Posted in Awesome God Stories by Cathy Ramirez on 1/17/2011
Sometimes chapters in the story of our lives can be quick and succinct. At other times they can seem long and drawn out. But nonetheless if we are allowing the Lord to write the story of our lives hang on tight because it will surely be an adventure.
Since July of 2010 I have lived and breathed The World Race. Preparing and fund raising for this incredible opportunity to serve the Lord in 11 countries in 11 months was painstaking but was worthy, noble and pure. Incredibly after all was said and done, my World Race journey only lasted two days. You see, I made it all the way out to California (my launching point to Thailand) and felt led to return back home. My journey was over before it began.
I know without a shadow of a doubt that I was supposed to apply, get accepted and prepare for this journey but the final outcome was not to go. Since the beginning I had many reservations about traveling for a year. I also came up with a list of reasons why I couldn't go but the Lord shot them all back and said, "None of those reasons matter. You are only scared. Would you apply if I asked you to?" And, my answer to that was, "Yes."
After my acceptance, very little flowed easily. I even posted a blog post about how schizophrenic I felt about purchasing gear for the World Race. At the end of the day I ended up buying 2 sleeping bags, 2 sleeping pads, 2 pair of Teva sandals, 3 laptop computers and 2 cameras just to name a few. Needless to say, I had been confused, battling a ton of oppression but ultimately trying to force my way to the finish line...January 7th, 2011...my official launch date.
On Thursday January 6th, the heaviness of it all really began feeling like it was more than I could bear. I had to stand on a swivel chair to reach for something and secretly wished that I'd fall and break my leg so that I didn't have to go. But, on the 7th I managed to get dressed and go to the airport and board my flight to LAX. I cried to the Lord for two hours. As soon as I arrived at LAX I felt the Lord saying, "It's time to go home." Now if I wasn't confused before, I certainly was now. "Go home? What? I can't possibly do that. My squad is expecting me, relying on me, I have dozens of financial supporters, there are even more prayer warriors....if I go home now I will disappoint every one. I can't go home. This is what you called me to." There was zero peace about leaving for Thailand with the others. No peace. I called several friends from home (somehow I had the foresight to take my cell phone with me very last minute). I spoke to about 15 squad members separately about what I was feeling. I got on the phone and spoke to leadership at Adventures in Missions. But the most important piece of advice that I got from a couple of friends was to get away by myself, get into the Word and plead with the Lord for "beyond a shadow of a doubt clarity in His will." It was after I spent some time in the Word, prayed with a friend on the phone and then spent more time in the Word that I got peace that I was really to go home.
But of course, like any normal person would, new fears crept in, "How am I going to face everyone back home? No one is going to believe that He would take me all the way to the brink of leaving the States, hours before leaving, and tell me to return. I have no car. I have no job. I am going home to nothing." But, even with these new fears I felt a peace that I can quite describe. I knew that His plan was taking me on the most unexpected journey ever. Coming home to a clean slate and throwing my hands up to God saying "I have no idea what to do...You do it Lord". This new journey could only be found through reckless obedience to Him. I love Him for that. I've never experienced it before now but there are times when He just needs to see if we are truly willing to be obedient. I know that this was a test just like when Abraham took his son Issac up to the mountain when God asked him to sacrifice his only son (Genesis 22:1-19). God brought him to the last second right before He sent an angel to stop him. (I have to note that it's been AH-mazing how many times this story in the bible has come up in my life since I've been back. I journaled on my flight to LAX that I felt like this situation was "my Issac" not knowing what would happen hours later. And, now that I've been back, that story pops up from people's lips unsolicited, it was the verse on January 8th's Oswald Chamber's Utmost for His Highest and it was mentioned on a tv.) It's as if God is continually confirming, "You see? This is My will." The confirmation has been ah-mazing
So in closing, I just have to say thank you so much to every single person that prayed, supported and loved on me these last few months. It's been incredible watching the body of Christ come together to stand up and push forward with a unified front. Incredible. If you have any questions at all please feel free to email me.
