The NEW Adventures of Cin and Jon

Attn:Dear Esteemed Beneficiary 2012!

2012-02-17T19:38:00.000+09:00

Office of the Reserve Bank Of India
6,Sansand Marg, (R.B.I) Building.PB NO 123.
New Delhi
Financial Regulation and Financial
Inclusion Working Together or at Cross-purposes:

Our ref: Cbn/Ohg/Oxd1/2011
Telex: 09331Credit/RBI.
Payment file: RBI/Ben/09

PAYMENT NOTIFICATION OF YOUR FUNDS

Attn: Beneficiary,

The transfer department of the Reserve bank of India has decided to bring to
your attention, that you were listed as a beneficiary in the recent schedule
for payment of outstanding debts incurred by the RBI government 2010. to 2011
According to your file, Your payment is categorized as: contract type:
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Therefore, we are writing this email to inform you that( 39,193,318.21 INR )
will be release to you in your name, as it was committed for (RBI) Governor
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8.) PHONE:-------------------------------

9.) OCCUPATION/POSITION:-----------------

10.) BANK DETAILS:-----------------------

With Warm Regards,
DR SANJAY GUPTA

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2012-02-12T01:03:00.000+09:00

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2011-12-23T03:54:00.000+09:00

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2011-12-20T05:57:00.001+09:00

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2011-11-11T22:14:00.001+09:00

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: HOME

2011-08-06T03:10:00.001+09:00

HOME
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 8/5/2011

It's so unreal to think that Jon and I have been home for two whole months!

In some ways it seems like a lot, in others not nearly enough. We've gotten the chance to catch up with most of our family and some friends, but like I said it hasn't been long enough!

Being home has been different than I anticipated. We were warned of reverse-culture shock and though I have experienced some uneasiness of being back in the West, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I haven't cried myself to sleep or anything major like that. I have, however, done some usual things:

- Frequently asking if I should take a roll of toilet paper with me

- Forgot to buckle up

- Not tipped

- Asked if the public bathroom was free

- Carried anything you can imagine in my purse 'just in case' (book, hand sanitizer, shopping bag, snacks, baby wipes, safety pins)

- Felt a whole lot more comfortable sitting on the floor than on the couch (particularly watching TV)

- The size of grocery stores and the pop aisle in particularly still make my head spin (why in the world would we need that much food in one place?!)

Now that we've been home for two months I've re-learnt more about living in the GTA. I use our furniture, buckle up regularly and no longer take my trusty extra roll of toilet paper with me. :)

We have been blessed to have a great faith family and we were able to partner up in a few ways:

- Hosted a team at my parents' house while they were away

- I translated for a Cuban pastor

- Started a donation drop off for this pastor

- Volunteered at our church's Track Camp

- and lately joined an outreach bible study at a nearby park

Doing ministry at home has helped a lot with the transition process. Although we didn't join right away and missed a few opportunities, I'm not looking back but looking to the future on where we can be of need.

We would still love to see everyone! One of the ways we could connect (though I know it's kind of short notice) is THIS Sunday, August 7th and Sunday, August 14th. We'll be sharing at our church about The World Race and some things we learnt throughout the year. If you are free, please come join us!

Sunday 10:30AM

Garthwood Park Public School

3245 Colonial Drive

Mississauga, Ontario

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Re: Bonjour

2011-07-26T07:23:00.000+09:00

Sincerely Yours ,
To introduce myself my name is Tagro Jean-Richard Ligueda , eldest son of the late Mr. Desire Tagro, Former Minister of Interior of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire principal pillar of the governement of former President Laurent Gbagbo. My late father was among the patriots who were staying at the presidential residence with President Laurent Gbagbo before being attacked by rebel supporters of the new president, Alassane Ouattara.

The presidential residence was attacked by FRCI April 11, 2011 in order to arrested President Laurent Gbagbo with all the patriots who have taken refuge inside the bunker to Presidence.At the end, after sporadic shooting that taken the lives of my father, President Laurent Gbagbo was arrested the same day.

Today the new government of Alassane Ouattara and his tenor mistreat us, and tracks all the patriots families and relatives of former president inclueded me and my sisters. Therefore, our stay in Yvory Cost had become very difficult, , more risky and dangerous for our lives and we had to flee to the Republic of Benin the nearest country where a friend of mine has house to secure us until we find a solution ..

It is with great humility and deep respect that I am writing this mail to solicit your help and assistance to claim the financial reserve that my late father kept for safety with a Financial Institution here in Benin Republic .
I seek your help for this purpose to claim this financial reserve made by my father who is valued at the amount in cash of euros 180 million .

All that matters for us today is to recover these funds with your help, to invest under your authority in profitable and credible projects to support my family because I am acting now as head of the family and I must take this responsibility.
If you are ready to become partner with me to recover and repatriate these funds to your financial structures already existing in your country of residence, this would be a real pleasure and a great benefit for all us.
Thank you for helping and contact me at the following address: jrl.tagro@rediffmail.com
Looking forward to your prompt response.
Very Sincerely,
Jean-Richard L Tagro
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mes Cordiales Salutations,
Pour me presenter je me nomme Tagro Jean-Richard Ligueda ,fils aine de feu M. Desire Tagro, Ex-Ministre de l'Interieur de la Republique de Cote d'Ivoire pilier inconstable du regime de l'ancien President Laurent Gbagbo. Mon defunt pere etait parmi les patriotes qui logeaient a la residence presidentielle avec le President Laurent Gbagbo avant d'etre attaque par les rebelles partisans du nouveau president, Alassane Ouattara.

La Residence Presidentielle a ete attaquee par les FRCI le 11 avril 2011 dans le but de capturer le President Laurent Gbagbo avec ses elites qui ont pris refuge a l'interieur du bunker a la Presidence.En fin de compte,apres des tirs sporadiques qui ont emporte la vie de mon pere,President Laurent Gbagbo fut capture le meme jour.

Aujourd'hui le nouveau gouvernement d'Alassane Ouattara et ses tnors nous maltraite,et traque tous les elites et proches des familles au president dechu dont moi et mes soeurs. Par consequent, notre sejour en
Cote d'Ivoire etait devenu tres delicat ,difficile ,de plus en plus risque et dangereux pour nos vies et on du fuir pour pour la Republique du Benin ou un ami a moi nous a loge en attendant qu'on trouve une solution..

C'est donc avec une grande humilite et un profond respect que je vous ecris ce mail pour solliciter votre aide et votre assistance afin de recuperer la reserve financiere que mon defunt pere a mise en securite aupres d'une Institution Financiere ici en Republique du Benin.
Je sollicite a cet effet votre aide pour reclamer cette reserve financiere faite par mon pere qui est evaluee a la somme en especes de 180.000.000 d'Euro.

Tout ce qui compte pour nous aujourd'hui est de recuperer cette reserve avec votre aide , de l'investir sous votre autorite dans des Projets rentables et credibles afin de faire vivre ma famille car me retrouant comme chef de famille je dois prendre cette responsabilite.
Si vous etes pret a vous associer a moi pour recuperer et rapatrier ces fonds vers vos structures financieres deja existantes dans votre pays de residence , cela serait UN REEL PLAISIR ET UN GRAND SOULAGEMENT MORAL POUR NOUS. .
Merci de nous venir en aide et de me contacter a l'adresse suivante : jrl.tagro@rediffmail.com
Dans l'attente de votre reponse rapide.
Tres Cordialement,
Jean-Richard L. Tagro

On Trust

2011-07-15T09:34:00.000+09:00

Dear Friend,

My name is Mrs. Michele Smith I am a dying woman who have decided to donate
what I have to you/ church. I am 63 years old and I was diagnosed for cancer
for about 9 years ago, immediately after the death of my husband, who has left
me everything he worked for.

I have been touched by God to donate from what I have inherited from my late
husband to the you for the good work of God, rather than allow my relatives to
use my husband hard earned funds ungodly.

As I don't have a child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives
have pounded all our family properties since my ill health started few years
ago, I want this my husband's hard earned money to be used judiciously. I took
this decision after watching CNN news recently where a healthy American in
Oklahoma, one Mr. Mart Green donated US$70m last February to the indebted Oral
Robert University as to aid the Christian University out from total collapse.

