Posted by Maria Rocha on 5/19/2012
Month 9 has arrived! I am now in Antigua, Guatemala, living in a hostel with 21 women from my squad. This month is called manistry month, meaning that the men and women of the squad work separately. This does not change much from me because I have been on an all girls team since the beginning of the race.
I have the privilege of working at Casa Jackson this month which is a center for malnourished infants. 49% of children under the age of six are chronically malnourished in Guatemala. The problem stems from lack of education in the country. Mothers do not understand it is unhealthy to put coffee in their baby's bottle and feed them tortillas every day. So it is the goal of this organization to care for the malnourished and educate families on proper diet. Casa Jackson admits children for 3-26 weeks, where they provide proper nutrition and care for the patients.
Currently there are 8 babies and one 12 year old boy living at Casa Jackson. During my shift I bathe the babies, give them their bottle, play with them, and feed them lunch. Working at the center has been heartbreaking. It is hard to see such tiny children. Luis, a 12 year old boy, was admitted into Casa Jackson weighing only 27 pounds. He has now almost doubled that and currently weighs 45 pounds. So though it is upsetting, the center is very successful. They see children go home healthy regularly and even have home check-ins months after a child has left Casa Jackson.
Holding baby Kenner
Precious Jimena :)
Ashley with Diego.
Emanuel :)
Guatemala is quickly becoming one of my favorite months of ministry.
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Posted by Maria Rocha on 4/5/2012
One of my favorite things about the race is getting to meet so many great people in each country. It is also one of the hardest things about the race because eventually we have to move onto the next month and leave the wonderful people behind. But I really do treasure the short amount of time I share with people and the moments we have been given to encourage one another. I would like to share some of my favorite memories I had during my stay in Serbia.
Flag football game against a Serbian team. One day we were invited to play American football against a real women’s team here in Serbia. We didn’t know what were getting ourselves into. When we arrived on the field we found the girls in jerseys practicing. Immediately we were worried, being that none of us had actually played flag football in years. But they were patient with us and we ended up having a great time.
Dinner and sleepover with Mirela. I met Mirela at bible study where right away she invited us over to her house and wanted to get to know us. She so generously treated us to dinner and a sleepover at her house. She is a wonderful woman with a lot of wisdom. Please pray for other Christians to enter into her life so that she can have a strong community.
Evening in town with Tamara, Filip, and Jovana. I met these great young people in Kraljevo, Serbia. We got to hang out various times, but one of my favorites was one evening out in the city. Filip treated us to cotton candy and we walked around town talking about life and silly things.
Lunch with Ziza. Ziza is now my Serbian grandma. She is a very special person to me, she is so wise and sweet and reminds me a lot of my wonderful grandma in Iowa. (Hi Grandma!) Although she doesn’t speak English and I don’t speak Serbian I feel connected to her. Ziza once said it doesn’t matter what language we speak on earth because in heaven we will all speak the same language. She graciously invited us into her home, made us a delicious Serbian lunch, and gifted us with candy and stockings.
Dinner with Karl and Julie. This couple from Texas showed us such great hospitality and love while in Serbia. They were always there for us if we had any kind of problem and treated us like their own daughters. Our last night in Serbia, Tiffany and Megan prepared fried chicken with all the fixings for us all to enjoy. Please pray for the work they do in Serbia in their English clubs and at the camp.
Weekend with Abbey. So this wasn’t actually in Serbia but still one of my highlights from the past month. My team and I went to Skopje, Macedonia for a 4 day mini vacation. Our contacts knew people who knew Abbey and so we stayed with her in Macedonia. She is from Tennessee but has been serving in Skopje for almost 2 years now. We immediately connected and realized we had so much in common, it was crazy. She was such an encouragement to me and was exactly what I needed coming into month 8. We have already agreed that we are going to be friends when we come back to the states too!
I arrived in Sofia, Bulgaria yesterday and we will be working with the organization Mission Possible. I will update soon about the things we will be doing this month.