Thank you so much! Love you all!
p.s. I will probably be starting up a new blog (I didn't realize how much I enjoyed writing until this experience). So, if you'd like to follow my new blog just send me a quick email to cathy_s_ramirez at Yahoo.com and I will let you know the address when it's up and running.
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Posted in General Posts by Cathy Ramirez on 12/26/2010
Sometimes death can be viewed as a double tragedy. The first tragedy being the actual loss of a loved one. And the second is the fact that surviving friends and family will typically gather to share loving memories and express their deepest sentiments about the person, when the person is no longer around to hear it. I find that kind of sad. Well, in the past month I've had the privilege of hearing how much I mean to so many people, and I didn't even have to die.
Have I known that I was loved? Of course. Have I felt the love of friends and family? Certainly. But, have I understood the depth of this love? I didn't until now.
Saying good bye to my co- workers at Central Vacuum Stores was tough. I've worked there for 7 years and to say that my co-workers are truly like brothers and sisters is an understatement. These folks didn't just tell me they would miss me on my last day, they spent weeks prior to my departure pouring love into me. That's the Lord. Because only the Lord and my closest friend knows that my "Love Language" is Words of Affirmation. (If you haven't read Gary Chapman's book The Five Love Languages you really should, it's eye opening.) My family has also been sharing how proud they are of this endeavor I'm about to embark on. Proud? Of me? Really?
It's strange because when you are in the center of what I call the "World Race Preparation Hurricane" you don't feel like you're doing anything out of the ordinary. There are what seem like a zillion things to do to prepare, so you spend every day getting a small list of things accomplished. So, I at least have not really had the time to think that what I'm doing in next year is really anything special. The Lord called me. I said, "Me, really? Ok." And, that's that. =)
So, I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who has shared their love with me in these last couple of months. You make it easy to go but hard to leave. I love you all very much.
Stay tuned to my next blog...I'm going to tackle PACKING! Fun, fun!
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:11
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Posted in General Posts by Cathy Ramirez on 11/26/2010
There are a couple of things that I have neglected to mention here (purely by accident) that I think you will be excited to hear about.
NUMBER 1 - I officially have a launch date! I am set to leave Friday, January 7th, 2011. I've booked my flight to LAX (Los Angeles Airport) and have been instructed to meet the others at the Cathay Pacific Airline counter. Yikes! As of today I only have 6 weeks left in the States. The last few months have gone by so fast!
NUMBER 2 - My route has changed. I knew that changes can be expected to occur on the World Race but I never imagined my route would change before I even left home! So, this is my new route that is, of course, still tentative:
- Thailand
- Cambodia
- Australia
- Malaysia
- India
- Nepal
- Swaziland
- Mozambique
- South Africa
- Moldova
- Romania
Time is quickly passing me by and I still have so much left to do. I have three official weeks of work left. (This is so creepy...it will be the first time in 18 years that I will be technically "unemployed"...this will definitely take some adjusting to). I have to sell my car soon. Kia Sportage 2007 LX, 35000 miles, automatic, $8995...just in case someone reading might know of someone interested. Even though I am done purchasing all of the big ticket items, I still have small things that need to be purchased. I made an Amazon wishlist here just in case. And then most importantly, I want to spend every single waking moment being with those I love so dearly that I am going to miss SO much next year. 6 WEEKS! Hmph. I'm sure it will all happen when it's supposed to. I just have to take it one day at a time and not forget to breathe! =)
"Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:4-7
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Posted in Awesome God Stories by Cathy Ramirez on 11/6/2010
If you've ever doubted that God can respond immediately to our prayers then have I got an awesome story for you. It's a long story so I'm going to leave some detail out but the joy of the story is in the detail....so here goes...