Please pray, that the good Lord forgive me my sins. I have asked God to
forgive me and believe he has because He is a merciful God. I will be going in
for an operation in less than Three hours from now. I decided to WILL/donate
the sum of $7,700,000 (Seven million seven hundred thousand dollars) to you
for the good work of the lord, and also to help the motherless and less
privilege and also for the assistance of the widows. At the moment I cannot
take any telephone calls right now due to the fact that my relatives are
around me and my health status.

I have adjusted my WILL and my lawyer is aware that I have changed my will you
and him will arrange the transfer of the funds from my account to you. I wish
you all the best and may the good Lord bless you abundantly, and please use
the funds well and always extend the good work to others. Contact my lawyer
with this specified email: (lawman.davidg@gmail.com) and tell him that I
have Chosen you to inherit the money. I know I don't know you but I have been
directed by God to do this believing God that you will promote his work.
Thanks and God bless.

NB: I will appreciate your utmost confidentiality in this matter until the
task is accomplished as I don't want anything that will Jeopardize my last
wish. And Also I will be contacting with you by email as I don't want
my/husband relation or anybody to know because they are always around me.

Regards,
Mrs.Michele Smith

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2011-06-24T05:01:00.001+09:00

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: THANK YOU

2011-05-22T12:59:00.001+09:00

THANK YOU
By Jonathan Bunford on 5/21/2011

I dedicate this blog to YOU: our readers and supporters.

I pray that you know how valuable you have been to our journey.

This past year we were safe, healthy, and joyful because of your prayers.

We had everything we needed to survive: water, food, roof over our heads and even some luxuries (like internet) because of your financial support.

Just knowing that you are reading our blogs, watching our videos and commenting on our pictures blessed us immensely. You have no idea how much we were encouraged with every comment, reply or email we got from you.

So from the bottom of our heart we say: Thank You!

You need to know that this journey has been yours also. Through every conversation we had, every hug we gave or received, every house we painted, log we moved, life God touched through us...you were there.

There is no way we could have done this without your help. We pray that you know the impact you had around the world and in our lives.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we still have a few travel days ahead of us. We are currently in Pangkor with the rest of the leaders, the teams will join us in a few days for final debrief, and the bitter sweet goodbyes will commence.

We'll be home in June! I'm excited to rest and spend lots of time with our families. We hope to have the opportunity to share this journey with all of you at some point this summer.

Looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us in the future!

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: THANK YOU

2011-05-22T12:57:00.001+09:00

THANK YOU
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 5/21/2011

I dedicate this blog to YOU: our readers and supporters.

I pray that you know how valuable you have been to our journey.

This past year we were safe, healthy, and joyful because of your prayers.

We had everything we needed to survive: water, food, roof over our heads and even some luxuries (like internet) because of your financial support.

So from the bottom of our heart we say: Thank You!

There is no way we could have done this without your help. We pray that you know the impact you had around the world and in our lives.

We'll be home in June! I'm excited to rest and spend lots of time with our families. We hope to have the opportunity to share this journey with all of you at some point this summer.

Looking forward to seeing what God has in store for us in the future!

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Love in Greek

2011-05-20T19:37:00.001+09:00

Love in Greek
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 5/20/2011

αγάπη

This is a Greek word pronounced: agape.

We don't have a word equal to this in the English language. The best we can do is "LOVE."

Love is not enough to describe AGAPE. Not when we can say that we "love" pizza, that I "love" Starbucks, "love" my new dress, your car, etc.

In the Greek language, Love itself is divided into three categories.

The first is: Eros. The physical aspect of romantic love.

The second is: Phillos. This love is brotherly love, the love you would have for a friend. Most of us understand and can honestly say that we practice or at least attempt to practice Phillos on a daily basis.

The third level and highest level of love is, you guessed it: Agape.

Agape is:

Divine
Unconditional
Self-less
Thoughtful

Agape is the word used in the original Greek of 1 John 4:8

God is love (agape)

αγάπη is the word that best describes who God is, and how much He loves us.

We've ben hurt time and time again by people who say they love us. Unfortunately, now it is hard to imagine how God can love us with the same kind of love. God loves us so much more.

He truly unconditionally LOVES you and me. (I'll continuing saying talking about myself, but everything I saw applies to you as well)

There's nothing I can do to stop "deserving" his love. He can't help but love me. I'm not perfect and He knows that, but he stills AGAPEs me.

He sees when I make choices that will only cause me harm and pain but αγάπηs me and allows me to make those mistakes. It's selfless because seeing me hurt saddens Him. He would rather make it all better. He's the Almighty, if He wanted my love regardless of what it could cost me He could make it happen. But he would rather give me free will and allow me to choose to love Him back.

There are signs everywhere that show His love for me. The incredible orangey/pinkish sunset over Penang the other night, the hugs from my teammates, the words of wisdom from a team leader, jokes that make me nearly pee my pants from another leader, the song on my ipod that makes me want to dance, the smiles from the homeless people that come to the shelter, a comment on my blog, email or facebook, truth found in the bible, literal signs that say that He loves me, the incredible husband He sent me.

It might sound ridiculous to you but these are all signs that God thinks about me - He gives me what I need and when I need it.

So Agape is how God loves us. It's also how we should love God and everyone else.

"You have heard that it was said, "Love (agape) your neighbor
and hate your enemy,'
But I tell you, love (agape) your enemies"

Matthew 5:43-44

I'm called to unconditionally, selflessly, and thoughtfully love those that love me; and in the same way unconditionally, selflessly and thoughtfully love those that hate me.

Αγάπη love.

It's etched in my heart and I pray that I never forget how to αγάπη the world.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Maylasia

2011-05-18T19:00:00.001+09:00

Maylasia
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 5/18/2011

We're spending the month of May in the city of Penang. This place is so beautiful, so much diversity and so much culture. It seriously feels like I've stepped into a Bollywood movie and people will break out in a synchronized dance at any moment....I'm still waiting for that to happen.

This is our last week of ministry - it's wild and bittersweet. Let me show you a few things of our life here in Malaysia.

We split into two groups: hospital crew and shelter crew.

I was wisely chosen for the shelter crew - since I dislike hospitals so much. We help serve breakfast, prepare lunch, serve it and paint the upstairs rooms of the shelter for future teams. We've also met some friends at the shelter - most are quite the characters; still, they have huge hearts and always greet you with a smiling face.

On Wednesday nights both crews teamed up with the shelter to take love to the streets.

Last week I paired up with Jeremy, my Korean friend who works at the shelter and a few other ladies. As we headed downtown I knew my heart would break, I just didn't know how badly it would hurt.

We prayed over a woman who has 5 grown children but none will take her in. She only has one leg and in the past weeks it's been looking real bad. God's been slowly healing it that when I saw it, it has been restored!

We prayed with a few women in the sex trade and even with a "customer."

The thing that broke my heart the most was seeing a six-year-old boy waiting by his mom's "post" as she was "working." I don't know about you but when I was six I had no care in the world. My biggest worry was my sister throwing my Barbie's across the room. This boy's childhood has been robbed from him and all I could do was offer him water and attempt to play with him as I prayed for him; but he's clearly dealing with abandonment issues already. As the strangers walked away he started playing with a stray cat and I wondered what time and where he would sleep that night.

I heard the enthusiasm in the hospital crew's voices every evening after ministry - I wanted to see what it was all about, so I joined them for a couple of days. They are raising money for heart surgeries for kids and adults who can't afford to pay for them. The cost of one surgery is around 30,000 ringgit (I call it "bring it") that amounts to about $10,000. Their goal is to raise that amount in the short 3 weeks we are here. The last count I heard was 20,000 ringgit - almost there! I went around selling plush fish and asking for donations. Plus we got to talk to some of the staff who are all amazingly friendly.

Penang has been so good to me. It's enough of a city to make the transition to home a lot smoother and still has tons of quirks that remind me that we're still on the race.

Things such as:

GIGANTIC rats on the streets - seriously they could easily eat the stray cats that are always around
cows on the same road as the mall
super cheap food: tandoori chicken with nan for less than $3
no sidewalks
terrible smells that hit you as you walk down the street
plenty of street food
different temples at every corner
squattie potties
non western music blaring from the shops
$13 haircuts
fifty cent lemonade served in a bag
getting lost trying to find the place to teach English and nobody understanding us
being thought of as a local while spoken to in the local language (it's happened all over Asia!)
and the best thing that reminds me I'm still on the race is having 15 other people around ready to talk and make me laugh!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: China 3 - House Parties & Tiger Park [VIDEO]

2011-05-13T19:04:00.000+09:00

China 3 - House Parties & Tiger Park [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 5/13/2011

Here (finally) is the last video from China. In China, many universities have "English Corners/Clubs" that give opportunities for the Chinese students to practice English with one-another. We went to different English Corners nearly every evening, we got to meet a lot of people through them and we ended up having a few parties at "our place" on the weekends. Through the English Corners, house parties and subsequent visits with students, we personally saw 5 people welcome Jesus into their lives!

