come to close my eyes. With nothing else to do, I was forced into my own thoughts and conversation with God.
I turned my eyes towards the window and began to bask in the beauty of the land that the Lord has blessed us with. From so high up above, every thing seemed to be so organized. All of the streets and houses were perfectly aligned to make what seemed to be pretty designs. Although, house by house and street by street, I began to recognize the differences in the buildings. Each foundation poured and every wall built up had a different story. I quickly became overwhelmed with even the thought of looking over so many different stories and souls.
It seems so crazy to me that even though I am just one soul with one story out of billions of other souls and stories. Thats when it hit me, at the camp, and even all around Hungary, there are so many stories that I will not get to hear, so many faces that I will not get to know, and so many lives that I will not get to change. THEN something ELSE hit me. Isn't it ALSO crazy how God has given every single person I will and will not meet a story? He care so much about each and every one of us so much. This is my prayer and what you can pray for this week--- I pray for the building of long lasting relationships. For the sharing of stories and exchange of hope. I pray for memories and laughs, and maybe even a few tears.
Tomorrow is our first official day of mission. We begin planning our
english curriculum and will possibly get a quick tour around the city by John. Stand by to hear about more stories, adventures, and newly built relationships.

-Niaya Ramirez




Sent from my iPhone

Hungary Day 1

The Journey Has Begun...Team Hungary 2015

Our team is about to board the first of 3 flights to get us to Hungary. We are incredibly excited about this journey! We get to reconnect with life long friends and hopefully make new ones.

Our family does a daily devotional together during the advent season. Today's devotion came from Luke 1:26-38. It is about the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary and telling her she will soon be the mother of the Son of God. To this, literally earth shaking, news she responded "Here I am, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

I am certainly not Mary, and the task I am about to undertake is nothing near as world-transforming, but I still walked away challenged. Will the team and I respond as Mary did when asked to do the impossible this week? Please pray for us as our deepest desire is to Be Love to those who do not know Him.

Please keep us in your prayers as we travel. My guess is you will hear from us again tomorrow night!

Tamara

The Finishline

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start" John Bingham 

Well, we did it. 5 months of training came to an epic end at the finish line of the TCS New York City Marathon. Like everyone has told me from the beginning "it was the race of a lifetime". It was incredible. I felt like I was all smiles from the time we started to the time we finished. The crowd was vibrant, encouraging, and stinking awesome!! There were moments where I couldn't have done it without them. 

It was a crazy journey to the start line in the wee hours of the morning. We left our hotel at 6:30am for our 11am start time. From our hotel we took a cab, to a ferry, to a bus to get to the start line....along with 50,000 other anxious runners. We arrived in the start village with 10 minutes to drop our bags at the UPS truck and get ourselves close to the start to eat and shed off our layers keeping us warm. The canons went off, and we watched as the first wave began their trek through the streets of New York. There was clapping, cheering, and hollering as the race officially begun. It was a surreal moment, knowing in just a little over an hour we would be running across that very bridge starting our own marathon journey. 

The start was crazy. It was like herding cattle. We were the last wave...and it was clearly the "fun wave". Being in the last wave of one of the largest marathons in the world is kinda like sitting in the back of class. It's where are the good stuff happens, it's where all the crazies are. The last wave is just there to have a good time and finish in the allotted time. Many aren't trying to break any ground shaking records, they're just there to take in the sights, enjoy the journey, and check this once in a lifetime opportunity off their bucket lists. They were wild, energetic, and pumped up about taking on the streets of New York. 

It was finally our turn, as I toed the start line....it all became real. I was really doing this. I was really about to complete my first marathon. I was really about to take on the streets of New York for some of the most vulnerable kids. I had worked so hard for this moment, and it was finally here. The canons went off, and away we went over the Staten Island Bridge into Brooklyn. I was beaming. I was like a kid who had just gotten a puppy for Christmas. I was thinking about all the kids we were running on behalf of, and I just couldn't help but feel extremely joyful and thankful. 

