Amanda Millington - The World Race 2007

United States

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I want to thank all of my family and friends for your prayers and support. I am back in the United States. I have been in McCall for almost a week. I have been able to see my family and friends and have already enjoyed biking and running. Last night I went to a spanish church service and met many people from Guatemala. I am planning on spending the summer in Idaho. I will keep everyone on the world race updated with my adventures in the United States. Did I forget to mention how much I miss everyone?? Joy and Ginger my life is not the same without you guys!!! I MISS YOU SO MUCH!!!!

South Africa

Fri, 4 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT

London was so much fun even though it was in between two 15 hour flights we had a great day! I ate fish and chips for you bro!! Yum

The girls with the guard!!!

The plane to South Africa!!

Two bags down and one to go!!!

Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I no longer have to worry about back problems after carrying all my stuff around the world because all my bags are being stolen. This morning during breakfast our team put all our bags together down stairs and went to sit down at a table. To get down to our bags you had to walk past our table so we figured all our stuff was safe. On the way up the stairs we passed a nice looking lady all dressed up that went down took my bag and walked out. Candice saw her walking away with my bag, but was distracted by another man that was pushing her out of the way. By the time I went running down the street after the lady she was lost in the crowd. Thankfully I still have my passport and my bank cards. I lost all my shoes, Bible, journal, clothes, stock of toiletries from the United States, and other random things. The good thing is I only have a pair of flip flops and one rolling bag left so it should give our team an advantage on race days. Tim Weisemann wrote a nice blog today asking people for prayer. It is very nice that despite the bad days I am surrounded by great friends!!

Our team is staying at a wonderful church in a very nice part of town. It feels like we are in a nice part of downtown Portland. We are going to be working with an international school here and our contact will also be taking us on a tour of the city. We should have a fun week and be able to get rested up before leaving to South Africa on Tuesday. Thanks for your love and prayers!!

Day in Peru by Brienna

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Peru Video

Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Baby Duck

Sat, 7 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I want to introduce my baby duck to my family and friends!! His name is Eugene the duck! I have had him for two nights and he is still alive and well. I found him in the market place when I was walking with a couple of my friends. It was love at first sight, but I had to leave him and first ask permission from my roomates and the people that own the house if I could bring him home. The owner told me I could buy as many ducks as my heart desires. I went back to the market and was overjoyed that Eugene was still there waiting for me. It has been so much fun having a baby duck, but also a bit more work than what I imagined. I am so happy that I am not the only duck lover in the group and have had a ton of help keeping Eugene happy.

Peru

Mon, 2 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Our time in Lima Peru is about half over. This has been one of the places I have really enjoyed on this trip. I enjoy our time working with pastor Moses and being able to visit friends we have made in Llomo. The church is on the side of a market place in Villa Salvador so I have been able to meet a few people in the market. It has been a nice change staying in one place long enough to see friendships develop.

I have also enjoyed being able to stay in a big group. I have had the oppurtunity to get to know other people on the different teams. On our days off we go to a different part of Lima that has nice restaurants and good coffee. Lima Peru is a beautiful city and like any city there are places that are very poor and places that are very rich. We have spent time in both of these places and I hope that wherever we have been people have felt the love of Jesus. My prayer is that God will continue to put His love in our hearts so that we will be able to love people with a love that powerfully changes lives forever.

Debrief in Nicaragua and Peru

Sun, 18 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I want to report to everyone that I survived the flight from Nicaragua to Peru!! Maybe I should say that the team survived the flight with me to Peru. I took my little blue pill to help me have a better flight and I guess it put me in enough confusion that I kept telling my friend I was on a bus!! Well no more flight stories till the end of the month.

One of the highlights from debrief was that we were on a beautiful ranch on the beach. The first day I decided to use my friends cowboy hat believing it would turn me into a cow girl and jumped on one of the horses. I guess my question about if the horse was nice or not was lost in translation. Shortly after I was on the horse I found out it had a different route in mind than the pleasant walk down the beach. I think the cowboy didnt want me to give up on my cowgirl dreams so they called for their nine year old son to come and be the gringitas guide. I had a wonderful evening being taken up and down the beach. We went through the fields as I was shown all the cows and each of the beautiful flowers as the sun was going down behind the mountains.

The other hightlight of debrief was when they handed us our letters from home. Thinking I would only have a copy of my immunizatons and a new bank card I was shocked to recieve letters from home. The first letter I opened was typed and after realizing it was from mom I had to put it back in the envelope to keep from crying in front of a room full of people. My heart was touched by every single card and letter that was sent to me. I was also relieved to find some humorous cards (also a bit strange) and gum has never tasted better.