Our contacts, Jake & Steph, have had many people come serve alongside them, so they know where to go on the "Off-Days". One of the first days we had off we ventured to the Harbin Tiger Park which was, in a word, INCREDIBLE! You can pay for the basic tour, but you can also pay a bit extra to provide a meal for the tigers (which we did, sorry PETA, it's not wrong if we're feeding the tigers, is it?).

Our month in China was incredible and God taught us a lot that month. We continue to pray for the ministry that Jake & Steph are a part of and we look forward to hearing more about the growth of the Kingdom in Harbin!

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: One Tiny Pebble

2011-05-12T00:58:00.001+09:00

One Tiny Pebble
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 5/11/2011

How much harm can one tiny pebble cause?

It's so little, its existence might even make you laugh - it has no weight in this world. How much can it really matter?

And yet it was one tiny pebble that made my life so much harder than I could've expected.

On our third week in Thailand I managed to get a pebble stuck in the bottom of my foot.

Like I said, how much harm can a pebble cause?!

Well, one of the things that pebble did was lead me to deeper dependency on the girls I was with last month. I can't tell you how much it killed me to walk.

Somewhere along my life I learnt that if people see a need, there's no reason to ask for help. Their help should be instinctive. If it wasn't and I needed to ask for help, my response was to turn to frustration or anger. This past month has taught me more than ever that there's not only no shame in asking for help, but that being asked for help is a blessing to some. Also, some of us lack that instinct to jump to help - we need reminders at times.

My great friend Mari Tomer called me out on struggling on my own to do the things I just couldn't do with my foot hurting. She asked me to ask for their help.

I felt demanding asking someone to carry my pack as we moved to the other girls' house. Asking them to get me a glass of water, make me a coffee, walk slowly with me, etc.

The girls' willingness to serve me was humbling. They truly loved me last month. Though I didn't have my mom, dad or sister - not even Jon, I was reminded that I had family with me.

Back to the tiny pebble.

We went to the Dr. and found that it was nothing serious but that the tiny pebble caused a huge infection - which made it hard to walk. I hate hospitals and needles like a fat kid hates non-fat yogurt. Yet, I had to be there for hours waiting for a Dr. to take out the infection.

My lovely friend Stephanie Woody held my hand through it all, and talked to me about her favourite animal: Kittens!

When she couldn't be there anymore, I only had God to lean on.

I'll spare some of the details, but will tell you that I promise you that IT WAS NOTHING SERIOUS.

It's been annoying now, not painful. I see friends going out for runs, walks, working out on the roof and finding great places to eat far from home.

I've also had a great time. I spent more time reading my bible in one day than I can ever remember doing. God's put so many things on my heart to pray for and given me time to do that. I've listened to podcasts that I wouldn't have if I had been out and about. Then I got to join ministry and go about meeting everyone there, got to paint at the shelter and join the worship meetings!

Last night we went to a prayer meeting. I prayed a dangerous thing. That God would only heal me if HE WOULD GET ALL THE GLORY. I don't want anyone else to feel that it was their work that healed me. Not the Dr. and not me.

I immediately felt like I could dance, run and jump! Today was probably one of the days when I've walked the most in the past month and I felt great. We went to see the Dr. and my wound healed more over night than it had in the past weeks!

PRAISE THE LORD!

The same can be said for small situations. That tiny pebble can represent any kind of wound in your life/heart. Whatever it is, God wants to heal you.

BUT

HE has so much to teach you through it, if you're willing to learn

And HE wants to be the only one to get the GLORY!

3 amazing women that helped me get through! this was after walking lots to find a great place to eat :)

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T01:46:00.001+09:00

Happy Mother's Day
By Jonathan Bunford on 5/8/2011

First and foremost, I'm no wordsmith however I married one. So without further ado here's my Mother's Day Blog (~~stolen~~ highly inspired from Cinthia)

God has blessed me immensely over the past year and over the course of my life, but he began blessing me even BEFORE I was born: He picked MY MOM!!!

You made all the delicate,

Inner parts of my body

And knit me together

In my mother's womb

Psalms 139:13 (NLT)

I've learnt countless lessons from my mom, including (though not limited to) true forgiveness, affection, and selflessness. Thank you mom for ~~putting up with me~~ encouraging me throughout it all.

- - - - -

Now if that wasn't enough, I've got another mother, there are a lot of stereotypes about "mother-in-laws" but this woman proves them all wrong. She's caring, selfless and serves everyone as though she's serving God.

I can't say it better than Cinthia: "I thank God for bringing you and your family to my life!"

- - - - -

I'm so blessed to know so many great moms. I learn something every time I see you. You know who you are! Miss you all.

To all the moms reading this: you brighten our darkest days. You are loved by an almighty God . Even when the kids don't tell you, or it doesn't feel it, you are doing God's work and I'm sure you're doing a great job!

Happy Mother's Day!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T01:11:00.001+09:00

Happy Mother's Day
By Jonathan Bunford on 5/8/2011

First and foremost, I'm no wordsmith however I married one. So without further ado here's my Mother's Day Blog (~~stolen~~ highly inspired from Cinthia)

God has blessed me immensely over the past year and over the course of my life, but he began blessing me even BEFORE I was born: He picked MY MOM!!!

You made all the delicate,

Inner parts of my body

And knit me together

In my mother's womb

Psalms 139:13 (NLT)

- - - - -

I can't say it better than Cinthia: "I thank God for bringing you and your family to my life!"

- - - - -

I'm so blessed to know so many great moms. I learn something every time I see you. You know who you are! Miss you all.

Happy Mother's Day!

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Feliz Dia De La Madre!

2011-05-09T00:45:00.001+09:00

Feliz Dia De La Madre!
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 5/8/2011

God has blessed me immensely over the past year and over the course of my life, but he began blessing me even BEFORE I was born: He picked MY MOM!!!

You made all the delicate,

Inner parts of my body

And knit me together

In my mother's womb

Psalms 139:13

He chose wisely who would house me in her belly. Watch me take my first steps - pick me up when I fall. Teach me how to ride a bike, even though she didn't have one as a child. Plan all my birthday parties, you have no idea what a task that has been! And help me plan my wedding!

My mom is without a shadow of a doubt the strongest woman I've ever met. She hasn't had the easiest life and yet she has never lost faith in God. The trials that life throws at her only make her faith stronger.

She is selfless, caring, serves with all her heart, and loves me even when I'm not perfect.

I love you mom. I'm so greatly blessed to have you in my life!

---

God never ceases to astound me. His plans always blow me out of the water. He handpicked the perfect heart to love my husband: My Mother in law.

My second mom is the bravest woman I know. Beautiful inside and out, re-defines forgiveness, affectionate to the core and loves others as though they are family.

I thank God for bringing you and your family to my life!

---

I'm so blessed to know so many great moms. I learn something every time I see you. You know who you are! Miss you all.

Happy Mother's Day!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: [DELAYED] China 2 - Children's Spring Festival [VIDEO]

2011-05-06T20:34:00.001+09:00

[DELAYED] China 2 - Children's Spring Festival [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 5/6/2011

We've now entered our final month of ministry. Thailand was tough as Cinthia and I were separated, but it also gave us the opportunity to connect more with others. It's amazing how God kept us strong throughout the month and how He aligned our thoughts for what's to come after the race.

We're now in Penang, Malaysia working with YWAM. There are 3 teams here and we're doing various activities. Some are helping a hospital raise funds while the others (including Cinthia and I) are helping at a homeless walk-in center. We'll hopefully get some great videos and pictures to share with you from this month!

Last month I was unable to work on videos but now that I've had access to a decent computer (thanks Amanda!) I've finished the 2nd video from Month 9, China.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Right? Right!

2011-05-04T19:39:00.001+09:00

Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Right? Right!
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 5/4/2011

At the beginning of April I wondered what I could possibly learn from being away from my husband for a whole month. Given the chance again, I highly doubt I would chose to be away from him for this long again. Still, this has been yet another amazing month with lots of eye-opening experiences and ones that have opened my heart too.