I thought about everything that had led me to that point. I thought about every single person who had donated and said YES to protecting the most vulnerable. I thought about all 50 of our teammates out on the course, and the journeys that had gotten them here. It was indescribable. Every time we would pass one of our teammates in their Team World Vision jersey I would get weepy. Just to think about the world changers I got the privilege of running with. Each and every one of them said YES. Yes to months of training. Yes to giving fundraising all they had. Yes to sacrificing late evenings so they could get up early to run. All.for.the.kids. All for the least of these. 

The run felt pretty good until about miles 18-20. Emotionally, I felt drained. At mile 18 I thought, there's no way I can run 8 more miles. I looked at Jen, and with tears I said "I don't know if I can do it". She hugged me and encouraged me to keep pushing. Physically I felt like I could keep going, but emotionally I just felt spent. Like I had nothing left to give. Relentless Forward Motion. It's something that TWV talks about and a phrase that they commonly use. And during those two miles, the Lord taught me what it means to relentlessly keep moving forward. To not give up the fight. To keep moving forward. One foot in front of the other. 

Jen made sure we high-fived people and reminded me why we run during those next two miles. It was a doozie. The only thing I could think of was "make it to mile 24". I knew that once we got to mile 24 we would see our friends and TWV crew. And I knew that seeing familiar faces would help me push through to finish. I kept getting weepy thinking about their faces cheering us on at the mile marker. And the Lord showed up and gave me the courage and strength to keep pushing through for the kids. 

The last 5 miles were hard for Jen. Like we've said from the beginning, the sweet thing is that we've never been down at the same time. If one of us is struggling, the other one is always able to be encouraging. The Lord has always taken care of us that way. The last couple miles, your in Central Park. The energy is high, and you feel so close yet so far. The last mile feels like it's 10 miles long. But as we rounded the corner and could see the finish line in the distance all I could think was "we did it". We crossed the line at the exact same time...together. 

A wave of emotions hit. I crossed that finish line having given it all I had, in training and fundraising. It was the hardest, most incredible thing I have ever done. I was a sappy mess! So overwhelmed with emotion over what we had just accomplished. Overwhelmed with the love and support that we received constantly during this journey. Overwhelmed by the people who stood in our corner and cheered us on. I just kept saying (like a broken record) "We just ran a MARATHON!". It was so surreal. 

I am so thankful for our incredible community who has rallied around us. From text messages late Friday night, to encouraging notes, to phone calls. They all meant the world, and constantly reminded us that we could do this. Now we get to celebrate the victory and all that the Lord has done through so many people joining our story. It really was the race of a lifetime, and I'm so glad we had the courage to start.

Fundraising update: 

So far as a team we have raised $186,000 for child protection!! Which is incredible! But we are still pushing, and fully believe we can hit $200,000 for the kids! 

Liz Mendoza

Overflow Coordinator

Riverside Community 

The final stretch

Today. Today we boarded our flight to New York. We are having ALL THE FEELINGS. This week has been a whirlwind. Sunday we served tacos (in orange tutus) and share with our community about the "why" of our running. Our community generously responded and we were incredibly blessed to be able to donate more money toward child protection!! 

Wednesday our church staff prayed over us and "sent us off". It was incredibly sweet. I got super weepy just by the picture of our staff rallying around us, on behalf of the whole church. It's like we're being sent off to battle, and that Jen and I have the honor of representing our community well. That we have been entrusted to carry out the kingdom, with the full support of them. There's nothing like it. There's no words to adequately describe the emotions I feel about the love and support of our community. It's been life changing. It's through their strength and love that we will take on the streets of New York for the kids. We know that we know that it is not just us 2 running this weekend. We have our people right there with us. 

I'm extremely grateful and humbled by a community that says yes to the uncomfortable. That says yes to fighting for the freedoms of kids all over the world. And that doesn't quietly stand on the sidelines, but loudly jumps into the fight for freedom. Because they know that's what Jesus calls us to. 