Yesterday in Peru was another day of boxes and cards for everyone. I was certain that after all my letters in Nicaragua I wouldnt recieve anything. God really must love me!! I had a card from a very special mom of one of my team members that really spoke to my heart. It was hard to believe someone who had never met me would take the time to write me a letter. God really used it to speak to my heart and give me encouragment. Also another team member asked her mom to send me a box so I was able to have a new supply of gum, pens, paper, candy, and the nicest pink socks ever!! I want to thank everyone so much for all the love and encouragment. I am excited to be in Peru and I know that God is at work in each person on the world race as well as in the country of Peru!!

Video - Pulling teeth in Guatemala, LITERALLY!!

Thu, 8 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We were helping out at a medical clinic and I helped by pulling teeth.

Antigua and Puerto San Jose

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Hola!!!

I will start out with the good news! I went to the Catholic church with my family and friends from the team the night before I left to Puerto San Jose and it was awesome. I had asked several people to sing one of my favorite songs earlier in the week, but was told that it was only sang during easter week. We went in the church and sat down for mass and I decided to say a little prayer anyway that maybe we could sing my song. I hardly finished my prayer when everyone in the church began singing my favorite song. The words say that the church is filled with Gods presence and that nobody knows if the church went up to the heavens or the heaven came down to the church. That describes exactly how I felt that night. I was so thankful to be back in church with my family and friends and be in the presence of God.

The next morning we headed to Puerto San Jose where we have been working on a property for the last week. We have been painting and hoping to get the pool clean so we can fill it with water. Thankfully the ocean is only a mile away so we go often to swim and watch the sunset. Now for the bad news!! Mom I thought we were close in our prayers, but I am starting to think it may be our bad bug experiences. The first night we moved into our new place Felix found a wonderful scorpion. Not something you want to find everyday or anyday!! I was rather afraid of the scorpion, but to my suprise it was only the begining. I went into the girls bathroom and realized I was not alone. There were two ginormous frogs over and behind the toilet. I went running out quickly and found Felix. He told me not to touch them because they are poisonous. One went down the toilet and the other went in a jar with the scorpion. I am still waiting for the frog to come back up the toilet. After a rough nights sleep in my tent over my bed I woke up and decided to start my day with a little run to the beach. It was an awesome run and the ocean was refreshing in the morning heat, but when I returned to shower I was once again traumatized. As I prepared to shower and turned on the water I realized a bees hive was in the nozle and the water was not something that made the bees happy. I was screaming and trying to grap clothes to run away. The next day we found a unidentified object on our floor. We decided it was a worm or a snake or something else. We will be here a few more days so I am hoping to have less bug action. Other than the bugs all is well and I love and miss you all!!

Yummy Food!!

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

My first shrimp with the eyes and the tail!!! This was much better than the burnt black bird in Mexico!!! We are having lots of good times in Guatemala. Andrew is posting videos from our trip on his site if you want to check them out!!!!

Videos

Thu, 8 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Check out the new videos posted by the media team at
http://www.youtube.com/theworldrace

Guatemala

Tue, 6 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Here are a couple pictures from our race yesterday! Andrew wrote a very detailed blog about our race and made a great video to go along with it. Yesterday after the race I was able to go to Cuidad Vieja and spend time with my Guatemala family and friends. Last night the team and I went out to coffee and experienced a good sized earthquake. Afterwards we went to my favorite shop and James played some awesome music. We will be here till tomorrow and then we will find out where we are going and a little more of what we will be doing this month. I am really happy to be in Guatemala, but I also really enjoyed the last place we stayed. I will miss all the people I met there. Francisco and Samuel are bien chito!!!

one week left....

Mon, 29 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

I am in a new village this week and then I am leaving Sunday morning to Guatemala. Our new home is more comfortable. People understand spanish and the place we take a bucket shower actually has a concrete floor. Our contacts are really awesome and I know I will miss them when I leave. I played soccer yesterday and went to a families house for dinner before church. We have church here three days a week so we have a lot more time to spend getting to know the people. The beautiful river is only a 10 minute walk from the church we are staying in. Today I am going to go back and play soccer again and hopefully take my shower in the river. I will write again in Guatemala. Thank you for all your prayers and emails. They are really encouraging!! Love Amanda

Wrecked for the Ordinary

Sat, 27 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Here is something that some people back home have been working on. It is an online magazine that brings some of the radical stories from the World Race and other places, capturing the essence of a surrendered life to Christ, to challenge and awaken America. Please share this with your friends, family, and church members:

www.wreckedfortheordinary.com

good times

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

This was an awesome river I swam in with a bunch of kids. They all swam naked and because I was the white gringa I went swimming in my long skirt and shirt. The kids help get me back to shore so the current didnt pull me and my skirt away. I have been translating with the two pastors below. Abram speaks spanish and Choel and Miguel speaks spanish and another dialect of spanish. This was our first village that we traveled to and preached in the church.

Being with God!!

Tue, 23 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Our team is staying with a family that is awesome and we have traveled to several different villages in the mountains. It is amazing to see the generosity of the people. They provide us with a place to sleep and always keep us well fed with many tortillas. I am most happy to report that I have had plenty of coffee!!

I have concluded that this year is not going to be easy. I am going to have to give up everything to work in a team and work with the people here. I know that each week and each month will be very different, but I am learning something in all of this. This was on my heart before I left and the more time that I am here the stronger it feels. God loves us and He wants us to love Him. I believe that is enough!! If I am full of Gods love then it wont matter what I do or where I am at. Gods love will come out of my life and effect those around me. You dont have to be on a mission trip or preaching to someone for them to feel Gods love. I feel God wants me to just be. I know that if I am focused on God I wont be walking blindly and I will be content in all situations. I still have a ways to go because I have found myself very discontent, but I know as I continue finding joy in life and loving God He will help me get to that place of contentment in all situations.

Have an awesome week being with God.

Interview of a local

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We were asked to post a blog about someone we met, but I decided to post a prayer I have prayed to God.

God I love you so much! Thank you for always meeting me in the place I am in. When I arrived here you knew I felt alone, sad, and discouraged. You met me here with friends, joy, and encouragment. Their names are Eleazar and Martha Custellanos. Thank you so much for allowing our paths to cross here. I know mom and dad have been talking to you. They always pray you will send someone to love me. Eleazar and Martha have given me so much love. They invited me into their house. They have fed me not only incrediable meals, but also your word. It isnt only our conversations I enjoy, but the presence of being around them brings peace and comfort that only comes from you. It has been a struggle not talking to family, but my friends have quickly started to feel like family. God I know you love them more than I could imagine and you have taken care of them and will in the future, but for me will you give them a special gift to show them what no words could say. Thank you so much for your love and for loving me so much through the lives of Eleazar and Martha.

My future VW Bus

Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

VW BUS

With a touch from God.........

Wed, 10 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

God is always with me everywhere I go. He is talking to me and opening my eyes to the world. Yesterday was different than other days. If you would have been watching from above you would have seen me sitting on a curb side here in Palenque crying out the name of Jesus. I was with my team in town when in an instant I went from being 100 percent healthy to swollen up and feeling my body going numb. My eyesight was blurry and I knew that I had little time left to breath. My team gathered around me and we cried out to Jesus! We jumped in the next taxi that passed by and went back to our base. An army of Gods children gathered around me and started praying that God would touch me with His healing Power. I felt the power of the Holy Spirit touch me and others in the room that had never spoke in a prayer language started praying out to God in tongues. My teamates where on there knees crying out to God. I felt that we should praise God in song. The moment I had this thought everyone started singing Our God is an Awesome God!! Our God is an awesome God! The enemy tried to bring fear and discouragment because He knows that we have passion to go around the world and not tell people about God, but touch people with the hands of Christ. People will not know that God is love, they will feel His love. I believe God wants to raise the dead spiritually and physically and my faith has been increased that no weapon formed against me will prosper. Praise Jesus!

For those people that dont know in the past I have had anaphlactic (sp?) shock usually related to something I have eaten. The last time I needed two epi pens and went to the hospital for steroids. The doctors told me that with each attack it could get worse so always to have epi pens. The epi pens make me feel horrible and the attack can come back stronger 30 minutes after the injection. I didnt have to use an epi pen yesterday because we turned to God to heal me and He was and is faithful!!!

Amanda's Team

Fri, 5 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Amanda and her team officially began their race yesterday afternoon. Here is a picture of her team:

Find more pictures at http://prayers.theworldrace.org.

Arrived

Tue, 2 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

We are in Mexico and the race begins on Thursday. Please pray for us as we begin our journey.

For the next few weeks we may not have access to computers so I will update this blog as soon as I can.

Until then...

Survivor

Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

This post is to let you all know that I have officially arrived at the starting point of the World Race! Below is a personal message from me, but first I wanted to let you know about an website AIM has setup where you can follow prayer requests as the team travels around the world. It is http://prayers.theworldrace.org . You can even click "Update Me" to add your email address to a list and receive an email every time a new request or answer is posted. Thank you for your support as I journey around the world!

Hey everybody!!! I just survived my two very scary flights. The first plane was big so I took a full blue pill to bring more comfort. The second plane was more of a baby plane so I took a smaller size blue pill. MISTAKE! I got that all backwards. Well I have arrived and I am waiting to hear if the parents are officially in Nigeria. I was sat down in front of this computer and was told to type to that's what you get from the Amanda News today. Praise God I survived the planes and update me when you hear word from the parents. Lots of Love!!

Travel Plans

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Hi everyone!!! This is a rough draft of what the next year may look like. I am so excited as January is just around the corner. I am in Oregon for the next week and will spend Christmas in California. I will be flying to Texas to spend New Year's Eve in Mexico with my team members. Thank you for all your encouragment and support!

Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico - January

Antigua, Guatemala - February

south of Managua, Nicaragua [3 days]

Lima, Peru - March-April

Buenos Aires, Argentina [1 week]

South Africa - May

Bulembu, Swaziland - June

Nairobi, Kenya - July

Mumbai, India - Aug/Sept

Cambodia - sept/oct

China - Oct/Nov

Hong Kong [5 days]

Progress of Preparation

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Progress of Preparation

The first time I said it out loud I heard empty words. I couldn't grasp the reality of what I was saying. When I tell someone I am going to work or the grocery store I believe I am going, but around the world is too much to take hold of. The words just slip past my reality into some other world.

I have a list to check off in preparation. Passport pages, visas, support letters, shots, paperwork, and homework writing are some of the many things that need to get done. I take one thing at a time knowing it is a stepping stone on the path leading to the start. At times I feel snowed under. I erase all I need to do from my mind and enjoy a day outside hiking or running. Even then I usually end up talking to God about my inadequacy for what lies ahead. With every step He reminds me who I am in Him and that ALL things are possible. He challenges me and when I am scared He embraces me a little tighter so that His love floods away all my fears.

Not only is there the logistics to prepare for, but I have also learned not to overlook my time with the Lord. It is in times of preparation for change, which also can feel like jumping off a cliff, Satan prowls around ready to steal, kill, and destroy. At times I believe some of his lies. Mostly the doubt he brings tossing my mind into a realm of maybes. Maybe this isn't right, maybe this isn't Gods will, maybe I will be miserable, maybe I am missing something better. In the end I always find my answer in the eyes of Jesus. When I turn and look at Him I am reassured that He is the way the truth and the life. I know that He has the best for me and He has truth and assurance in every place of doubt.

The entire process of preparation is a journey to a journey. A walk in faith relying on God. Believing He is who He says He is and standing steadfast. At times I feel I am being led on a path I can not see, by hands that I can not feel, but love that is so strong nothing else matters. I am still in the process of preparation for the world race. I am still waiting and believing. I know God is faithful and in the end of this stage I get to embrace the joy of the beginning.

Finally..........

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

I finally decided on a blog theme. My theme is living in reliance. Here is a little raw poetry to go with my theme!

LIVING IN RELIANCE

The dream of the world is so big. Some say from here to China I should dig.

This place I am in I do not like. One day I remember I just got on my bike.

After that I knew I would leave, but to Guatemala was hard to believe.

I cried out to God night after night and as He promised He turned on the light.

I met a group of world racers and that was it. My path around the world had just been lit.

This was the beginning of a new page. I felt my spirit being let out of a cage.

Everything I put in God's hands. I knew I must rely on His plans.

Although nothing seems in order in my mind, each day I trust in Him and try to unwind.

I will be writing with each passing day.

Hopefully if I post it here it will help in some way.

From the beginning and until the end, there is a message I will send.

Living in reliance in where I will be.

God is faithful and this I know I will see.

A life changing journey

Sun, 19 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

I will never forget the sound of horns honking, the crowd of people in the street, and the overwhelming feeling of being a foreigner in another country. The smells, sounds, streets, language, everything was different. The first moment I stepped beyond the airport to the street my life would never be the same. I would have never thought spending time in another country, being a part of a different culture, would have so drastically impacted my life, my beliefs, where I had been, and where I was going.

Physically I saw more poverty than I had ever seen before. I saw family's without homes, children without families, and many without food. I could go on, but this wasn't what really changed me. It was deeper something that only spiritual eyes could discern. Something no human could touch and no money could ever buy. I saw joy, hope, and love in the eyes of the people. People that knew God, really knew God. At times I wondered if I really did know their God. They took His word for what is was. TRUTH. They lived and taught the word of God. It was pure, precious, and real. I started to desire a life where I could do nothing out of selfish ambition, but in humility I would consider others better than myself. I no longer only wanted to look at my own interests, but also to the interest of others.

Philippians 4:11 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do ALL things through Him who gives me strength .

I had read this verse many times, but I read it in a new light when I read it in the lives of my new friends. I wasn't sure before the time I stepped out of the plane in Guatemala where my life was going, but today I have a passion to serve Christ. To become nothing so He can become everything. The eyes of my heart where enlightened giving me understanding of the wonderful future God has promised to those He has called.