(I'm not so good at putting some thoughts or stories into words so check out my teammates blogs if you don't know what I'm talking about:: Bethsaida and Sarah wrote two great blogs.)

Here are some highlights.

- I got to spend LOTS of time with my A-Team Remix girls. I didn't think it would be possible, but I love them more now.

- I also got closer to the other 7 ladies we shared the month with. God just floored me with their heart and wisdom. Love you all!

- Haiti had amazing thunderstorms, but we saw some incredible thunder with the jungle as a backdrop almost nightly during our last week in Thailand.

- In the midst of one of those thunderstorms one little girl got so scared she started crying in the middle of the night, I didn't know where she was so I turned on my headlamp. She walked towards me and I got to comfort her for a couple of minutes.

- Spending Easter here in Thailand. The girls performed a dance and sang songs. It was beautiful. HE IS RISEN! It was all about JESUS - we didn't have one piece of chocolate that day.

- Writing to Jon nightly on my journal and talking to him on the phone a few times - made me feel like we were dating again! Can't wait to see him! We get to spend a few days on our own before starting our last month on the RACE!

- Working out with the Racers I share a house with and watching the little girls join us or pull up a chair to watch us.

- Figuring out how to work a shovel and a hoe. I learnt to love mixing cement.

- Spending time with God. He's seriously awesome, funny, loving, understanding and truly cares about me (and you).

- I learnt to rely on HIM much more than ever before. He also nudged me to seek the women around me for EVERYTHING!

- Visiting a Thai temple, pretty different than the other temples I've seen in Japan, South Korea and China. It hit me that everyone is seeking to have faith but JESUS is the only way. He can see you, hear you and fights for you.

- Riding on the back of an elephant with Amanda!

- Sleeping on a bunk bed - I remember wanting one when I was little, but I never thought that I would get to sleep on one in my late twenties with 20 girls around me and have zero room between bunks

- Waking up by the giggles of 10ish Thai girls

- Chatting with the older girls at the house. They are sweethearts!

- Learning that God provides for all your needs and wants - even when those are as simple as Cereal and Milk!

- Baby sitting two lovely missionary kids, and playing wii with them in Thailand!

- Eating brownies and chocolate chip cookies for Amanda's birthday

- Rejoicing with Bethsaida over her next season! Check out her blog

- Hugs from all my favourite girls

- Getting to know the house parents at both houses

- Hanging out with the American missionaries here - Starbucks, Markets, and a pizza party!

- My top memory of the month has to be this:

One of the house moms told me they bought us milk and it was in the fridge. So I walk over and open the fridge and what do I see on the INSIDE of the door where the eggs usually go?

Oh yea an OWL!!!!!

Oh cultural differences.

There were actually two owls in the fridge, and we're pretty sure they were our dinner that night.

Lovely.

How was it? Well, actually kind of delicious. It tasted like chicken.

------

We took an overnight train into the capital and bummed around there for several hours as we waited for the second train.

We spent about 3.5ish hours on that train before Amanda and I wondered if maybe the PSquad Men were in fact on a different train and just when I thought I wouldn't see JB for another day the train stopped...and we saw our men! I scrambled to see Jon and kinda went nuts when I saw him; I even jumped which wouldn't be a big deal in another situation except I banged my head on the sleeper above me - I forgot I was on a train.

We spent the next hours catching up, passed through the border, took a ferry and a taxi and arrived at our final home of ministry during the Race.

We're partnered up with a homeless shelter in the area and might even get to teach English. I'm extremely excited for this month. Please pray that our team stays focused on the now, relies on God through it all and finishes strong. Also pray that the city can witness the LOVE and power of God.

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: [DELAYED] Philippines Part 2 - Fun in the Sun [VIDEO]

2011-05-04T19:02:00.000+09:00

[DELAYED] Philippines Part 2 - Fun in the Sun [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 3/1/2011

Here's a video of some of our on-ministry-fun-times, along with some off-ministry activities.

James (http://jameswoodley.theworldrace.org) also made a cooking video for you to enjoy.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Saludos desde Thailandia!

2011-04-22T19:01:00.001+09:00

Saludos desde Thailandia!
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 4/22/2011

Sawadi Ka! A si se dice Hola en Thailandia!

He tenido ganas de venir a Thailandia por mucho tiempo y al fin Dios me lo concidio! Pero los planes de Dios son muy diferentes a los que nosotros hacemos. Este es el mes cuando los hombres y las mujeres trabajan separados. No he visto a Jon desde el 2 de Abril!! Solo faltan 5 dias para que nos reunamos otra vez, y tambien para empezar el ultimo mes de la Carrera!

Estoy con 10 mujeres mas y hemos estado trabajando en una casa para niñas quien estan a riesgo de ser compradas para llevarlas a las cantinas y atraparlas en la industria de sexo. Hay unas personas que van a los pueblitos y le mienten a los papas, abuelos, y les dicen que tienen trabajo para ellas en restaurantes o en casas. Las compran desde chiquitas y regresan por ellas en unos años por ellas. No es que los papas no las quieren, si no que quieren algo mejor para ellas. Ademas, en la cultura de Thailandia todos los hijos tienen la responsibilidad de ayudar a los papas - y no importa que hacen para mandarles dinero.

Los primeros dias que pasan en esta casa, todas comen lo mas que pueden a cada tiempo de comer - porque no estan acostumbradas a comer 3 veces al dia. Esta casa no solo les da una cama, 3 comidas diarias , las mandan a la escuela, les ensenan Ingles, les dan esperanza, amor, les hablan de Jesus y tambien les dan de regreso su niñez!

Aunque somos 11 en total, estamos divididas en dos grupos, porque hay dos casas con niñas. Quiero mucho a las 4 otras mujeres que estan conmigo - nos dimos como nombre: Luzes del Norte (porque todas son del Norte de los EU y yo de Canada).

Ellas son unas de mis favoritas. No puedo decirles los nombres por gurdar su seguridad.

Estubimos aqui a tiempo de celebrar el año nuevo de Thailandia. Ellos celebran con una gran pelea de agua! Por donde quiera que vayan te tiran agua, y tu les tiras tambien. Fue muy divertido. Aqui esta un video que hizo mi amiga Amanda.

Mi amiga Bethsaida hizo uno enseñando parte de nuestro trabajo aqui. Disfruten!

We Dig Dig Dig Dig from Bethsaida Portalatin on Vimeo.

Esta jornada no hubiera sido possible sin sus oraciones, su apoyo y sus donaciones. Recuerden que esta trayectoria no es solo nuestra, si no que tambien es de ustedes. Cada paso que damos, cada abrazo que recibimos tambien es suyo. Ustedes estan aqui. Y ya solo tenemos un mes mas! Va ser como decimos en Ingles "Bitter Sweet" = Amargo y Dulce. Triste de decirle adios a todos lo que hemos conocido pero estamos emocionados para lo que sigue - que todavia estamos orando por ello!

Los quiero! Dios los bendiga!

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Saludos desde Thailandia!

2011-04-22T19:00:00.001+09:00

Saludos desde Thailandia!
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 4/22/2011

Sawadi Ka! A si se dice Hola en Thailandia!

Ellas son unas de mis favoritas. No puedo decirles los nombres por gurdar su seguridad.

Mi amiga Bethsaida hizo uno enseñando parte de nuestro trabajo aqui. Disfruten!

We Dig Dig Dig Dig from Bethsaida Portalatin on Vimeo.

Los quiero! Dios los bendiga!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: A Month in China [VIDEO]

2011-04-15T13:23:00.001+09:00

A Month in China [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 4/14/2011

In March our squad was in China. Thank you for being patient to hear about updates as communication was severely limited.

Our month was absolutely incredible. We were in Harbin, China which is pretty far north. I hope to eventually make 4 videos of our time in Harbin but this month I'm unable to work on the videos.

This first video depicts the freedom we encountered in Harbin. Most Christians in China live in a state of fear, but in Harbin, God encouraged our contact to be more open. This was a shock to us but we accepted it and love the freedom it brought.

Note: If you have any issues with the content of this video, please feel free to contact me. Please note that our contact and his wife, who are a full-time missionaries in China encouraged us to upload this video and share it.

This month we're in Thailand. Cinthia and I are separated since normally in Thailand the women to women's ministry while the men do men's ministry. I'll share more of this later!

