http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org Haley Gordon - The World Race 2007 en-us Fri, 25 Jul 2008 02:25:37 GMT 30 http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=so-small http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=so-small Why do I feel so small? I thought I would go on this World Race and experience amazing things. I would see beautiful places, meet wonderful people who come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, and be open and available for God to use me each and every day. Why then, do I feel so small at the end of this Race? How come I think back over the year and wonder if I made a real difference in anything. Did I bring people closer to the Lord in each country? Or even bigger, did I lead anyone on Mon, 14 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=the-spotlight http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=the-spotlight My time is drawing slowly to a close. 11 months of spreading the gospel across the world, has almost come and gone. As the weeks turn into days, my mind begins to reflect over what this year has meant in my life, and what kind of a difference did it really make for others, for me for God. I wish I could sum up the year in an eloquent statement which perfectly describes the tremendous impact the year has made on my life and delicately touches the hearts of my audience as they hear stories o Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=puerto-cabezas-update http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=puerto-cabezas-update Hello from Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. My team and I are spending our last few weeks on the Race on the East coast of Nicaragua, working with Pastor Earl and his many ministries. You can read about our time here in Puerto Cabezas from Christie's blog, If We Didn't Have Worms Before...   and   you can check out this video from my teammate Brandon, to get a good visual of the SLUSH.   Even though we are approaching the end of the World Race, we need prayers more than ever. Thu, 3 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=spiritual-battles http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=spiritual-battles "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (Ephesians 6:10-11). Sounds like a pretty good message doesn't it? And for those of us who attended church at least somewhat regularly growing up, this passage on "the armor of God" was probably a sermon message or Sunday school topic heard many times. Throughout my life I have heard messages on "putting on the full armor of God" and I have read thi Sun, 8 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=its-been-over-a-month http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=its-been-over-a-month I have been in the beautiful country of Panama for one week now. Our squad stayed in a hostel in Panama City the first half of the week, and the rest of the week my team has been at the beach in Santa Clara, Panama. We have already had a week of ministry in Panama, and I'm sorry to say that my last blog was about entering Costa Rica. That was over a month ago! What have I been doing? I am sorry for slacking off on my already infrequent blogs. Really there is no excuse oth Sun, 1 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=blog http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=blog We safely made it to San Jose, Costa Rica! Thank you for your continued prayers for my team. The next few days in San Jose will be spent receiving some cultural training and in prayer for where the Lord wants each of our teams these next few weeks. We are going before our Father in full expectation that He will reveal His plans for our teams. It is amazing to know with full assurance that my God speaks and reveals his perfect plans. Please join me in prayer for my team and for my parents who wil Thu, 24 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=is-he-enough http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=is-he-enough If I no longer had friends to laugh and share my life with or a loving family to support and encourage me unconditionally, would I be ok with just me and God?If I could no longer "serve" God, give back to God for His gift of salvation, or be a part of bringing souls from death to LIFE in Christ, would I be ok with just me and God? If I had Christ alone, no titles of missionary, leader, example, mentor; take your pick for what title you see yourself as or desire to be seen as, would I be content Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=africa-in-pictures http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=africa-in-pictures Some beautiful children in Mozambique. They are amazing. The widows who take care of the orphans. It is incredible how much they can carry on their heads!The usual, all the kids practically on top of our tents. Privacy was not a word in Mutarara, but I miss the kids now, no privacy and all.Church in Africa. Young and old sing and dance and praise the Lord. What a beautiful thing!Our home in Mutarara. The huts where the widows and orphans lived and then our little tents right in the middle of th Tue, 8 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=cape-town http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=cape-town We are heading to Cape Town, South Africa tomorrow! We will be in Cape Town for about two weeks and then having our final Africa debrief April 16-20th. I am very excited for Cape Town and getting to know the missionary couple we will be staying with. We all feel that God is calling us to Cape Town, and are excited to see what God has for us there. Please be praying for these final weeks in Africa! Pray for me to step out in obedience (even when I cannot see where I will land) Pray for me to en Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=god-made-a-way-in-mutarara-mozambique http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=god-made-a-way-in-mutarara-mozambique Mutarara and all its beautiful people are now seven hours behind us, but the memories and faces of our family we left behind will forever be etched in our minds. We set off for the small village of Mutarara, Mozambique one month ago, with the misssion of building an orphanage for 40 something orphans who lost their previous `shelter in the Zambezi River flood in early January. Our three weeks in Mutarara proved to be much more than just a construction project, and none