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Posted by Maria Rocha on 3/20/2012
Yes, I am writing a blog about McDonald’s. Go ahead, roll your eyes if you think you are above this wonderful fast food restaurant. But to me, McDonald’s has been a cure to homesickness on this race. Of course the food is not good for you, but that will not stop me from consuming the deliciousness that it offers there. On the race, I have had the privilege of eating at McDonald’s 5 out of the 7 countries. (Apparently, it hasn’t reached all of Africa)
Every time I see those golden arches on the race, I am struck with excitement. It has been a place where I have been overcome by joy and also cried tears of sadness. (I’m not kidding with the crying, my wallet was stolen at the McDonald’s in Beijing) It is a place that makes me feel not so far from home.
Wendy and I enjoying McDonald's in Romania.
Jumping outside of the Serbian McD's.
In other news, I'm in Cacak, Serbia!! We are working with a couple from Texas, Karl and Julie. Blog soon to come about what we have been doing here this month!
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Posted by Maria Rocha on 3/7/2012
Those were the words one of our contacts, Mihai yelled as we stood on the railroad tracks with a train heading our direction. I can’t help it, I am sad to have left Romania. It became more of a challenge physically and emotionally than I had anticipated. We ended up having to change plans last minute and get on a different train. Tavi, Mihai and Madaline drove us to the train station and graciously helped us carry our packs and buy the correct tickets. After they literally lifted us up onto the train they stood below us as we waved goodbye. I reached out my hand to each of them and almost became victim of the automatic door.
Madaline, Tavi and Mihai waving goodbye.
I can’t help it, I fell in love with the country and our contacts. Listening to Pastor Raul ask us what he can say that would make us stay and work at the ministry. Or hearing his famous saying “goodie, goodie,” every half an hour. Romania was a great month. It didn’t involve us working at an orphanage everyday like I have loved in the past but rather it involved me getting to do something I do well at home – office work. I got to sing each week at church and perform meaningful and also silly skits. I got to smile and say “buna!” to all the people I passed on the street.
It’s hard to believe that before a month ago, I had never even thought about Romania at all. I didn’t think twice about all the people living there. But Romania changed me this month and it will forever have a place in my heart. The World Race is hard, moving from one country to the next. Leaving the amazing people and friendships you created. But like Mihai shouted that one night, I believe God is also saying, “When I say go, you go.” So here I am, in Serbia, ready to begin this next leg of my journey.
the wonderful people at Hope Church in Draganesti-Olt.
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Posted by Maria Rocha on 2/29/2012
I am sooo happy to tell you all that I am now FULLY FUNDED! My journey does not stop here. The past two days I’ve checked my support account and have been blown away by how God has used all of you to provide for this trip. The one main thing that was holding me back from applying on the World Race in the first place was money. And here I am in month 6, completely funded. After finding out how much I had in my account I danced around for a good 20 minutes. I can’t help it, I love to dance. But once the idea really sunk in, my heart could have burst feeling so loved and blessed. I really don’t know how to express to you all how THANKFUL I AM. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
SALAMAT PO!
XIE XIE!
BAIE DANKIE!
OBRIGADA!
NGIYABONGA!
MULTUMESC!
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Posted in General Posts by Maria Rocha on 2/17/2012
I don’t want to sound desperate. But I’m pretty much at that point on my race. March 1st is rapidly approaching and by this day I need my support account to be completely full. As in I need to raise $4000 in less than 2 weeks. If I do not get this, I will not be able to continue my race and will be sent home for good.
I can tell you that there is still so much left for me to do on this race. I still have two more countries in Europe and three countries in Central America to visit. I still have elderly people to pray for and babies to hold. I still have shoveling and gardening and painting left to do. I still have stories I need to hear and others I need to share. I still have many, many people waiting for me to share Jesus with them.
Please consider being a huge part of my mission trip and donating to my race. Any amount is appreciated and will help me greatly in staying on the field. I am so blessed and thankful for your time and consideration.
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