Though it's tough being apart we know that God is using this time to strengthen us for the future (and God's got some pretty awesome plans in the works!!)

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Remember Nhu

2011-04-11T22:54:00.001+09:00

Remember Nhu
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 4/11/2011

We spent our fist two days in Bangkok getting debriefed on the culture. Jon

and I spent every second we could together. Then we prayed over the men as they were getting ready to leave for their month of MANistry, "manly ministry". I have to be honest and tell you that I pretty much cried for two days straight before we prayed for them. I knew we'd learn a lot from God, ourselves, and our brothers/sisters through the separation but I still didn't want it. While I was praying I heard God saying this about the month: "it's not a waste."

The ladies from the A-Team Remix were partnered up with the women from Team Truth, and Dismantled.Repaired. There are 11 of us in total. God knew I would need all 10 of these beautiful, strong women here with me.

We're working at Remember Nhu a home for girls at risk of being involved in the sex industry. Remember Nhu works on the preventing girls from getting trapped into the industry. The risk could be poverty, but there are so many factors that play into being at risk. Having one parent, parents abusing alcohol or drugs, being abandoned, etc.

The girls here get three meals a day, get to go to school, are free to enjoy their childhood, attend church and hear about Jesus, and will always know that they have another option if they ever find themselves nearing the sex industry.

These girls have been RESCUED!! Rejoice with us!

God's brought them here to be blessed and I know that He'll use them later to be a blessing.

Our main ministry this month is to bless these beautiful girls by cleaning up and laying cement on a trench. Why? Well in the rainy season the road that leads to Remember Nhu gets flooded. We're helping the missionaries here make sure that doesn't happen anymore. I've learnt a lot about mixing cement and shoveling; stuff I never thought I would learn. But it's fun!

We also get the chance to get to know the girls - as much as you can without knowing the Thai language. One of the first nights here at Remember Nhu rescued a few more girls, one of them was intimidated by the new environment and had a hard time sleeping. The five of us who are living in the same dorm got a chance to comfort her. We sang, Bethsaida told stories, we prayed and Natalie hugged her until our new friend could sleep. It's been wonderful seeing the turn around she's made; she went from looking grumpy all the time to smiling and playing in the swings! She now loves this place and we're grateful we got the chance of being a part of that.

For more info on this ministry visit: http://www.remembernhu.org/

_____

I miss Jon, but I'm thankful for this month. Heart you JB - see you in two.5 weeks!

Happy Birthday Mommy! You are an inspiration. Praying for you, can't wait to see you in two months.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Infinite Love

2011-04-03T19:04:00.001+09:00

Infinite Love
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 4/3/2011

We've now been to 9 different places. Been working with different ministries all over the world. Working with our strength, with all we've got and now I'm exhausted. We make great friends every month and say goodbye again, and again, and again - well x9 so far.

How can we genuinely befriend people every month? And love? Can we really learn to love a new set of people every month?

We as humans have a love quota, seriously. It runs out FAST - it's one of the things that my new friend Alice reminded me of after our last Wednesday service in China. God's love, on the other hand is infinite, eternal, perfect and NEVER runs out. Having God in our life means that He fills us up with more love and strength when we need it.

If I was running on my own strength, I wouldn't have made it out alive this month. He filled me up with more of His love as soon as we stepped out of the train in Northern China - I didn't even know that I would need it. But another HUGE part of our ministry this month was making friends.

Ha! How could I have made friends if I was relying on my own little source of love? I'm overjoyed that I was relying on God's!

We went to countless "English Corners" where Chinese University students go to practice their English skills. Do you know how exhausting it is to talk for over two hours about yourself? It's all mostly small talk for the first bit. At most English Corners we were able to boldly say that we were in China working with a church and gave them a card inviting them to go on Sunday.

I met some great people at the English corners, some I never saw again but I'll be praying that they find that card again and meet up with Jake, Steph or one of the countless loving people from the church.

We invited friends from English Corners to a party at our apartment. I was in complete shock when I saw that our "little party" drew in about 30 students each week. We had a total of 3 parties. We had a lot of fun playing games like Pictionary, Risk, Bingo and Phase 10. Jake and Steph also suggested that it'd be a good idea to share "Western food" with our Chinese friends so we made Spaghetti during party number two; it was a bust. On our last party we made Grilled Cheese, and it was a hit!

We used the parties to get to know our new friends better, but also to ask God to lead us to those who would be interested in knowing more about Him. All of the A Team Remix crew had different meetings throughout the weeks to discuss the bible and answer any questions that they had. Sarah and I even go to play Tennis with one of our friends while talking about God!

Bethsaida and I chatted with Jana who's a sweetheart and has been going to church a lot but hasn't made a commitment to God yet. We got to pray, chat, answer questions and have dinner with her. Pray for her faith to grow.

Sarah and I met with three beautiful sweet freshman girls who are all seeking God hard. The church was awesome and gave us bibles for all those who were genuinely seeking after God; we shared one with each of these girls. They are so sincere in their love. God is good, He gave both Sarah and I tons of words for these girls. Pray that they continue to seek and connect with someone from the church!

It was another amazing month and we were able to connect with a bunch of loving people. And for me personally it was also a month to be around married couples. God blessed us with two great couples that left "home" to bring Kingdom in China. We got to work with them, see them regularly, and went out for dinner on our last night in Northern China. I love all my single racers, but I've missed being around God-loving couples. You four will never know how much the time we spent together meant to me, especially since this upcoming month (April) Jon and I will be doing different ministries away from each other. Thanks for being so awesome!

I love all my Chinese friends - with God's love, because mine is not enough to go around. Miss you already.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Infinite Love

2011-04-03T19:02:00.001+09:00

Infinite Love
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 4/3/2011

How can we genuinely befriend people every month? And love? Can we really learn to love a new set of people every month?

Ha! How could I have made friends if I was relying on my own little source of love? I'm overjoyed that I was relying on God's!

I love all my Chinese friends - with God's love, because mine is not enough to go around. Miss you already.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Flyers and Carnival!

2011-04-03T16:15:00.001+09:00

Flyers and Carnival!
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 4/3/2011

Until recently the church we partnered up with this month focused mainly on campus ministry. However, students come, graduate and go. In order to reach more people in this city and make a greater impact, the church has begun doing things to reach more adults, the elderly and of course little kiddos! We partnered up in a few different ways to help them reach this goal.

First we put flyer packages together to be delivered door to door. People put flyers everywhere, but church flyers in China?! Still, the flyers boldly proclaim that the family unit is missing God and gave the church address. Then we went door to door in various apartment complexes and delivered this flyers praying that God would bring people to him.

We also help put together a HUGE carnival for over 100 kids. This took about a week to plan, but we had a blast doing it. We brainstorm on games and activities for the kiddos. We prepared said games - it's not as easy as doing it back home where most things are also done for you. We split up into teams and bought supplies, and prizes (one of the prizes were live gold fishies! Guess who worked at that station? Jon of course!). Bethsaida put together a remix version of the prodigal son Chinese style so actors were recruited, the skit was translated and we practiced a few times.

Amongst getting everything ready, we had to advertise for this great event. We first tried delivering them door-to-door, but since most people were out at work we just ran into unopened doors. Our next step was to stand outside the nearby elementary school. You bet that was a success! All the kids were excited to hear that there'd be a festival right by their school. I got worried, I didn't think we'd be ready for that many kids.

The guys were still bringing stuff down and kids surrounded them immediately. Jake and Mark went out to the park and set up a huge church banner in the square, every 10 minutes there was an announcement made that church was happening the next day at 11 o'clock.

The kids had a ton of fun options: Basket ball shoots with Derek, Arm Wrestling with James, Face Painting with Sarah and Steph, Jewelry Making with Amanda, Throwing Ping Pong Balls with Bethsaida, Fishing with Jon, Finger painting with me; plus Setting up the Bottle, Bean Bag toss, Knocking over bottles, and drawing on the ground! All these with various people from the church who came out to help, they have a great heart and I've truly enjoyed getting to know them - but more on that later.

I loved it, I had a ton of fun and I know the kids did too. We gave out prizes and with it an invitation to the church!

In the middle of the fun chaos we performed the skit. Over 50 people stood around and watch the story of the incredible loving father, the story of grace.

After a few hour of playing out in the cold though God did give us a super sunny day, we took the games over to the daycare where church is held on Sunday. It's a daycare for kids with special needs. They lit up when they saw the games, new friends and had a blast playing for a few hours.

The hope for the carnival was to get 10 kids to come to Sunday service. God's blessings are bigger than our dreams. There were 20 kids in church the following Sunday, plus parents and teachers! It was amazing and chaotic. Pray that they continue to come and bring friends.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Midnight Train to Siberia

2011-04-03T13:18:00.001+09:00

Midnight Train to Siberia
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 4/2/2011

After spending a month in one of the most beautiful places in the Philippines we were the team chosen to travel the furthest distance that also happened to be the coldest place. I looked at the map and this place is so close to Russia it might as well be Siberia.

We were on the train for a total of 2 nights and 3 days. Not only was it super long but it was also one of the most crowded place I've been to - even on the Race! Yes there were seats, but they also sell standing tickets and there's no limit to those. People were literally sleeping on the aisles and others hovered around those with seats to maybe catch a break and sit for a bit. It was another really hard travel day. The end of our train track was like the ghetto. Seriously, there was gambling going on, drinking, smoking and it was so hard to walk through to get to the super smelly squatty potty.

It's the beginning of month 9 and I'm spent, so tired. I don't want to do more long travel days, more long and uncomfortable travel days. I had a major breakdown in the train, all the smoke, all the people around, I even saw people throwing up. I was ready to give up so I told Jon that I wanted to get off at the next stop. We'd make our way down to Beijing and head home. Jon reminded me that it wasn't about my comfort; or about me in general. Besides if we got off the train we would regret it as soon as we heard the amazing month our team had. Jon said that there was a reason why God was brining us up North and He would provide warmth in the below zero temperatures that we were not prepared for.

Have you heard the saying "everything works out in the end, if it's not working out then it's not the end"? Well after 9 months of living by simply relying on God; and God showing me this over and over again, I know that it's true.

Almost 40 hours after boarding the train we finally arrived at our destination. We found the youngest contact we've had yet: a couple, Jake and Steph, who have been married for the same amount of time as we have. A ministry that's been called to live in FREEDOM - despite the government's attempt to scare Christians in this country. Before arriving in China we were given a list of things not to talk about, you know the usual (church, God, Jesus, gospel, evangelism, etc) but from the minute we met they made it clear that God's called them to freedom here and we'd join them in that this month.

I'm beyond happy that God didn't let me get off that train. It's easier said than done, but sometimes we need to ride out our tough situations to get to God's blessings.

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Philippines 1 - Ministry is Relational [VIDEO]

2011-03-01T20:32:00.000+09:00

Philippines 1 - Ministry is Relational [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 3/1/2011

Here's a video of some of our ministry for the month of February. Our main ministry was relationship building so it was difficult to grab clips but hopefully this gives you a good idea.

Note

We have just finished our 8th month on the race (only 3 more to go). We're with our whole squad in Manila, Philippines for the week having some debrief before we go into month #9.

If you haven't heard, Cinthia and I will be out of communication for the month of March, so we look forward to updating you all in April!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: (Delayed) South Africa - Ask The Lord Month [VIDEO]

2011-03-01T20:31:00.001+09:00

(Delayed) South Africa - Ask The Lord Month [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 3/1/2011

Here's a video of our time in Johannesburg, South Africa (from January). Enjoy!

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: A Month of Learning (Pt 2)

2011-02-26T12:21:00.001+09:00

A Month of Learning (Pt 2)
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 2/25/2011

At the beginning of the month we learnt that one of the guys on the last World Race team here worked on getting Scuba Certified. We joked about getting ours and walked down to the beach for the first time, we looked at a few different dive shops - some super sketchy and others just plain pricey. We then stumbled upon Guli Diving. The owner Lisa was super friendly and was willing to give us a discount. I'm not a super confident swimmer so I wondered if it'd be possible for me to even try; we asked and she said that swimming and diving are completely different!

We talked about it and started the course. You might remember instructional videos that seem to have been filmed in the 80's? We watched some of those about diving. Then came the shallow water part of the course. I have a fear of drowning so needless to say I lasted about 10 minutes under water and bolted it out of there.

After starting my fast (read my previous blog) I kept thinking about diving. Marco our instructor told me I could try again if I wanted. Now relying only on God and not myself - I put on the wetsuit, the booties, flippers, mask and respirator. I was still panicky but I passed.

I continued to rely on God and went on the required open water dives. I did the first two with just Marco; catching up with the level of the rest of the crew and we all did dives 4 and 5 together!

Scuba Diving has been amazing and terrifying. I still think it's weird that with a fear of drowning I willingly take myself underwater. Marco kept saying that it's about self-confidence but the truth is I don't trust myself and I think that's okay. When I trust God much more than myself He shows up and tears down all the walls I've built up and shows me how He works with and through my weaknesses. There are no words for the beauty that the ocean holds, it's kinda funny that there's a whole secret creation that's not easily accessible to everyone. One of God's secrets for us is literally beyond what the eye can see.

We learnt to scuba, got certified, made lots of friendships with the dive shop owners, the diving instructors, and the rest of the staff. We prayed in the shop on our last day there. I also learnt how to trust God way more than myself. I thought that was all I was learning this month. Then came the gift of a free dive.

Earlier in the month Jon told me that I have God's instinct but I still rely on my eyes to make judgement calls. I need to stop relying on my own eyes and listen to what God is saying - I'm not the only one in my head anymore. I'm learning discernment in figuring out when it's God or me. I woke up Friday morning feeling uneasy. I just didn't see myself diving that day. We made our way to the dive shop, got our equipment ready and went out on the boat. Even on the boat I didn't have peace with diving; which is way different than being afraid. Instead of doing something I wasn't sure I was supposed to I stayed on the boat while I saw my friends and husband do a back flip into the ocean.

I was so mad at myself. On one hand I knew from the morning that I would probably not dive, so why didn't I just head to the beach or the Internet with the others? Why didn't I join Kuya Al and the rest to build a roof on our "day off"? On the other hand I was already on the boat, why not suck it up and just dive? These were all rushing through my head as we drove away from the dive site.

A few minutes after we anchored the boat, the driver came over and started talking with me. While the other staff member was busy conversing with the two other girls on the boat, Greece told me his life story. I heard of the heartache he has gone through, how he lost his father, worked hard to provide for his mother, helped his sister through school, and how God's been there for him throughout. I'm not sure if it was me who needed to hear his life story or if it was him who needed someone to listen. Either way, I'm beyond happy that I got on the boat and stayed on it.

Great things happen when I listen to God and not to the fears, or the logical decisions my head tries to convince me of. I'll be listening and leaning on God much more in the upcoming last three months of the race.

I'm told that I will be out of reach of the internet during the entire month of March - please keep us in your prayers and you'll get an update as soon as we can in April.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: A Month of Learning (Pt 1)

2011-02-26T12:00:00.001+09:00

A Month of Learning (Pt 1)
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 2/25/2011

This month I was weighed down by the spiritual climate in this place - spiritual climate? Well it's something that we almost never think of, but there are spiritual forces around us. We don't see it, but all around us there are angels and demons fighting for us; fighting to get our attention or to push us down.

I've been on a roller coaster this month. I've been depressed with no reason to be. Felt lonely when I've had at least 12 other people eager and ready to chat with me. Felt unheard though Jon and my teammates do their best to listen at all times. Felt unworthy for oh so many things. I even felt unloved.

I took all those emotions and threw them at Jon - who took them even though he knew they weren't true feelings. He sat up night after night talking with me - while I was trying really hard not to listen, crying, whining and who knows what else. He kept trying to figure out where all this was coming from. He never got angry because he knew there was more than we could see.

On one particular night we got to a point where I didn't want to talk anymore. Yes, we've gone to bed angry before; but once you wake up after a night like that it only ruins the next day as well. Jon's huge on communication - which to be honest kills me at times.

There's a verse that says that if you love your wife you love yourself - it's not the other way around (Ephisians 5:28). Jon's an amazing example of that. After a really long conversation that I didn't want to have in the first place, we figured out that all those negative feelings are things that surround this area, the women and men here - not me.