It was our last day at training camp and we had been settling into our new teams for a couple of days now. That morning we were allowed to sleep in a little bit, have breakfast and then we were asked to all meet at 9:30am or so. So, as a squad we met at our designated location and leadership began to inform us that today was going to be "a day of ministry." They were not going to tell us where to go, who to see or what to do...the Lord was. So, we were then instructed to get into our small teams, start praying and that as we were praying we were encouraged to just share whatever showed up in our minds. I have to admit...I was a teeny weeny bit skeptical....ok a lot skeptical. I don't doubt that God answers prayer but this felt like such a stretch. I silently thought, "Say what? We're going to do ministry and you're not going to help us out? Everyone on my team is from out of state. We are in the middle of nowhere. So, we're going to pray and God is just going to show us what to do? Hmph."
So, my team proceeded to huddle in a circle and I (probably because of my skepticism) offered to jot down notes of our prayers. We asked the Lord for "eyes to see" and that He would be very present in our midst. One by one we began sharing "stuff" from our minds. One girl said, "I just see the number 46." Another said, "I see us circled around an older black man with a greying beard." At the end we opened up our eyes and another girl said, "We are going to Atlanta." (Atlanta was about an hour south of us). So, we all pile into a car, GPS downtown Atlanta and start heading south. Because I have my little notebook, I jot down the time...10:17am.
We turn on the radio and the chorus of the first song playing is "let us have eyes to see." I mention that I wrote this down during our time of prayer. Pretty cool. It definitely feels like we are on the right road. As we get nearer to Atlanta we look at the GPS and it says we should get off at exit 250. I half jokingly ask, "Why don't we get off on exit 246? I mean 46 was mentioned during prayer." We agree and pass exit 250 and keep heading south. As we get off on exit 246 I glance at the clock, 11:03am. Quickly I do the math and say, "Umm girls, it took us exactly 46 minutes to get here." An eerie quiet comes over us and I think, "This ain't no joke. God's totally leading us somewhere."
So, we park the car in what seems like a remote area with lots of buildings. There are no stores around or anything that I think is inviting. We walk out of the parking area and say, "Right or left Lord?" A few of us unanimously respond, "Right." We arrive at another major intersection, "Lord, right or left?" Again we unanimously answer, "Left." We walk for few minutes and then see this building. The Atlanta Union
Mission
Other than that, it's a pretty non-descript building. Luckily Chelsea H. has an iPhone and she Googles the place. And the results immediately reveal "With your help we have been serving the homeless in the city of Atlanta with the love of Christ since 1938." Awesome.
So, we walk up to the main door and it's locked and noone seems to be inside. Hmm. Just as we are turning around to re-group and talk an F150 pulls up to the parking space 3 feet from us. And a young guy comes out of the driver's seat and asks if there is something he can help us with. We nervously say we are with the World Race and are trying to find somewhere to serve today and we feel like the Lord has led us here. He then introduces himself, "Oh hmm wow. I'm the head of the volunteer department for the mission and we weren't expecting you. I was just stopping by to drop off some paperwork. Let me see what I can do." And, he unlocks the door and goes inside. So, let me reiterate...he was the head of the volunteer department and he just HAPPENED to stop by right at that moment! Awesome.
 He comes back outside and he asks, "Would you want to clean?" "Sure" we all answer. So, he then introduces us to a black man named Kenneth that is going to show us where we are to clean. We then proceeded to deep clean 4 lobby areas. We did windows, floors, polished furniture and dusted.
After we were done Kenneth gave us a tour of the facility. He showed us where the homeless ate and lived. He showed us the chapel and offices. During our tour there was loud Gospel music playing...it gave me chills. Here's a short clip of that:
After we were done he escorted us outside and proceeded to share a little of his life story with us. He had been a heavy drug user and almost died as a result of it. So, in the last few years he had devoted himself to helping others and was trying to live a righteous life. He taught at the mission chapel sometimes and said he loved the Lord. He also said, "I almost died from doing bad so now I want to die doing good."