of us will be the s Sat, 15 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=bound-for-mozambique http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=bound-for-mozambique We are leaving for Mutarara, Mozambique in about 5 minutes. We are setting off at 5 a.m. and expect (WE HOPE) to arrive at our destination four days from now. The travel will be very long, over bumpy, dirt roads, and all six of us are travelling in a vehicle suited for five. It will be an interesting four days of travel, and in need of much prayer. We will stay in Mozambique for 3 to 4 weeks and minister wherever God leads. We plan to rebuild an orphanage that was washed away in the recent flood Mon, 18 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=prayers-for-sarah http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=prayers-for-sarah I know many of you already know that my dear teammate, Sarah Lapp, had to go home to Kentucky last week because her mother was diagnosed with cancer. I wanted to ask you all to remember her in your prayers. The following link is a blog Cameron sent out about Sarah and her mom. We believe she can be healed; pray with faith. Thank you for joining me in carrying this burden with Sarah.  Fri, 8 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=africa-thus-far http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=africa-thus-far Africa thus far    We have been in Africa for 1 weeks now and aside from Africa looking nothing like I expected, these weeks have already been incredible as expected. Last week our team spent the week in Manzini, Swaziland. We had some intense teaching times and different ministry opportunities like visiting the local hospital or The Hope House which is a home for AIDS victims. I entered the week of teaching with this prayer: "Lord break me of everything that is not of you, strip me Thu, 7 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=the-power-of-his-hand http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=the-power-of-his-hand Where can I start? Where do I begin? How can I get out all that is in my crammed head right now? My thoughts scatter in every direction when I try to put words to what my heart is saying. There is just too much. I feel like God needs to slow down and give me some room to breath; some room to digest ALL I am experiencing. It is crazy that God just will not let up.   His hand is on me right now.   The craziest part about all of this to me is that God's hand is not heavy, but it is Wed, 6 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=heading-for-china http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=heading-for-china Tomorrow morning my team and I will be leaving Hong Kong and heading for a country that is closed to the gospel of Christ. We will be in this country until January 20th when we will return to Hong Kong and fly to the continent of Africa for our next leg of the World Race.  In order to protect us and the ministry hosts we will work with for the next few weeks, our teams will not blog, email, or even get on the internet. So your prayers will be greatly appreciated for me and my team for the Fri, 4 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=wrap-up http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=wrap-up Our time here in Dumaguete, Philippines is approaching the end. It feels like we just got settled in our host home that Lolo and Sherry graciously "gave" to us for the month, and now we are packing up to leave. I have many mixed emotions about leaving our ministry site tomorrow morning. Although much of the ministry I took part in this month was a challenge for me, it also seems too soon to leave some of the pastors and people I met at the orphanage. My team worked alongside International Tue, 18 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=happy-birthday-mom http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=happy-birthday-mom I thought this would be a special way to say thank you for our wonderful trip to Apo Island. What better day to post the video than on your birthday! It was a collaborative effort by my team to think of fun ways to say thank you, but it was Cameron who worked so hard to put this video together. The most I could do with my limited technology skills was help her decide on a song and some of the pictures. We all thank you so much for the amazing Philippines experience at one of the best coral reefs Wed, 12 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=filipino-fun http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=filipino-fun It has been a busy couple of weeks since we arrived in the Philippines. The first 4 days were spent having debrief in Manila with all of the September team. It was a good time to fellowship with everyone and enjoy the generous hospitality and awesome ministry that Jeff Long and his family are a part of. Since then, after a 30 hour ferry ride and 5 1/2 hour bus ride, we have been in Dumaguete, Philippines. For this month team Seven:Eleven will no longer be known as Seven:Eleven, but as Belo Tue, 27 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=our-response-to-gods-beautiful-redemption http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=our-response-to-gods-beautiful-redemption I pray that the stories each of us share this year in our blogs, the stories about girls trapped in prostitution, or the men enslaved by their sexual sins, or stories about beautiful children and poor families, and missionaries needing people to come encourage and fellowship with them. I pray that these stories will impact your life. I do not ask that they merely bring tears down your cheeks or a prayer about how much money you could send to help; I do not see in scripture where those responses Tue, 13 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=gods-beautiful-redemption http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=gods-beautiful-redemption As I sat down at a food court table, with 40 Baht coffee in hand (which is only a little over a dollar, but rather pricey for my three dollar a day food budget), I felt a tinge of guilt that I was about to enjoy a cup of hot coffee before stepping foot into the largest sex trade district in the world. While I was enjoying the air conditioning and fresh coffee at 3:30 pm, there were 15,000 prostitutes just beginning their nightly jobs at the bars. Somehow it did not seem right that I could sit in Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=it-was-the-best-of-times-it-was-the-worst-of-times   Best moments in Cambodia 1. Being able to love on children from morning till night. 