The past 20 weeks have been the best and hardest weeks of my life. I have had to at times fight with everything in me to keep pressing with Relentless Forward Motion. I have had to press into Jesus harder than ever, and allow Him to speak to my heart and remind me constantly of the "why". 

This journey isn't for the faint of heart. It tests every.single.boundary and limitation I have put on myself and the Lord. It has reminded me to be faithful and persistent. To be still and quiet. And to allow the Lord to mend my heart to His. Over the past 20 weeks I have marveled and stood in awe of the Lord. He has showed up in incredibly big ways. He has reminded me what it means to truly follow Him, no matter how crazy the journey might feel. 

Over the past 20 weeks, we have gotten the opportunity to train all over the world. From Mission, Tx to Uganda to Haiti to Georgia to Houston to Kansas to Waco. We have never stopped running, because we knew the fight is worth it....and we had to keep going. 

We have run almost every single run together. And come Sunday we will cross that finish line at the TCS New York Marathon....together. Because to run a Marathon, and fight for the freedom of kids....you have to have community. You have to have people standing in your corner cheering you on every.single.step of the way.  We couldn't do it without the support of those we care most about. 

We can't wait to gather with our 50 other Team World Vision Teammates and take on the streets on behalf of the kids. I know that with every one of our runners that finishes, the Lord will be looking down saying "well done, good and faithful servant. you have fought the fight well, you have kept the faith". It's going to be the biggest, baddest, EPIC finale to the most incredible journey. I get weepy just thinking about the world changers I get the honor of running with. 

Please keep our team in your prayers. We are praying for sweet sleep, and an injury free, peaceful, joyful, incredible run on Sunday for every single one of our teammates. We are all in this fight together, and we are so glad you are a part of it! 

"And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus" Hebrews 12:1-2

WHY I run with TWV

"It's supposed to be hard.....the hard is what makes it great"

This morning I got up around 5:30am to get ready and head out the door to get in my long run for the week. I'm a morning runner, so three days out of the week I'm out the door by 6:30am or earlier. It's always dark, and I'm usually scurrying around in the wee hours trying to get myself together. The moon is usually still out, and as we begin our run it's typically the only light leading us forward. The morning is still and you experience the calm right before the hustle and bustle of the morning. 

I used to hate running in the mornings, but this training season I have grown to really enjoy it. To enjoy the stillness. To enjoy the quite. To enjoy those early mornings running into the dark unknown.

So why running?!

Like several in our community we are running the San Antonio Rock N Roll Half-Marathon/Marathon with an organization called Team World Vision. This is our church's second year running for this organization. Team World Vision exists to help raise money to provide clean water for communities in Africa. In addition to providing clean water, they walk alongside and assist some of the most vulnerable kids and families through sponsorship and programs while the water project goes through the process of start to finish. They challenge new and seasoned runners to get out there and run on behalf of the most vulnerable. But it's not just about the run, it's about the story. It's about the kids. We are running on BEHALF of them, and advocating (as well as fundraising) so that they may get a chance at life to the fullest. 

So this morning, as I headed out on my early morning run I began to picture and imagine the kids we are running on behalf of. How most of them make early morning commutes for water, school, etc with nothing leading them but the light of the moon. In the stillness and darkness of the morning, I couldn't help but picture little faces like Meretech's from Ethiopia. 

And all I could think about was the MAGNITUDE of it all. 

The thought about how simple obedience to run will transform lives is mind-blowing. The thought about how a willingness to put myself out there, so that others may join in the story will be kingdom building. The thought about how the Lord has invited me into playing a small role in the transformation of kids lives is humbling. The thought about how one day kids like Meretech wont lack access to clean water and will get a fighting chance, all because a group of passionate people decided to run on her behalf. 

THIS is why I run.

When the Lord reminds me of these things, it always makes the runs that much more important. That much more impactful. It makes every mile worth it. Every early morning worth it. Little faces from across the globe inspire me daily, if not minute by minute to carry on. This is for them. I want this for them. And I love that I get to invite other people into their story.

-Liz Mendoza