He then asked us if we would pray for him. "Of course we will." He then stretched out his hands and we instantly formed a circle around him and we prayed. When we were done he had a tear in his eye and thanked us for coming. As we walked away we realized he was our "black man with a greying beard that we would surround." We did not initiate the prayer he did. So, we never manipulated anything to be like what
we prayed for...it just happened. As we were driving away a teammate said, "When we were praying back at camp I felt like we were going to a homeless shelter but just didn't say." So, the Lord really was giving us each a piece of the ministry puzzle.
Isn't God just too awesome? And I am happy to say, although He totally did not need to, He turned my
skeptism into amazement in just a couple of hours.
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Posted in Fundraising by Cathy Ramirez on 11/1/2010
Why would it be awesome to be fully funded before I leave the country?
Good question - Continuing to fundraise from the field will take time away from our ministry opportunities. I really would rather be able to focus on my task at hand than have to spend time calling/e-mailing/blogging to continue raising funds. If the Lord doesn't wish for me to be fully funded by the time I leave I am perfectly fine with that but a girl can dream! I would love to be able to call/e-mail/blog to share stories of healing and restoration and not be asking for money. So please help me live (and write about) stories of healing and restoration by helping me get to $14,300 by December 31, 2010. Every penny helps! Click here to make a donation :)
You may be wondering where exactly your financial contribution goes to...
Well, I'm glad you asked! Here are some examples of what your donations will go directly towards:
Your $3 donation will pay for my transportation (from my housing to the ministry site) for one day. ($21 for one week and $93 for one month)
Your $3.75 donation will pay for my meals for one day. ($26.25 for one week and $116.25 for one month)
Your $5.25 donation will pay for my lodging for one day. ($36.75 for one week and $162.75 for one month)
Your $460 donation will pay for all of my personal expenses for one month. (This includes all of the above plus important stuff like translators and necessary things like toilet paper)
Your $3,400 donation will pay for my airfare for the entire trip.
So you see large or small, every single penny helps. No joke!
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Posted in Top 10 by Cathy Ramirez on 10/26/2010
Ok I'm starting a new series of posts called Top 10. I will create a blog post of Top 10's for every country that I visit. And, since Training Camp felt like its own universe...it deserves the inaugural Top 10 post. So here goes:
Top 10 Things I learned in Training Camp:
10 - Always check your shoes for spiders before putting them on.
9 - A head covering will solve most "I'm freezing" problems.
8 - Compressible pillows will do just that when you sleep on them.
PM = Pillow / AM = Pancake
7 - Most food will taste delicious when you're hungry enough. But eating meat pieces of just fat will surely
make you gag and tear up.
6 - Being an introvert and living in constant community can exist
5 - Hiking steep hills gets easier with time
4 - Showering is overrated
3 - Musical chairs is an excellent source of exercise
2 - A bunch of tent zippers opening and closing negates needing an alarm clock
1 - I am royalty
I have destiny
I have been set free
I will change the world
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Posted in Training by Cathy Ramirez on 10/26/2010
Alright, apparently I painted a very dark picture with my last post and for that I'm sorry. (I had my mom pretty freaked out...sorry mami!) I did have a hard time at training but I am actually pretty thankful for that (now that I'm on the other side of it) Life isn't worth living if there isn't strain or struggle every once in awhile (in my humble opinion). Experiencing hard stuff is like a wake up pinch. A pinch that says, "Hey, are you still here? Still here in the same spot? Come on it's time to grow baby doll."
Spending 10 days as an introvert in an extroverted world was hard. Being pushed physically every day was hard. Finding out that the World Race has the possibility of being much more intense than volunteering in soup kitchens or playing with orphans is scary. Dealing with freezing temperatures in a tent was physically demanding. I've lived in Florida for 18 years folks...my blood has thinned...I shivered every single night (well except for the one night one of my squad leaders let me borrow her sleeping bag to use as a blanket...Praise the Lord for her generosity)!
