And now it's time... the last blog. How can I possibly wrap this up? Instead... I've made a decision. Nothing ends here... it's simply the next leg of the Race.

Now we get the adventure of keeping alive the friendships that started here...

We get the adventure of partnering with our teammates wherever they go around the world...

And we get to learn to lean on a family that spans the entire world...

The word goodbye may slip my lips a few times over this next week... but it will not rest in my heart. We have formed a family that will rest in our hearts and never leave. Even if we don't speak to our teammates for 6 months... they are lifelong teammates... lifelong family. No matter where we go... what we do... we have a group of 22 people who are behind us 110%. That's never a doubt again. We are family forever... this life and the next.

The phrase "returning home" may be spoken a few times this week, but it is simply not true. We have changed. Home has changed. We didn't realize in January that this was the point of no return. Never again would we be able to meander through life, simply existing. We never realized that home really did survive without us... it even flourished. So there is no return... there is simply the next leg... the next adventure to be started. We have new mountains to scale, and new valleys to experience. There are ministries to be started and relationships to be built.

And then one day we cross the real finish line... The real Race is finally over. Then it doesn't matter who came in first or last... who won which leg. We cross together and finally truly return Home - the place we belong. But until then...

"Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us."
Hebrews 12:1

Racers... thank you for being such a great cloud of witnesses around me... it is a pleasure to run with you. There will never be another First Year... and there could never have been a better group. I love you...

This is Laura... Signing off.

Almost exactly one month ago the Lord called me to The World Race. During my prayer times He kept saying one phrase over and over "Ride The Wave." He explained that christianity is like jumping in the ocean and letting the wave of His will take you whever He goes. Hence, the birth of the blog title.

Water has been our regular friend this year. We boated across Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. We raced to the Pacific in LA. We watched the lights of Hong Kong over the other side of the Pacific. We lived in the middle of the Indian Ocean in Thailand, taking frequent dips to escape the heat or catch a little dinner. Some were crazy enough to jump in the freezing river of Bosnia while the ones with a little sanity waited for the warmer saltiness of the Adriatic in Croatia. We camped our way on ferries across the Mediterranean and followed the Nile to our Egyptian compound. We made it to the beautiful Indian waves of Jeffrey's Bay and in a few days we will dip our toes in teh freezing cold Atlantic of Cape Town. Having visited SO many waves I have finally achieved something.

I have surfed.

I have been around the world with 2 amazing surfers. chad has been telling me stories of Surf P.E. for 2 hours every morning and having water drool out his nose onto his homework during class. Lloyd has long been labelled Mr. Surfer having walked the beaches of SA for 3 months, making the waves his home. I talked to both these guys at the beginning of the year, deciding at the first chance they would teach me to surf. After many waves the "just weren't right" all around the world, we finally found them at the Wild Coast of SA. Lloyd gave me my first lesson and we hit the water!

I don't know that you can really grasp what a big deal this is. Being a deep West Texas girl for life, waves are something those Houston people talk about. It takes a day-long drive just to see water that's not collected in a man-made tank. And surfing? I think I might have seen someone do that on Baywatch once. So when I say I surfed, don't get any grand imaginings of standing on your board as you ride above the dolphins into the shore. I think I made it up to my knees twice before immediately falling off. But hey... we all start somewhere, right?

The best part of the day was the way being on my board in the middle of beautiful waves gave experience to all the things I've learned this year. I can't go into full detail (got to save something for the book!) but the lessons this year make much more sense.

For example ~ many people jump in the ocean and play in the waves. Everyone's welcome and it's usually a good experience. But few will surf. Surfing takes training, discipline, and can cause a lot more pain. In the same way, many people hear the salvation of the Lord and accept Him. But how many do we see fully surrender themselves to the Lord, being trained up and used in His service. To many that cost is too high and seems to involve too much pain. Or another lesson early ~ a surfer doesn't decide where the wave goes - how high, how far, where it begins or ends. A surfer must simply see the wave and go with it. We as Christians are called to see the wave of God and simply jump on top. We don't decide where the Lord takes us to when we leave there. We simply go when and where He says, being His hands and feet in whatever manner He desires. Just obedience.