I had been spending time with God up until that point, but the idea of fasting kept coming back into my mind. Following that night, I knew what God wanted from me. In the book of Daniel 1:8-4, Daniel and his friends are recruited to the King's army and for three years they are to be fed from the King's table - the best food and wine. However, the food placed on the King's table was not in accordance to Mosaic Law. They asked the King's servant to give them only vegetables and water - the servant was hesitant at first but yielded to their request. After 10 days the servant realized that Daniel and friends were the strongest out of all the other men who had been eating the regular diet. In the church community we call this Daniel's fast - which had been on my mind since December. I knew I would do it this year but I kept pushing it back and thought that maybe it was for after the Race. Following the roller coaster I knew it was time.

I was on that fast for only a bit over a week. It was so great to see God's faithfulness during that fast. He knew what He wanted me to do and He provided for it everyday. We had veggies on their own during that time and plenty of fruit (which is kind of unusual on the Race). There was no roller coaster. No depression, loneliness, unworthiness, etc. There was only JOY.

A few days after finishing my fast it was my time to do our morning devotion. I had no idea what to talk about, I laid in our bamboo hut listening to music, journaling, and praying. Then like a lighting bolt it hit me: I had to talk about fasting. I immediately starting jotting things down:

Matthew 17:21 - On talking about why the disciples were unable to help a boy by praying Jesus says "This kind goeth not out save by prayer and fasting"

Matthew 9:14-15 - "..the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them; then they will fast" (bold points are mine)

We don't talk about it often. I try to avoid it, but fasting is just one of those things we're called to do. It doesn't have to be from food - or even from all food. It made me rely on God and see his faithfulness even in the small things. It's a new way to see and hear from God. We had a great conversation after the devotion and God's confirmed again and again through different people that it's exactly what He wanted them to hear. It's pretty cool knowing that He chose to use me to speak.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: A Little Bit of Everything

2011-02-18T20:13:00.001+09:00

A Little Bit of Everything
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 2/18/2011

This past week has been much more than words can describe. I'll use some pictures to better explain what this week has been like.

I spent Sunday morning with the little kiddos singing songs and drawing. They are just absolutely adorable.

We stayed around the church afterwards and played with the kids some more.

Valentine's Day - we made our guys valentine's day cards and bought them the popular I Love Puerto Galera shirt.

They went way over and beyond in showing us how much we are valued. We had "breakfast in bread," they had bike taxis waiting for us to take us to the beach where they got us a full body massage! Jon and I then had a little lunch date by the beach. After dinner we got all dressed up for fun and found out the guys rented a karaoke machine - we spent the night singing and dancing under the moonlight. It was incredible!

Since we were singing outdoors we had a lot of people come by and either join us or watch us.

On Sunday Bethsaida and I visited one of the families we pass every time we head down to the beach. We went by later in the week and they taught us to make the Threads of Hope bracelets. It's not as easy as you might think! We had a great time just chatting with them, we sang and prayed together. They made me a bracelet with their last name, so I can always remember the Aranzado family - but even without a bracelet I could never forget Jennifer, Nancy, Elma and the rest.

Kuya Al set up the projector outside of his house and played the movie Fireproof. Tons of people from the neighbourhood joined us. It's a cute/cheesy movie.

We headed down to the beach again to find people to chat with. Micah and I invited Syra to come along and she brought little Axle. We had some great chats by the ocean and it was great seeing both of them having fun.

That night was prayer night and the guys made a short skit about how our attitudes and words affect all those around us.

Thursday night we had some girl and guy time. The girls headed out for the night, went out for dinner on our own, had some worship on the beach and just hung out for the evening. I'm not completely sure what the guys were up to, but Jon said it was a great night.

It's hard to believe we only have a bit over a week left here. It's definitely been one of my favourite months so far. I'm enjoying it and soaking it all up. I also love just how great both of our teams have been working together.

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Two Sides of the Story

2011-02-18T16:31:00.001+09:00

Two Sides of the Story
By Jonathan Bunford on 2/18/2011

Before I begin, this post 'gets real'. If you're not prepared to learn the realities of unjust actions taking place around the world, then skip to another blog, or go watch something happy on TV. If you want to see why Cinthia and I really left our home for 11 months then continue reading...

As you've previously read, this month The A-Team Remix is in the Philippines. A beautiful country in South-East Asia made up of over 7000 islands. Our ministry this month is on the amazing island of Mindoro, just a short ferry ride from the main island.

One of the things that the Philippines is best known for is their tourism industry which brings countless 'wealthy' (by Filipino standards) foreigners to their beautiful white beaches for a stress-free vacation. What you may imagine when you think of this is bellow:

Unfortunately 'wealthy' foreigners and poor economy has also introduced a horribly widespread sex industry.

What you see above is barely scratching the surface of the amount of cases we have seen in our few trips to the nearby beach. What you need to understand is that here this is the norm.

The Women

If you've ever travelled somewhere tropical, I'm sure you've seen the people on the beach selling various goods/services such as bracelets, picture frames, cigars, massages, etc. As foreigners we often assume they're just trying to make a quick buck off us, sometimes we oblige for that "must-get" souvenir other times we shoo them away and continue basking in the sun. Our team this month has learnt that (at least here in the Philippines) the women earn their living by selling bracelets, and if sales aren't good, they reluctantly turn to the industry they see bringing in the money: prostitution.

There are also families that see the financial potential in prostitution and begin to prepare their daughters or sons from extremely young ages. The young girls have grown up and now see themselves as worthless, unwanted, and used pieces of meat; while the young boys have grown up and are now extremely sexually confused (for a very informative read, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakla_(Philippines)).

The ladies on the teams here have had the privilege of talking to many women who are in this "area of business" and have shared with them how much God loves them, and we've been able to let them know that He see's their beauty no matter what they've done in their past. Through this simple testimony we saw one girl leave her "job" and return to her family after being here for only a few days. Through similar acts, Threads of Hope (our ministry this month) has seen hundreds of women saved from similar fates.

The Men

Now it's really easy to look at the women, and feel pity for them (trust us, our hearts break every time we walk down the beach) and at the same time look at the men and want to rip their genitalia off; however God's been working in us tremendously this month and He's allowed us to see more of the full picture.

Above, I mentioned a girl who we saw leave the sex industry, the same day some of us began to build a relationship with the gentleman she was "helping" (2 completely unrelated meetings, God's just that good that He made the 2 stories overlap like that). This gentleman shared with us his loneliness and his inability to find a wife for over 40 years. You may be saying to yourself "of course He's going to say that" and maybe your right, but there's something more going on here, trust me.

Prostitution (as we know it in North America) is (speaking from my knowledge fully based off movies such as Pretty Women) primarily a 3-stage process, you pay, you receive, you/they leave. Here in the Philippines however, the men spend the entire day with the women, sometimes even weeks, we're talking meals together, walking hand-in-hand, buying clothes/jewellery, etc. While we've been here we've heard some men try to use this as an excuse, saying that the women are using them just as much as they're using the women. I wont go into that debate at all here because the truth of the matter is that the men are hurting just as much as the women are. The men are either alone, or they're relationships are so broken back home that they feel a pressing emptiness, an emptiness that they choose to fill with what their physical bodies turn to first, sex.

Both the women & the men are victims in the sex industry. In the one corner we've got women who need to provide for their families so they feel pressured, or are forced into the sex industry; what they really need is to turn to God for their strength and boldly choose a better lifestyle for themselves despite what others might say about them. In the other corner we've got the men who are so empty that they're trying to fill themselves with physical pleasure when what they really need is to feel God's presence in their lives since it's only by his love and grace do we feel fulfilled.

As a group we discussed it a few days ago, it's a two-sided problem, we have wealth on one side, and poverty on the other, and nothing will change unless both sides do something about it.

If you want to help women get out of the sex industry, and at the same time give them an amazing opportunity to learn about & build their relationship with God, please support Threads of Hope by buying bracelets that we've sent back to Mississauga; or just go straight through Threads of Hope. You can comment/reply to this and I'll help you get in touch with Cinthia's parents, who are in charge of the sales.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Life in Puerto Galera

2011-02-11T15:06:00.001+09:00

Life in Puerto Galera
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 2/11/2011

Life here has been pretty sweet - to say the least. We've met super sweet people starting with our contacts here.

Pastor Al or Kuya Al as we call him is the pastor of a mini mega church here in the jungle. They have over 600 members. This past Sunday they received a shipment of 200 chairs since a lot of people needed to stand during the service.

His wife Ate Marina is so sweet, caring and loving. She along with Ate Judith make all our meals. Let me tell you that we are super spoiled this month with food. We've eaten things from pancakes, cereal (both super unusual on the Race), curry chicken, spaghetti, adobo, and I can't even name everything; but all of it is super delicious.