Anyway, I still know with all my heart that I am supposed to be doing this. I've lived all my life scared of life. It's time for that to stop. And, if the Lord, creator of the universe, has called me to do this...then I have nothing to lose...including my life. My life is His and He can choose what He wishes to do with it.
Ok, now on to some more fun pictures!
Worship Session at Training Camp!
Eating "African" dinner with my great pal Robin (so sad we aren't on the same squad).
p.s. This is the dinner that made me gag...twice.
My beautiful team Blue Sky on our first outing!
Eating "Indian" lunch with Chelsea Hughes. Women had to cover their heads culturally.
Up close picture of Cathy "Callie" Callicutt during Squad Wars.
We each have the letter U lipsticked onto our faces! Go U Squad!!
During our commissioning night all the team leaders washed their teammates feet.
This is Chelsea (Blue Sky Team Leader) washing Campy's feet...she hadn't bathed
all week....so needless to say washing her feet was a greater sacrifice then the rest
of our feet! Way to go Chels!
My prayer is that Team Blue Sky will look less like ourselves and more like Jesus when
we return next year.
I'm hoping to snag a squad picture from someone soon. Everytime we all got together to
take a squad picture my camera was no where close. So, I'm going to "borrow" a picture
from someone soon and I'll post it.
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Posted in Training by Cathy Ramirez on 10/20/2010
In just 5 short days at training camp my mind has been filled with doubts, my spirit has experienced freedom and my body has been beaten into submission. It's been hard - no joke. The days are long and the schedule is intense. And like we've been told, everything they are doing is very purposeful. So I guess it's nice to know that nothing is done in vain.
There are about 200 racers divided into 4 squads here at camp. We've heard tons of testimonies, spent hours in worship sessions, begun to bond as a squad, problem solved as teams, and, ahem, eaten some interesting things. I can't give too many details since they want all future Racers to have an equally unique experience (which would be kind of tarnished if they knew what to expect).
This is where I am currently living. My tent is the yellow/gray one on the bottom right.
There have been moments where I have seriously thought, "I've made the biggest mistake of my life." So pairing this up with the realization of just how committed I already am (condo is rented, resignation letter turned in, thousands of dollars donated) has caused me anxiety. I felt trapped. No way out.
So I did the only thing I could do - pray. "Lord, are you sure about this? Being surrounded by all of these folks for just a few days is SO draining for me, the introvert. Lord, I don't think I have the stamina for a year. Mentally, emotionally or physically. Lord, my back has been bugging me at camp. I am in a place where I can't control my surroundings to fully protect my back. I don't think I can do this. Amen." You'd think being is such a spirit-filled place I would hear His audible voice after my prayer. But, I haven't. Instead he's sent words of encouragement through squad mates. They don't know that the few words they've spoken has given me such peace and filled my heart with such love. The Lord also provided me with protection from the cold. The first two nights were quite yucky. My body is not used to cold weather at all. I guess you can blame all my years of living in Florida. But for the first two nights I shivered so much I could not fall asleep. No matter what I did I could not get warm. So by day 3, my tent neighbor Chelsea bought me some gloves and a hat on her quick trip to Wal-Mart and one of my squad leaders let me borrow her sleeping bag as a blanket. They were both complete answers to prayers.
 New friends that I've made. Robin from T squad and Chelsea from my squad (U). They're awesome!
