Kayla Balangue

Hey, Mackenzie here! ✨🤍 The past two days at our new location have been full of excitement and plenty of heat and humidity . The city our team is in is beautiful with all sorts of murals everywhere you look. Yesterday we had a slow morning, praying over our lovely hotel and all the people within it. Then we tried South Asian McDonald’s, very American of us, I know, before heading to a local mall to go share the Gospel. Each of the small groups we split up into had some different experiences, some had fruitful conversations, but my group had a bit of a tougher time. The people here are very hospitable and love to chat with us, but they’re not all down to talk about Jesus. Anytime we tried to steer the conversation back to Christ, the people we talked to managed to skate right past it with surprising skill. Still, we weren’t too bummed out and left with the knowledge that we left an impression for them to think back on as well as more encouraging stories from the rest of the team.

Today we got to visit a church! We walked into the room incredibly early but were welcomed in immediately. Six of us got to listen to worship in both English and the native language of the city and it was an amazing experience. You could feel the joy and energy radiating from the small worship team and the congregation. The small room, which was tucked away on the third floor of a giant convention center through a maze of stairs and dizzying hallways, was packed full of families and individuals ready to be in community with each other. The message struck out hearts and lined up with everything we’d been studying and preparing for in advance for this trip, it’s amazing how God works! It was an encouraging day to be with other believers in a completely different culture than our own. Not to mention, we had the best chai I’ve ever had! The other members of our team also had an encouraging time at another church and got to have lunch with the pastor and his family.

For those curious, our stomach troubles are still hanging about, but we’re getting better day by day and appreciate your prayers! To my family and friends, don’t worry, I am in fact alive and thriving through the heat and the sweat, struggling not to pet all the stray cats and dogs I see. (Especially the cats, they’re so cute. The dogs are cute too but kinda sketch not gonna lie. Please see the included photo of a cat napping on a motorcycle.)

Hey hey parents, family and friends! This is Emily and I’m going to do my best to summarize our last three days!! It’s been wild that’s for sure. 😜 To start, on Tuesday we had more orientation and training and then got to go out later in the day. The boys went to a University to pray over it and share the Gospel and the ladies headed to the mall to buy some traditional clothing and do a prayer walk as well. 🙂 We eventually came together to have dinner at the food court (yay for some American food!). Wednesday we had a scavenger hunt day where we got to experience the city on our own!! We were split up into groups of 3 and had to finagle and figure out how navigate the city. All teams have different experiences and stories for this one but ours was chaotic (in a good way!). For my team (Israel, Sophia and myself), we got on the wrong transportation system twice 😂, but then a nice and friendly civilian helped us get on the correct train! We made it to a popular tourist landmark in the city where we met a Christian lady who gave us a mini tour for free (we got to pray over her and her boss at the end which was cool). I got pooped on by a bird at the beginning which was a fun twist but I got an M&M prize for it from our fieldworkers later which almost made it worth it.

Anyways, there was so much more but I’ll let everyone tell their individual stories when we all get back 🙂 A good day all around and we ended it with a great worship night. Yesterday was more of a transition day. We were relocating from one part of the city to another, where we will stay for the remainder of the trip. We made it there by the end of the day and then headed to the mall to do some grocery shopping, grab dinner and pray. It was a much needed slower day. 

Today is our Sabbath. Israel, Kayla and Roenz went to do a hike very early in the morning until around lunch time and the rest of us slept in, rested, played card games and started watching the first Top Gun movie because we went to watch the new one in theaters tonight😎. Fun fact: they have intermissions during every movie here and so it randomly stopped halfway through and they had the funniest commercials. Some of us are battling the inevitable fun bathroom struggles but we’re gettin through! 💪 

Please continue to be praying peace, confidence, unity and good health over our team. We appreciate all our support and love from back home! 🤍

PS hi mom and dad and brothers (&maia) love you

PPS yes mom i am drinking lots of water and electrolytes

Hey guys! My name is Hailey and I am one of the team members here in South Asia! It is the end of Day 2 (beginning of day 3 now when posting) and we’ve already experienced and seen so much. Thankfully, our travel went very smoothly to get here, and then we made it through day 1, jet lag and all! We tried lots of new foods (all of them being my new favorite), and we also got to ride in rickshaws (highly recommend). Today was fun and exciting for me because I met a girl and I got to share the gospel with her! When she told me about her story, I really felt like I could relate because I was in her shows just a few years ago: not really sure what to believe in but searching for answers. She was really interested in what I had to say and wants to learn more, so I’m looking forward to talking to her again. All of us are having a good time and we have a great dynamic in our team. Joe helps calm us down if we start to feel anxious; Emily, Kaitlin, Mackenzie, and Sophia reassure me that I’m not alone, and Izzy keeps me laughing… all the time. Oh and Roenz and Kayla are just the best at keeping us grounded. 🙂 It’s been a great start with great people and we can’t wait to share more as the days come!

-Hailey

Hello family and friends!
After a very full day of travel, we landed safely in South Asia with all our luggage and a little bit of rest, and made it through immigration! We have settled into our hotel, eaten breakfast, and are trying to stay awake for the rest of the day here to get used to the time difference.
We will be doing orientation with our fieldworkers today to learn more about this culture, city, and how we can best serve during our two short weeks here.

Please pray for our team’s energy today and that we would be open to learning about this incredible place and these lovely people! Thank you for all of your support and prayers!

Stay tuned for updates in the next few days!

Our team is about to board the flight on our way to South Asia! Please pray for safety, health, good rest, and no delays. 🙂
We will update again when we have made it safely to our destination in South Asia.