The most recent lesson came like this. A surfer isn't a surfer just at the ocean. You can take a california surfer-dude and put him on top of the Appalachian Mountains and something just isn't right. You can recognize a surfer anywhere - even outside the right setting. Theyt dress, talk, and act like surfers. It's a lifestyle. We, as ministers of the Gospel, should be the same. It's not about being int he remote villages of Africa or travelling around the world with the title "missionary." It's about a lifestyle. We should stick out in the world because we aren't residents here. We belong in our own world - not just a certain region of the world or a certain subculture, but a "new heaven and a new earth." And until there, we'll stick out. At least we should

I plan to ride some more waves here in Jeffrey's. I want to make it to my feet at least once! And though the trip is winding down, there are many more lessons to learn and "waves to ride." After all, it's a lifestyle!

Well... the last two weeks have been a whirlwind of ministry! Sorry for the lack of updates... we've been busy little beavers! Let's see if I can't rewind a bit and catch you up on where we've been...

First, we split into two groups. It was a pretty even split with the South Africans forming one group and the Americans forming another. Liesl did join us Americans to keep the flavor :). The South Africans went to Adelaide to help with some manual labor projects at a Bible school. We returned to Uitenhage to do another week of Beat the Drum with Grade 10s. These guys were awesome. They are way too cool to be stuck in a classroom all day... and completely confused about life in general while trying to maintain this front. I loved it. Casey and I taught together and through a lot of blunt honesty we broke through a lot of barriers and talked honestly. Most of the guys wrote us letters indicating they were already sexually active. At the beginning of the week many had no desire to change that fact. Many of the girls wrote us letters about the amount of peer pressure they were facing to give up their virginity and how lonely they felt in their purity. However... by the end of the week half the class ... guys and girls... stood together at the front and pledged purity and to help each other maintain their purity!!!!

The last day of class was really special for me. There was a guy nicknamed Shaky in our class who intrigued me. He was quiet and stuttered anytime he did open his mouth. Despite his large size (think well-built linebacker) he was extremely gentle. Perfect target for high school teasing, right? So the intriguing part was that he commanded the respect of the class. When he spoke everyone else shut up and listened. When he was into something so was everyone else. When he wasn't, no one was. And he was a thinker. Where the rest of the class would make emotional decisions and quick responses he really thought about things and came up with real and deep answers. The last day I had the best conversation with him.

When we "gave the call" to make a purity commitment, Shaky didn't come to the front. Casey stood before those who came forward and spoke to them. I watched Shaky. He sat at his desk with his head down and deep furrows in his eyebrows. But when the front began to read aloud their commitment, Shaky said it with them. Shortly after the purity commitment we shared the Gospel. Casey told the story of Jesus. Most of the class nodded "Yeah... we've heard this." But Shaky stared at her and listened intently. We asked for questions after and everybody just sat there "No.... Let's get this over with." But then Shaky spoke up. He asked about sin and wasn't convinced he had any. A quick overview of the Ten Commandments fixed that :) . But he continued to have many questions. We decided to meet with him after class. So after we said our goodbyes, I motioned for him to come with me. We sat on the sidewalk outside one of the classrooms and began to discuss things. We talked through sin, salvation, heaven, grace for making it through life, and God's great plan for us. Shaky did not make a decision to become a Christian that day... but I saw something in him that blessed me a ton.

I saw that what we said that week sunk in. This wasn't just another sex ed class. This was truth that went deep into him. I knew that what we said there didn't fall on deaf ears. But I saw a seed land on a good soil. Here's a man who doesn't simply accept whatever he's fed, but who chews on something until he knows it's truth to swallow. I have faith that God will grab hold of this one and do something big. Pray with me that this seed will be watered and grow into all that it's meant to be!

We left Uitenhage among teary goodbyes and traveled 6 hours to Ugie where we hosted a weekend camp for Grade 7s. This was awesome. Gary and Chad preached on the theme The Quest. We focused everything towards "You are a soldier in the army of God." We talked through the Unseen War raging around us, God's Choice of Us as His soldiers, The Great Invasion (aka the Cross), and Equipment for the Battle. We also had a special Girl's night where we taught on the art of being a Warrior Princess. That weekend the entire group - about 70 kids - all surrendered to God's call for their lives!!!