Needless to say that even though every muscle in my body is screaming and I still have worries about my back...I know who is in control. He has planned every detail of this journey. I can not worry that He's neglected to think of something. So, even though this will probably be the hardest thing I have to do...I can't see how this won't also provide me with the most blessed year ever. Jesus' sacrifice is totally worth a few nights in freezing temps, sleeping in a tent outdoors and living a very extroverted life in my introverted world. (Having a nice warm hat sure does helps)
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Posted in Training by Cathy Ramirez on 10/15/2010
Well after many attempts I've finally packed my backpack. It weighs 35 lbs and I feel like there's not much in there. Between the tent, sleeping pad, and sleeping bag I hardly had physical space for much else. I kept thinking, "I'm not even packing everything I intend to bring on the actual World Race. This is just training camp.... for one week. What's going to happen in January?" So, I am seriously praying for a packing intervention at training so I can learn what I'm doing wrong.
On a different note, have you ever thought back to some event in your life that seemed insignificant at the time but turned out to change the entire course of your life? Well back in 1998 I decided to get a part time job at a gym. I thought, "I'll get a job at a gym so I'll be extra motivated to work out." Well, that job ended up being really yucky where the boundaries of my ethics were pushed by money-hungry salespeople and I quit within the year. But getting that job led me to meet a lady that would end up being my best friend, Nancy. Her friendship led me to church, which led me to Christ, which led me to a new group of people at a bible study, which would lead to a change of education, which would lead to my current job, which led to new friends, who heard about the World Race, who mentioned it to me and now we're at today. Who would have ever known that "I think I'll get a job at a gym" could steer, alter and carve out this awesome journey I've been on so far?
Well, tonight I sit here and think about what training camp will be like. I've only been to "camp" once in my life and that was for Color Guard back in high school. So, I can't know for sure what to expect at training. But there is this deep rooted feeling that tomorrow will again mark a major turn in my life. It's like I am sitting in the audience of a fancy theater, with a ticket that I didn't pay for, everyone around me is buzzing with excitement and the curtain has just begun to go up. I don't exactly know what's behind the curtain but I do know that it's big. It's big and unexplainable. I also feel like I haven't prepared at all but yet I'm more ready now than I ever could be for whatever it is that is coming. Is that possible? Don't know but feels like it.
Anyway, I don't know what will happen at training but I do know that for once I don't really care. I don't have to know what the agenda is. I don't have to control the details. I don't need to have backup plans. For once I'm not scared to let Him lead. Lord, Your will be done. Not mine. What an awesome place to be.
Prayer requests:
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Please pray that the Lord be so present at camp that it will be undeniable to everyone
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Pray that as a squad we will bond in Christ so strongly that we will be a force to be reckoned with
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Pray that we be protected with a mighty hedge of protection from the enemy
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And pray that we all leave training changed
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Posted in Fundraising by Cathy Ramirez on 10/12/2010
On Saturday, October 9, 2010 a bunch of my wonderful friends threw a very nice fundraiser dinner for me. We served food from all 11 countries that I am due to visit on the World Race in January. We raffled off an Amazon Kindle, there was a professional photographer taking portraits in exchange for donations to the ministry, we debut my World Race promo video and I got an opportunity to share my World Race testimony. I thought I would share the promo video and some pictures for your amusement here:
So many folks volunteered to assist at this fundraiser I can't possibly name them all
but this is Kim...she is not only a terrific friend but an EXCELLENT cook!
More of the ladies in the kitchen with oodles of salads from South Africa and Mozambique...
Miss Leah serving goat cheese on toast appetizers to the guests (with a beautiful smile)
Irish Soda Bread
Me and my brother Steve (who is such a great encourager, cheerleader, financial supporter but most importantly...awesome brother)!
Folks watching my World Race promo video
This is Mikael (the young man who made the promo video for me) with his parents, Alfonso and Monica, at the dinner.
I want to thank everyone who came out that night. Volunteers, friends and family! The evening brought in about $1700 in support! Hallelujah! The Lord is so faithful.
I am still short about $7000 before I am fully funded, so would you prayerfully consider partnering with me? You can donate here.
A monthly donation of $5, $10 or $20 would go a long way! Or any size one-time donations would be incredible and appreciated. It all adds up! Thank you so much!
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