Hey everyone!

What a week it’s been! We had a change of scenery and did some domestic ministry in Fort Myers, Florida. For some reason I thought it wouldn’t be that different from Gainesville because Georgia and Florida are next to each other. I was wrong. The climate was so much hotter in Florida and the mosquitos were brutal. But despite the atrocious amount of bug bites we endured, it was a good week. For starters, we slept in real beds and had flushing toilets! Hooray! The past month has really given me an appreciation for real beds and indoor plumbing.

My team ended up getting split up into two smaller groups for ministry. It was disappointing to not have everyone together all day, but it was fun swapping stories when we had team time at the end of the day. My ministry was landscaping! I have never needed to mow a lawn before because my little brother has been the appointed grass cutting person since he was old enough to operate our mower. So this was a learning experience for me. But with willing hearts, four of my team members and I took on some of the most overgrown lawns in the neighborhood, armed with three weed eaters (weed whackers) and two push mowers. Faith and I self appointed ourselves as the mower operators. We learned a lot from our leader Michael. He demonstrated patience as he spent 90% of the time at ministry running back and forth between us, repairing the equipment as we broke it. Learning how to mow lawns in the Floridian heat while wearing jeans was a very empowering experience and I feel ready now to take on anything.

We got a break from our lawn care ministry on Wednesday afternoon in order to volunteer at a food pantry. We were put on wagon duty which means we trucked the food from the building to the clients’ cars in little wagons. It provided a great opportunity to talk to people. It also gave me an opportunity to practice my Spanish because many of the people there spoke little to no English. I have been in Spanish classes every year since kindergarten and my mother is fluent, but it was still a greater struggle for me to communicate in Spanish than anyone might expect. It pushed me outside my comfort zone for sure.

Some people were very chatty and others were quieter. Some conversations were harder than others. There was one woman that I got to walk to her car who was so sweet. As we were talking, she told me about her fathers declining health. It was difficult to hear about, but it gave me the opportunity to ask if I could pray for her. For anyone who doesn’t know, praying out loud is not something that I’m super comfortable with and I usually try to avoid it. But I took both her hands in mine and prayed with her. And sure enough, I tripped over my words and it wasn’t anything eloquent. But when I opened my eyes it was obvious that the prayer had moved her and there were tears running down her face. God reminded me that it’s really not about me at all. I need to take my focus off of myself and just be willing to be used by the Lord even if it pushes out of my comfort zone.

We are currently on our way back to Georgia for a week of debrief and then it’s time to go overseas! It feels unreal that our flight to Cambodia is in seven days. Please pray for safe travels!

Thank you so much to those who have already been praying for me. It is so powerful.

So much love!

-Sophie