After camp we drove a little ways longer and met up with the whole group again. We piled into an UCSA house and got ready for some more Beat the Drum. This time would be a little different though. Beat the Drum came to this area a while back and after the first program some local people pledged to continue the program there despite their lack of resources. Pat and Nicola have pledged their time and money to taking the message to the school and the community and helping local AIDS victims. However... they do all this with no resources. They have no vehicle so they only reach schools within walking distance. And since they walk, they have no way to carry video equipment, even if they did have it. So they teach without the help of the movies. We came to support them for a few days. With the help of our resources (vans and videos) we took the movie to the schools and prepared the foundation for these guys to come back and teach. It was a whirlwind, getting as many movies shown to as many schools as possible.

Next we took a bumpy road trip to the Wild Coast - named because it's one of the few areas left undeveloped. The people still live in small round huts with straw roofs and eat what they grow. And it's simply one of the most beautiful places in the world. We rested here and soaked up as much of God's creation as we could. This is one of those places that we'll dream about when normal life becomes mundane again. We planned to do some door to door outreach there, but the weather didn't cooperate. We may try to do an outreach here in Jeffrey's Bay depending on the debrief schedule.

So now here we are back in Jeffrey's. We are going to attempt to debrief this year and come up with some plan to enter "normal" life again. Somehow I don't think it's really possible. One of Seth's mottos is "Wrecked for the Ordinary." Yup... definitely think that happened! With all these experiences and all the things God has done, normal life will never satisfy again. Praise God!

We have completed Beat the Drum at one school now and are taking the weekend off in Jeffrey's Bay before going back for Week 2 at a new school.

It has been such a privilege to be with these kids! We met with them for about 30 minutes every day and shared as much Truth as we could pack in. Truth about AIDS. Truth about Values. Truth about God. Truth about what He thinks about them. Truth about His plan.

I am incredibly thankful for my testimony right now. I didn't lead your good Christian girl lifestyle for a really long time and God rescued me from much. Now that I am with these guys, I'm thankful for the story. As I was talking with the girls on Thursday I knew I wasn't really connecting with any of them. So I said this...

"I have been thinking this week what you must think about me. 'Here's some white American chick, coming into my school. She don't know my life. She don't know what I go through. She just don't know.' And you know what? You're right. I don't know your stories. I don't know your life. So I thought maybe I could share my story with you so you can see where I've been."

I then shared my testimony... and suddenly there was a connection. These students realized that I hadn't been in there shoes, but my shoes weren't that different. By Friday we were all sad to leave... I hope many of them will come by the church to visit next week!

Praise God with us for what He has done in one week. We spoke to about 200+ kids. They each had the option to choose abstinence. And over 50 kids also chose to give their lives over to Jesus as well! Pray with us that He will complete the work He started this week and rescue these children from the lifestyle that surrounds them. Also pray with us for the upcoming week that God will continue to use Beat The Drum to awaken these children to the Truth of His Love.

I've heard about it since middle school... The AIDS crisis in Africa... but it's always been so far away. I never knew anyone with AIDS. I never even knew anyone from Africa. I never thought I'd be in Africa. I definitely never thought I would be teaching AIDS awareness and Abstinence to South Africans. Funny how God works...

For the next two weeks we are working with a program called Beat the Drum. BtD goes into schools (where Jesus is still allowed to be taught) and shows a movie the first dayabout a boy who's parents die of AIDS. He then goes into the city to find another relative and to earn money to help out his grandmother. This movie addresses the issue of AIDS... something they don't talk about publicly. The rest of the week teaches the reality of AIDS and that abstinence is the only prevention.

We in America probably don't realize the scope of this project. The lies these children believe are huge and the repercussions of those lies are vast. For example... one myth we will expose is that "If I sleep with a virgin I will be cured of AIDS." Sounds ridiculous, right? But in reality there are men raping babies because of this myth. Nope... not a joke.

Not only will we expose the myths and lies about AIDS, but we will begin imparting values. The movie addresses issues of courage, faithfulness, and respect, in addition to the issue of purity. We have an entire day where the guys will take the guys off and us girls will teach the girl students about their self-worth. That their value is as a person, not just a sex object. We will share God's love.

A large struggle will come from our mindset. In these cultures, accepting Christ is not an automatic decision to purity. We must present an abstinence decision separate from a salvation decision. We will need the guidance of the Holy Spirit in a very real way to present both these decisions in an effective way. That's where our prayer partners come in!!!! You are very necessary now!

