Change is a good thing and this is a great day for change.  This will also be the last time I post anything new to this blog.  If you have not already heard the news, Brian and I will be squad leading the World Race August '09 K Squad.  We are now officially on staff and with this new chapter in our lives comes a new blog.  This blog (stacyalonzo.theworldrace.org) will still remain active, however we will now both be posting together on the same blog located at.. wait for it...

 

If you are a current subscriber to this blog, don't worry.  You wont have to change a thing.  Your current subscription will automatically be moved over to the new blog so you can still receive all of our updates in this new and exciting chapter of The World Race we are moving into.  While we are very excited about this new staff position, there is still very much a financial need.  As full time World Race staff we are still relying on the support raised for this ministry.  We will be back on the field again in less than a month training and equipping this new group of racers, and upon return in 4 months will remain on staff with World Race as support from the States.  Please keep us in your prayers as we are now seeking long term supporters to partner with us as we step into full time ministry. Thanks and God Bless!

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala – We were blessed to stay in a beautiful house in Panajachel. This month was a long month of both serving alongside established contacts and pioneering new ones. We found ourselves doing a plethora of things throughout the month such as kids programs, house visitations, dramas, teachings in a coffee shop, physical labor alongside the Global Challenge Team and a lot of relationship building. The small team was particularly challenging for me this month, as we tried to figure out what community living should look like among 3 married couples who didn't necessarily have a lot in common or blend very well personality wise. I learned a lot about choosing to love and seeing people through God's eyes instead of my limited perspective. This was also a month of physically feeling under the weather quite a bit.   However, the lake and it's surrounding villages and people were absolutely beautiful. And, I was even blessed with birthday money which allowed me to go paragliding and enabled Brian and I to go out on a few dates. :)

 

Below are a few photos of our time in Guatemala, and Brian has posted a Guatemala video as well.  To see more photos, visit my Guatemala Photo Album on our personal website. 

 

 Antigua, Guatemala

 

This is the first of 12 blogs that will take you back through each month of my World Race journey to date through words, pictures, and video that Brian and I have not had a chance to share yet.    

 

Palenque, Mexico – With excitement, we received our launch training by Jimmy, Ashley, Seth, and Karen at Shekinah,a training school for pastors, run by a couple with incredible faith, Eleazar and Marta.  We also had an opportunity to see the Mayan ruins and Agua Azul in our downtime.

 

Trinidad (formerly Aguilar), Mexico - We worked alongside Pastor Adelina in her church doing children's programs, dramas, worship, and preaching. The value of "being" versus "doing" was reiterated over and over, as during the day when we were not at the church, we did not really have many tasks to do. Brian and I continued to learn the delicate balance of leading and following as it relates to both marriage and team dynamics. I learned just how far simply listening to and loving on people can go and the importance of building relationships with others regardless of how long (or short) of a time you have to spend with them...love's impact is enduring. 

 

Brian made a short video of our time in Palenque and Trinidad, and below are a few photos as well.  You can see many more pictures in my Mexico photo album on our personal website.

 

 

We have done our best to send postcards and thank you notes to all of our supporters over the course of the year.  However, for any of our supporters whom we were not able to send an actual postcard or handwritten note to - anonymous donors, supporters who are not Stateside, and anybody whom we do not have a physical addresses for - we wanted you to receive our thank you as well.  So, please consider this a special delivery of what we wished we could have sent directly to your mailbox at home...a big, heartfelt thank you to you all!  This year would not have been possible without you!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

In an effort to keep our marriage healthy while out on the race, we made the decision before the race to try to continue to have our "date nights" just as we did while in the States.  Knowing that it might be difficult to have a date on a weekly basis out on the race, we determined that at the very least we would spend the last night in each country on a date.  We thought it would be fun to, instead of buying souvenirs with our personal spending money each month, buy an authentic outfit from each country to wear out on our monthly dates.  This is a collection of pics  of our outfits/dates from throughout the year.

 

If you've read Brian's latest blog, you know that we will be going back out on the field as squad leaders for the next World Race squad that leaves in August (Team 2).  I wanted to take a minute to introduce you to the amazing group of men and women that we will be serving alongside.  We had the privilege of being with them during their training last month and the following pictures were taken during their commissioning service the last night of training.  Enjoy!     

 

 

Being back Stateside these past few weeks has been a wonderful but crazy whirlwind for Brian and I as we've been visiting family and friends.  We've had a chance to catch up with many of our loved ones and were able to make it to my dad's remarriage, my sister's wedding, and my sister-in-law's birthday, but we still have many people we'd love to see.  For the next few weeks, however, we're taking some time away to just be the two of us again.  As we recharge, reconnect, and reflect, we'll be posting those videos and pictures from this year that we promised to share, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, here are a few pics of some of the celebrations and visits these past few weeks.

 

 

 

             

We are now back in the States and are currently in Charleston, SC.  We are only here 10 days visiting with family and trying to see as many friends and supporters as possible in the short time that we have here.  There are so many stories, pictures, and videos from the year that we want to share with you and have not had a chance to post, so over the next several weeks we will begin sharing these with you, focusing on one country each week.  We want to give a HUGE thank you to all of our supporters.  This year would not have been possible without your prayers and support.  As the Lord continues revealing what is next for us we will keep everyone posted.  In the meantime, here is a video made by Lindsay Stahl (one of our squad mates).  It's a great summary of the year and some of the people we met that touched our lives.

Thanks to all of your prayers and financial support, we will NOT have to leave the WR prematurely due to lack of funds in our support account.  In just one month, $5600 in pledges and donations were made.  If there was ever a question as to whether or not we are still supposed to be out here, we definitely have our answer.  What an amazing answer to prayer and testament to God's provision! 
 
Our physical costs (transportation, housing etc.) up to March 1st are now fully raised, but we still need your help.  While the rest of our team is heading into Malawi and Swazi for more ministry, AIM has asked us to stay put in Nelspruit just a little longer to continue to support raise until we have met the physical costs to cover the last 3 months.  This amount is $3000.  After already being away from ministry for a month, we are really itching to get back on the field and serve.  As soon as the $3000 comes in, we can jump back into outreach.  To contribute to our support account please click on the "Support Me" link on the left.