2. Telling and showing the children about the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus 3. Having a million hugs and smiles from all the kids every single day. Just spend a few minutes with one of the kids at the orphanage when you are having a bad day, and they will cheer you up in no time. 4. Walking outside every morning to a view of the beautiful tree covered mountain. 5. Climbing and conquering th Sun, 4 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=team-blog-2 http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=team-blog-2 What has Team Seven:Eleven been up to this week? Have we been enjoying the beautiful Cambodia countryside? Yes. Are we loving on the beautiful children at the orphanage? Of course. And what about daydreaming about American food, and jointly cheering over cinnamon crunch bagels from Panera Bread and free Wifi internet? Without a doubt! So here is an update of Team Seven:Eleven. Ministry for the Week We started the week off with church Sunday morning at the orphanage. It was an exciting experie Sat, 27 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=beautiful-brown-eyes http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=beautiful-brown-eyes I am in Cambodia. I still think it is crazy that I was in Thailand just 3 days ago, and now I am walking the busy, muddy streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Our September teams and the June teams are all staying at the YWAM base in Phnom Penh for a few days of Cambodia orientation. My team will be ministering for the month in a small, rural village an hour outside of Battambang, but even these few days in the capitol city have already been eye opening.   The biggest difference I have s Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=this-and-that http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=this-and-that I want to link a few of my friend's blogs that I thought were really amazing or just stinkin funny to my page for your reading enjoyment! This is our team blog so you can know and be praying for what we will be doing this month in Cambodia Even though this blog was from about a month ago, I still crack up every time I watch the video. All of Brandon's videos are worth watching if you have a few minutes.  If anyone wants to see the delicacies we have eaten so far, take a lo Sun, 14 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=pictures-in-thailand http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=pictures-in-thailand This is our team minus Brandon; he always seems to be taking the pictures instead of being in them. We are in a boat in Bangkok, Thailand going to visit some of the famous Buddhist temples. The water was nasty!A HUGE Buddhist idol at the temple. The temples were so ornate, with idols of Buddha, past monks, and other statues that I'm not sure what they stood for.MONKEYS! And look they are twins. There were actually hundreds of monkeys here, and they were so greedy. We brought cucumbers and corn t Wed, 3 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=wrapping-up-in-ratchaburi http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=wrapping-up-in-ratchaburi We are approaching our last week in Ratchaburi, Thailand and I don't think any of us are ready to leave yet. It feels like we are just now getting comfortable with the friends we have made and the ministry we are doing here. Even though I want to be around to see one of the college or high school students finally meet the Lord and ask HIm into their hearts, it has been a beautiful thing to just be here for the amount of time God has planned for us. In my mind, getting to be a part of the final " Mon, 1 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=great-is-the-love http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=great-is-the-love As I entered the last classroom of the morning I finally felt like my heart was in the right place. We were guests in the English classes that our hosts, Bronwyn and Noi teach at the Thai high school. There are about 50 girls in each classroom and around 3,000 students in the whole school, 1st-12th grade. The high school is an all girls Catholic school. The Catholic schools in Thailand are not what you might think though. Catholicism came to Thailand over 400 years ago and to help Thai Buddhists Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=thailand-race-day http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=thailand-race-day We survived our first Race Day in Thailand! For over 6 hours four members from each team raced ALL over Bangkok. Our racers were Mark, Sarah, Christie, and I. Although we did not win the first race, we were winners in our hearts! The race consisted of a list of tasks to complete in no particular order, with pictures verifying each. The highlight of our race for team Seven:Eleven actually occurred within the first 10 minutes of the race. One of the tasks required that someone on our team bowl a Thu, 20 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=bangkok-at-last http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=bangkok-at-last We made it safe and sound in Bangkok, Thailand. After leaving our hotel in Atlanta, Georgia at 3:45 am Saturday morning, we touched down at the Bangkok airport about 30 hours later. Phew! The traveling was not as horrible as I thought it would be, but we were definitely looking like we had been up for two days straight. It downpoured last night as we were traveling to the YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base where we are staying at, so when a few of us went running this morning, our nice clean t Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=seven-eleven-ready-to-enter-thailand http://haleygordon.theworldrace.org/?filename=seven-eleven-ready-to-enter-thailand We have our new team name! Team Seven: Eleven!!! Even though you might be thinking, "wow, how unspiritual!" Team seven: eleven actually stands for Mark 7:11. In this verse, the word Corban appears and means given to God.  Our hope as Team Seven:Eleven is to not only be given to God but to be a gift to others throughout this next year of ministry. This is our first ministry site in Thailand RATCHABURI - Mark's Team Local Thai Ministry - Ratchaburi Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT