Posted in 04 Moldova by Austin Ulsh on 5/15/2012
First, I apologize for the lack of blogs this month. Month 4 on the race has brought some changes. First, I now have a new team! Meet team R.E.A.L (Recognizing Every Act in Love).
 Ben, Kristin, Jenna, Sarah, Austin, Alicia
This past month's ministry has been split up into 2 ministry sites. Our first site was in a small village in Moldova with a pastor of a church. While there we were able to do some door to door evangelism, do a daytime bible school for kids in the community, dig a grave for a brother who passed and experience a bit of Moldovan culture.
Our second ministry site that we worked at for the second half of this month's ministry was in a 'Real/Fake' country inside Moldova called Transnistria. It is an area that is not officially recognized by the UN or Moldova, however Russia does recognize it as it's own country. They have their own border and guards, military currency etc... It is a fully functioning country, without the status. It was actually a really nice place. While in Transnistria we partnered with another pastor of a small church in the area. Our pastor also helps run an orphanage which is where my team did most of our work. We helped clean up the orphanage, painting rooms and the fence and playground equipment for the kids. We also were able to attend several of the programs of churches in the area; an 'Alpha Club'(a meeting of new members of the church as well as people who want to find out more about the church and Christianity in general) meeting as well as prayer service and several youth group gatherings.
 My time in Europe has been great. I have been able to experience both the 'Americanized' culture as well as some of the native/village culture as well. I am however ready to move onto Africa! I will be going to Africa for the next 3 months of the race. I have debrief(a time to relax/ reflect on the past couple months) for 4 days in a hotel in Moldova with the entire squad, then it is off to Africa!
P.S. While Team R.E.A.L. is my final team for the race, there is one last change. Ty and Molly, who have been part of my team since the beginning of the race, will be going home at the end of Debrief. They will not be going to Africa. They will be going home to start preparations for the new member of their family which will be joining them in September! They will definitely be missed. They have personally been a large part of my race growing and stretching me in my leadership ability and giving me different perspectives on things.
Please keep them both in your prayers. Pray that their transition back into the states is a smooth one, that they find a permanent place to live, for health for Molly and the baby, and for jobs for both Ty and Molly.
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Posted in 04 Moldova by Austin Ulsh on 4/21/2012
So far the World race has been unexpectedly 'easy.' Month one my team and 3 others lived in a Large house together and our ministry contacts were amazing people. They welcomed us into their family like we truly were part of their family. Our ministry was very relational and our time it felt like we really made an impact in the area. I learned that daily time spent with God in the AM was important to my daily walk with the Lord.
Month two we were in Haiti which is still a very devastated area since the earthquakes hit. There are still many 'tent villages' throughout Haiti and it is still a poor and underdeveloped country. I was expecting to be staying in 'harsh' conditions and 'roughing it' for the month. However we were pleasantly surprised when we found out where we were staying, Mission of Hope International, a beautiful 'Oasis' by the beach. Our ministry was very tangible, as we helped build a an orphanage/school. Physical labor was something I was missing from month one and I relished exhausting myself physically for the Lord.
Month three I had no clue what Romania would be like, where we would be staying or what we would be doing. We were once again surprised to be living in a huge building meant for 50 people or more with wifi, a large kitchen to cook, soft beds and hot showers. We were in 'Romerica.' It was really like stepping off the race for an entire month. We had all the comforts and amenities of home. Our ministry was helping families who take in 12-14 orphans and helping to build new homes for these families.
It was not until the end of this past month(Romania) that I realized how hard the month has been for me. It has been a month of blessings....probably the best things you could ask for on the race...hot showers, comfortable beds, Grocery stores, free wifi, movie theaters, malls etc... and while all these things are great, it has really been detrimental to my spiritual walk/growth with God. I didn't realize this until the end of the month. It was an amazing blessing to be in this place but I realized that while we had all these blessings, for me they became distractions. It has been the hardest month on the race for me yet. I feel like with the growth that I experienced in month one and two(leading my team, being stretched through all my experiences) did not happen in month 3...that I had taken a step backward in my faith walk. The entire month I felt like I had not heard from the Lord at all...and it was not because he was not searching after me, but because I had neglected Him. It was not until the end of the month that I heard from the Lord in our last worship session and it was like taking a long draught from a glass of ice cold water after being in the desert for days one end. It brought me to tears because it was not until that point that I realized how detrimental that month had been with my walk with the Lord. How much I missed hearing his ever guiding voice in my life, getting visions from him for my teammates and my team, and for just whispering in my ear as I read his word.
Psalm 73:23 - 'Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand.
Looking back I realize what it was that God was teaching me this month. He was teaching me that after my experience on the World Race is over, going home will not be easy. Home will have all the comforts of 'Romerica' and more. I will be around friends and family again, be able to go where I want when I want, have access to everything I had before and have the choice to daily walk with the Lord. It will be my choice to be on the internet and watching movies for hours on end, stay up late and then sleep in till the late hours of the morning , or to intentionally spend time with the Lord, wake up in the AM and read my bible, spend time talking and listening to the Lord and asking Him daily what He wants for my life and my future.
I think to myself that if I were to go home now, after the first three months on the race, I would be back and realize that I had not actually grown that much in my walk with the Lord. And it is my biggest fear that I will come out of the race after 11 months and realize that I am the same person I was before I left and that I had not grown very much...and I am determined to NOT let that happen. This is what the Lord has shown me this past month, and I could not be any more grateful for the insight He has given me.
Isa 40:31: but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
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Posted in 04 Moldova by Austin Ulsh on 4/12/2012
** Update - We raised about $400 for the Sergio family. Thank you so much for your donations and prayerful support. Because my team is leaving in 2 days I am taking down the paypal account because there will be no way to get the family the money after we leave. Again, thank you for your support. Sergio's family is very grateful.**
So my (new) team is in Moldova right now. We are staying with a couple(Sergio and Tanzi) who have a 5 year old and six month old baby. They live in a small 3 room house that has a church built onto it. To make a long story short, there was an accident in the area this past month involving gas lines where a family of 4 died. Because of this, inspectors are going around to check homes in the area to make sure that houses are up to code with their gas lines and appliances(a lot of homes use gas for heating/cooking in Moldova). The problem is that the house we are living in was built before the Church addition was added, and by the church being added onto the house it created a problem (not known until now) that makes the gas lines in the house fail inspection. Yesterday inspectors came to the house and said the family must pay $450 for the gas company to make changes for the house to pass inspection or they would shut off the gas that day(leaving the family of 4, and us without heat or gas for cooking). At this time the family does not have the money and do not know how to raise the money to pay for this. They are relying on God's provision in this matter to provide for their family.
By the grace of God they were able to get an extension for 10 days to make some changes to the house and come up with the money. However upon looking into the changes that needed to be made to the house to make it legal/pass inspection, Sergio and Tanzi realized that there are several other things that need to be done to the house because if other inspectors came and saw certain things, thier family could be kicked out of the house and the house would be condemned.
Sergio looked into everything that needed to be done to the house and calculated that they need about $1,000 to make all the changes necessary to make the house/church completely legal and pass all inspections.
This is where I am asking for your help! There is an immediate need for about $450 by April 20th and a need for about an additional $550 to make sure that Sergio and his wife and children will be able to live in their house free of the burden that they could be kicked out if certain discrepancies were found that need to be taken care of for inspection purposes.
Please take some time and pray about making a donation to Sergio and his family. Any amount big or small will be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much. God Bless!
To DONATE please click the Paypal Donate button and enter an amount to donate!
**NOTE - You will need a Paypal account in order to donate. It is quick and easy to setup. You just need either a credit card or bank account. I assure you that Paypal is a reputable and safe way to donate money online. Thanks again for your consideration :)
***When you click the link to donate it will take you to a page to put in an amount to donate and ask you to 'Update Total.' You can do this, but this will NOT actually donate money. You must either log into paypal and Donate, or Create an account to log-in and then donate. If you have any Questions please just email me at ulshaustin@gmail.com
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Posted in 02 Haiti by Austin Ulsh on 3/21/2012
-Throwing trash on the ground...I don't know if I will ever be able to get used to that.
-Naked people running around...mostly little boys.
-Washing clothes by hand and letting them dry inside out on the beach
-Drinking water out of a bag
Hiking a trail in Haiti on our off day
-Your name being " You, You, You"
-There are Mango and Coconut trees everywhere!
-The men all have huge muscles...not because they go to the gym but because they do manual labor everyday
-Not using a machine to pour concrete, but to bucket brigade it wherever it needs to go
-Working for less than $10 a day.
-Cooking on a charcoal stove.
Working at Mission of Hope International Building a School/Church
-Balancing anything on your head! Now that takes some skill!
-Dirt Floors.
-Candles lit along side the road for a source of light.
-Pasta noodles with Hot Dogs.
-The horn is the gas petal in Haiti.
-Cooking food on the side of the road.
The infamous White bus that drove us everywhere, parked outside the MOHI Construction Site
-FOB in creel is laundry detergent...they use it for washing clothes,dishes,washing the floor,your hands,your car.
-Glass bottle cokes
-The water fountain is used for;Drinking,filling,washing your hands,showering.
-Pumping gas out of a 55 Gallon...becau
se the gas station is never stocked with gas
-Having a personal space bubble? What is that?
Another picture of how beautiful Haiti is from our hike
So my time is Haiti is officially over. I am currently writing this from Romania. Our time in Haiti was great. It was definitely a different month from month one in the Dominican Republic. In the DR our ministry was very relational, going from house to house doing evangelism and then playing with kids in the community. Last month in Haiti our focus was construction, and a lot of it...mixingand pouring concrete, shoveling and moving backfill, along with many other mini projects here and there. Because our ministry was very similar from day to day in Haiti the month just flew by. The days just blurred together. That being said, it was a great month. We were able to serve Mission of Hope International(MOHI) in so many ways.
Finished Paint of the walls and the Mural in the Kitchen
Close-up of Mural in Kitchen
One of the Murals we painted in the Dorms at MOHI
Finished Mural in Girls Room
P.S. Our contact here at MOHI is named Kim, and she has been amazing leading the 46 of us the entire month. As you can see in the pics below she has dreads and they may or may not be contagious. And when I say 'may' I mean they are. So yeah, I got dreads in Haiti :)
Welcome to the World Race :P
Kim and I after Dreading my Hair
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Posted in 02 Haiti by Austin Ulsh on 3/3/2012
 Time in Haiti is coming to an end. Check out what I've been up to!
Click here to continue reading...
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Posted in 01 Dominican Republic by Austin Ulsh on 2/24/2012
I am Officially Fully funded!!! All I can say is that God is SO good! I know when I first looked at the World Race back in April 2009 one of the reasons chose not to do it was because of the cost. Then God brought it back to my attention in August 2010 and I knew that this is what God had planned for my life......
Click here to continue reading...
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Posted in 01 Dominican Republic by Austin Ulsh on 2/15/2012
 Dominican Republic Recap
Ministry contact: Pastor Manuel and Pastor Octavio
Ministry: Door to door evangelism and Kids Ministry
This month has been amazing. We've been working with 2 pastors in nearby towns supporting them in their ministry as pastors in the area. We had the chance to develop relationships with some locals, share the love of Christ and lead a few to Christ.
Click here to continue reading...
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Posted in 01 Dominican Republic by Austin Ulsh on 1/29/2012
I Almost got
Mugged!?!
God was looking out
for me today.
Today my team had off,
but Miguel, our main contact her in the DR asked if anyone wanted to take an
hour to help him out and water the ground where they are going to plant some
Yuka(a potato like vegetable) tomorrow. I offered my services as I was just
relaxing for the day. So we got to the plot of land and Miguel left to run some
errands, leaving me to tend to land.
If I haven't said
this yet, the DR is a Beautiful country! The mountains are absolutely
breathtaking. So as I was watering I took some pictures as well, not noticing
some youth that were hanging around the area. One of the youth came to talk to
me and I attempted to converse with him in my limited Spanish vocabulary. This
wasn't going to well, but I did get across who I was and knew he wanted to look
at the pictures on my camera. So I took it back out and showed him. We tried
conversing a bit more, but I didn't understand him, so he went on his way. Well
apparently the neighbor next to this plot of land knew these kids were bad news
and called my contact telling him to come back quick because these youth were planning
on jumping me and taking my stuff. Crazy
huh!?
Thankfully our God is
a good God and had his angels protecting me, and used this man to keep me safe.
I don't tell you this to scare you but just to
say that God's protection is upon me, and that danger is a very real element of
the World Race. But our God is a great God and He protects His children.
So this is my
life...this is the world race...and I love it.
These are just for fun :)
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