We are completely inadequate for this project. We are entering into situations we could've never dreamed of. Teachers who rape students are common. Unfaithful fathers are more normal than a happy marriage. Girls don't plan their weddings... most say they don't want to get married because their idea of marriage is so screwed up.

Pray with us for Africa... pray for the crisis we are facing... pray that this entire continent will recognize that Jesus' standard of living is the only answer...

Hello from Jeffrey's Bay!

The Brown Team (minus one) has safely arrived in Jeffrey's Bay to begin this month's ministry. Minus one because our precious Kim stayed in Johannesburg to spend some time with her family, since most of them are all together for the first time in a long time. They will celebrate Christmas in October and then she will meet up with us again at the end of this month. We love and miss her a ton!!!

So we all raced to get here... though... in true Brown Team fashion... we were quite creative! All the four other teams found great deals on rental cars and drove themselves from Jo'burg to the pier at Port Elizabeth. However... us Brown Teamers didn't find a great deal so we ended up getting bus tickets to take a LOOOOOONG bus ride here. Luckily, that did mean we got to sleep in and get some more things done around town before we left that afternoon.

As I sat in the barn at Alabanza (the base in Jo'burg) Anna-Marie came in and asked where the team was... "in town" said I. She said, "Oh... well, I have a question... Why don't you guys just take the penalty and fly with me since you are going to lose anyway?" We worked out the price difference and for just a nickel and dime more we could arrive in Port Elizabeth at the same time as the other teams, rested, and ready for ministry. Sounds like a plan to me! So we quickly threw all our stuff in bags, jumped in the truck, and headed to the airport with Anna-Marie.

When we arrived we learned that only the Lime Team had arrived and we might beat all the other teams to the pier. The others had all "heard" we were taking the bus so they weren't expecting us to be there at all. We thought it would be really funny to be sitting on the pier when they arrived all nonchalant like we had really won! As we drove up we looked around for the Lime Team, scheming for a way to sike them out. But... to our surprise... here came the Yellow Team running up the pier! They had seen our luggage in the van and went to beat us to the pier. It was Taj Mahal deja vous.... except this time we had already lost ;-) We raced up there... of course losing to the ever-in-shape Yellows... and congratulated them on their arrival. We then got the pleasure of shocking the Red and Blue at our early arrival. It was fun... and we are all thankful to be rested and ready for ministry.

This weekend we are training for Beat the Drum - a school program to teach kids about abstinence and how much God treasures them and has a plan for them. It is a privilege to be in a country that keeps God in schools... I'm excited to take advantage of the opportunity. Then next week we will travel to local schools to share the Beat the Drum program and speak with the kids. The next week seems to be door to door ministry and some manual labor.

Please continue praying with us as we push forward through these last weeks of ministry. We are believing God for great opportunities and a strong finish to an amazing year. Thanks for all your prayers, support, comments, and most of all love.

Hey everybody... just a short note to let you all know we've arrived in South Africa. We had a great few days at Alabanza with the First Year Missionaries (a great AIM program) and Kim K's family. We've had a few braai's (barbeque for us Texans!) courtesy of the South Africans and some great times. We just arrived back in Johannesburg after an overnight Safari outside town. Check out everybody's blogs for some super awesome pictures! We saw hippo, rhino, wildebeast, elephant, giraffe, and lion all up close and personal! Plus a bunch of other things that I don't know the names of... but we have it all written down!!!

Bright and early tomorrow morning we race to Port Elizabeth for a month of ministry there. Wish us luck and great travels!!!

To the cutest class ever!!! We love you guys too!!!!

Just had to share with the world how awesome Paul's Mom's class is. It's pictures like this that get us around the world :)

A Psalm to Cleanliness

Shampoo is my friend and my comforter
Whom shall I fear?
Soap is the restorer of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?

When African dust assails me
To eat up my flesh
The worms and parasites
It is they who stumble and fall

Though trash piles rise around me
My heart shall not fear
Though flies rise at my smell
Yet I will be confident

One thing have I asked of the Lord
That I will seek after
That I may shower again in the future
To rinse away the layers of Kibera
And to smell like a girl!

I believe I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of South Africa!

Wait for the shower;
Be strong and let your body take courage;
Wait for the shower!!!

hehehe... I really do love this place. The people are great and the ministries amazing... but Man! I want a good shower!!!!