It’s been about a month since the race ended and I wanted to post a recap of the past 9 months!!!
Home!
I arrived back home to Houston, Texas on May 25th! I was met with the warmest welcome from both my friends and family! The Lord goes before us and is always preparing a place for us. Being home has been such a gift, and I am thankful to the Lord for this season of rest. The World Race honestly feels like a whirlwind, it came and went so fast, but the lessons and friendships will last a lifetime.
Recap!
I am beyond grateful for the World Race and all the amazing things that the Lord has taught me through it. I am so blessed to have had this experience to catch a glimpse of God’s heart for the nations and to grow in deeper intimacy with the Lord. I have been challenged in so many ways and have been pushed closer to the heart of God. I have seen and heard countless testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ transforming lives. While on the Race the Lord did some pretty amazing things, so below I wanted to recap a few testimonies from each location we were at!
Georiga
While being in Georgia for training we got to have countless training sessions about different topics ranging from how to share the gospel to what is the Kingdom of God to living in godly community. On our squad there are different roles that each person plays and I was one of the worship coordinators. This was a really cool story because I wasn’t going to bring my guitar on the race, but then I felt the Lord calling me to bring it!! At training camp alone there were so many opportunities to help lead worship as well as countless other times throughout my Race.
I think one thing that the Lord taught me a lot through training camp was 1. how worthy the Lord is of my worship and 2. the beauty of living in godly community.
the girls from my squad on the top of Mt. Yonah
this is where we would wash our laundry!
Kentucky
We spent two weeks in Jackson, Kentucky working with Samaritans Purse! While we were there one of the first houses that we went to was an older gentleman named Burnest. His son and daughter-in-law Denis and Cassie lived next door. While we were working on Burnest’s house myself and my teammates had conversations with both Burnest and his family. Turns out that Burnest and Cassie are believers but Dennis is not. They had basically lost everything during the flood, and were struggling a lot. Our team leader James had the opportunity to share the gospel with Denis, and while he was doing that and my whole team was praying that his eyes would be opened and his heart would be willing to receive the truth. He ended up giving his life to Christ and getting baptized in the Ohio river, which is the very river that flooded his house. The next day we had a vow renewal service for Denis and his wife Cassie to build their marriage on Christ!! We shared a classic meal of KFC together and it was a really sweet time of fellowship and rejoicing over all that God was doing in their lives!!!
my team for the two weeks while at SP
the vow renewal service of Denis and Cassie!
Denis getting baptized in the river!!
Granada, Nicaragua
In Nicaragua, we worked with an amazing ministry called REAP Granada! They are a farm that helps provide jobs for locals and are heavily involved in the community. They have a network of house churches in the community that focus on discipleship and evangelism. Towards the end of our time in Nicaragua, while we were prayer walking I met a girl named Genesis. We got to hear her story, she is 15 years old and has gone through some really difficult things in her past. My friend Allie, who is fluent in Spanish, translated and we got to share the truth of the gospel with her. She was so hungry for the Lord and was desperate for hope! After sharing the gospel we asked her if she wanted to make Jesus Lord of her life, and she said, “yes I want to be made new.” It was almost as if she was quoting 2 Corinthians 5:17 when Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” We got to continue to disciple her while we were there and also get her connected with REAP ministries!
prayer walking the streets of Granada
church service in the local community center!
pop-up church at the local dump
my sweet friend Genesis
Palacaguina, Nicaragua
For 1 month while in Nicaragua our squad split up to do ministry in separate parts of the country. We had the opportunity to partner with a local church in Palacaguina. While there we got do evangelism, help with the youth ministry, kids program, and build relationships with the pastor and his family! While there the Lord broke down a lot of walls of legalism and got to see students walk in more freedom in Christ.
Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic
While in the DR we got to partner with a ministry called Mission of Hope! Mission of Hope initially started in Haiti working to see life transformation in every man, woman, and child through church advancement, nutrition, education, and medical care. Due to the political tensions in Haiti, Mission of Hope started a base in Santiago to help work with Haitian refugees that are fleeing from Haiti to the DR. We had the opportunity to help start their new base in Jarabacoa!! Here it was cool to see a lot of the behind the scenes of missions, and things that take place to provide space for other church groups and missionaries to come in!
while at Mission of Hope, I got to paint 3 murals!
teaching English at a Dominican school in San Felipe De Puerto Plata
my team at a women’s event for women who have been trafficked.
Manzini, Eswatini
While in Eswatini we worked at care points, which are basically after-school programs for kids in the area. At the care point, they are fed both physically and spiritually. Seeing these children live with little but still walk with so much joy, has given me so much perspective and deeper gratitude! Jesus says in Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” Life in Eswatini is slow and simple, filled with love and joy! At the care points everyday they have time for a Bible story/teaching and worship. Hearing these little kids praising the Lord with so much joy felt like you caught a glimpse of heaven.
Florida
It was really sweet to start and end the race in the USA because it was here that I was able to see that God is working and moving here in America. His heart is for the nations and the United States is included in that! While in Florida we worked at a food bank packaging food! This was a really cool full circle moment because I got to see the kingdom of God growing in different nations and then come back and witness the same God working and moving in the USA! One of the nights while we were in Florida we had a worship night on the beach and invited anyone who was around to come and join us. The gospel was preached and the name of Jesus was lifted up. At the end 6 people ended up giving their lives the Christ and getting baptized in the ocean. There is nothing as powerful as the simple gospel. Paul writes in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, but it is the power of God for salvation.”
packing boxes of food at the local food bank!
painting yet another mural!!
worship on the beach
My squad
I had the privilege of doing life with 23 other young adults. This was one of the greatest gifts in going on the race because I got to live in godly community and live on mission together! Although it wasn’t always easy it was so worth it!
My team
I am so blessed to have walked through the past 9 months with these amazing women of God!! To do ministry with them day in and day out was one of the biggest blessings.
Leadership
Through the World Race, we have squad leaders, mentors, and coaches who are all there to support us on the journey and be there to encourage us! I was blessed with an amazing leadership team that was invested in prayer and represented the love of Christ so clearly.
Update!
This season has been one like no other. To say that everything has been easy and good would be a lie. There have been difficulties in transitioning back home and learning what it looks like to live on mission faithfully where I am. It’s easy now that this great experience is over to go back to normal life and forget the faithfulness of the Lord not only in the past 9 months but also in my whole life. However, like in any season we must continually remind ourselves of truth and fix our eyes on Jesus. The Lord is reminding me that even though this season will look different it doesn’t mean it’s bad, there is joy to be found in every season!
A scripture that I have been meditating on the past month has been Philippians 4:5-7 when Paul writes, “The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Whatever season we are going through we can trust that even when things are changing, the Lord will remain the same!! He was faithful, is faithful, and will continue to be faithful!!
Thank you!
Thank you to everyone who has supported me through this journey! Thank you for partnering with me through prayer and financially. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to see and witness more of the kingdom of God across the globe.
“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:3-6
Keep loving God and loving people!!
I love y’all so much!!
If you need prayer for anything or just want to talk don’t hesitate to reach out! You can reach me at 612-404-5916 or emilyknollenberg@gmail.com
with love your friend,
Emily Knollenberg