Jo-Jo is one of Kuya Al and At Marina's daughter (we hope to meet the other two at the end of the month back in Manilla). She is so funny and so good with the kids. I worked with her on Sunday morning with the super tiny tots at church. She knows so many kids songs and has a great heart for them. She's always smiling and full of joy, love her!

You might have heard that they also have a pet monkey here: Moy Moy. Yes Jon is totally in love and he's so happy that we get that here. I don't know if you know, but Jon's always wanted a pet spider monkey, and now he gets one for a whole month! I'm happy to report that he hasn't thrown feces yet, though he has peed on Joshua a few times (the monkey that is...).

There are a couple of kids that are always around the house. We play with them often they are super cute.

There are currently 15 Racers here in Puerto Galera. We have two teams and like I said on the previous blog we have the two main leaders for our squad with us, though they leave on Sunday. Most are living at Kuya Al's house. The girls are split in two rooms and the guys sleep in the living room. Jon and I are staying at the church, there's a room by the kitchen where we've set up our tent. We've had a few visitors: a few tarantulas, lots of mosquitos, tons of geckos, and a bat! Kids playing basketball in the court upstairs often wake us up; we're talking at like 6:30am!

We have devotion every morning at Kuya Al's house. We're taking turns leading it to share what we're each learning and struggling with this month. Wednesday night is prayer night at the church, it fills up so it seems that every member attends. Sunday is church; we're leading the Sunday Schools. Besides those, the days are pretty open to do what God leads. I've been spending time at the beach talking to some vendors who aren't trying to nag and bug you to buy their stuff for nothing. They truly make their living and provide for their family that way. We've also spent some time at a shop just building friendships and getting to know the people of Puerto Galera.

While some people have a heart for those in the sex industry, my heart has been burden by single and young mothers. I've chatted with a few of them and gotten the chance to encourage and speak some life into them. My friend Micah and I are trying to organize a games day for some of these women and perhaps even a bible study.

One of the girls I met on Sunday told me her birthday was on Tuesday; I love LOVE my birthday and so I made a mental note. I didn't think I would see her again until Sunday so I didn't put too much thought into it. Then Tuesday came and just before dinner I saw Syra and her 1.5year old Axle. I talked with her for a bit and wished her a Happy Birthday. My heart sank when she said that I was the first person to say that to her all day! I can't imagine what I would do if no one said a thing to me on my Birthday. As a group we briefly discussed throwing her a belated birthday party but nothing has been set in stone. It might actually be too late for that. I just pray that my small gesture made a difference in her day.

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2011-02-11T00:50:00.000+09:00

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Ordinary

2011-02-04T17:40:00.001+09:00

Ordinary
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 2/4/2011

You might think your life is pretty ordinary. At home we're often so caught up in the running around that life "requires" that we figure blessings only come in huge packages. The reality though is that life itself is made up of little blessings spread out throughout your day. No matter what you do we easily fall into thinking that our reality is the norm - racers are totally included in this.

Both our squad leaders (Joshua and Lia) are spending a couple of weeks with us this month. It's been fun seeing them daily. A couple of days ago we were talking about our Race life, so many things have become extremely normal for us. Though we're sure that some of them sound absolutely crazy to you. Joshua mentioned that he had been talking to another person in our squad about Shane Claiborne and she was amazed by Claiborne's ability to go all around the world helping people, living such a radical life in a minimalistic way. Joshua was quick to point out that it's what we're doing!

Our life these past 8 months has become a norm to us, we often forget that not everyone lives out of a bag pack, eats whatever is given, sleeps on an airport floor, sets up their tent, uses a headlamp to go to the bathroom, prays for random people on the street, lives with 13 other people, and moves every month. Yes, this has become pretty normal; but in all that, we've seen how many small blessings surround us. You have no idea how happy even the smallest things make us. For instance, we all had smiles on our faces when we had pancakes and cereal for breakfast twice this week! Since we're constantly on the move we've had the opportunity to visit little pockets of heaven around the world - this month we're so stinking close to the beach, like a 20-minute walk and we are extremely grateful for that. However coupled with these little pockets of heaven comes the hurt that is spread around the world.

The ministry we're directly a part of this month is Threads of Hope. Our contact, Alex helped start this organization. They basically redistribute the bracelets made here in the Philippines around the world. They began with only one hundred dollars and one bracelet maker, and now they're ordering thousands a week and helping 500 women, men & children from making poor life decisions. Threads of Hope literally rescues women from the sex industry allowing them to work from home & take care of their kids. It also allows children to go to school and not sell bracelets on the beaches which makes them more susceptible to that industry, and men to help support their families.

We've all heard about this problem, but it's become too normal; a lot of us think that "it's their problem and their choice," but it's not. Many of these women think they have no other choice if they want to provide for their families. It's incredible how desensitized we are to this problem in the West (I know we have our own problems too). It's also indescribable how much my heart has broken by walking down the beach. It's right there in our faces, I can't deny it's happening, I can't sit back and do nothing. I am urging you to help: pray for us, for these women, the men because they have issues too and buy a Threads of Hope bracelet. It might sound too simple for you, but the greater the demand is on these bracelets the more people Threads of Hope can employ and the more women that escape this industry and get at least the chance to hear of God.

A few of the girls and I went out for a run yesterday - side note: I'm completely out of shape, but running these hills will hopefully change some of that. On our way back I had to stop jogging and walk for a bit. I saw a little girl no more than 6 years old wearing a cute little yellow dress, freshly showered holding her dad's hand, he was leading her to a motorbike taxi, she had to run a little to keep up. My mind quickly raced to worst case scenario, that her father is sending her to earn money doing things no little girl should ever do and all I could do was pray, run to get out of that sight and pray. Though I imagined some of it, Amanda was quick to point out that if it's not the case here it is definitely happening elsewhere. All I can think still is: WHY?! Why can't she be in school? Why does the desperation lead to THIS?

One of our prayers for this month is that these sightings don't become the norm for us. That we're not able to walk on by without praying, that we ask God to give us divine appointments with the women on the beach (which is already happening, read some of my teammates' blogs), with desperate parents, with those working with Threads of Hope to encourage them and with anyone else that God has ordained and we would not think of.

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Month 8: Puerto Galera & Threads of Hope

2011-02-04T00:37:00.001+09:00

Month 8: Puerto Galera & Threads of Hope
By Jonathan Bunford on 2/2/2011

We've just begun Month 8 (meaning 4 more to go!) which brings us to the Philippines!

If you remember our last intercontinental transit day (flights from Bucharest, Romania to Johannesburg, South Africa, followed by a 67 hours bus ride and a 12 hour bus ride) you'll be glad to hear that our travel day from Johannesburg, South Africa to Manila, Philippines went by relatively smoothly.

Note: All things considered it went by well. We had to wait around the airport for a few hours (10+) but we all got to fly together and Qatar Airways kicks butt!

Anyways, we arrived in the Philippines around 4pm and made it to the base here around 6pm. The main ministry here in the Philippines is KIM (Kids International Ministries). The ministry is huge and so this month our squad of 10 teams has been split into 3 different locations.

Before going to our locations, some of us participated in the KIM 5k Fun Run! Cinthia and I did pretty well considering we haven't run in...lets juts say a long time!

5 teams have flown to the island of Mindanao to work with the KIM base there; 3 teams have stayed in Manila to work with the KIM Headquarters; and 2 teams have taken a ferry to the island of Mindoro to work with Threads of Hope. Each location has its own unique focus, ours, here in Mindoro is that we can experience God's creation first hand while building relationships with the locals.

The ministry we're directly a part of here is Threads of Hope. Our contact, Alex helped start Threads of Hope, they basically redistribute the bracelets made here in the Philippines around the world. They began with only one hundred dollars and one bracelet maker, and now they're ordering thousands a week and helping 500 women, men & children from making poor life decisions. Threads of Hope allows the individuals to earn an honest living and it allows women to work from home & take care of their kids, children to go to school and not sell bracelets on the beaches, and men to help support their families.

For a more details explanation please visit their website at: http://www.threadsofhope.com.ph

Our ministry this month sounds exciting, we have opportunities to do manual labour, evangelism through a basketball tournament, working with the bracelet makers, leading youth groups, beach evangelism, and most importantly to show the village what it means to live in Christian community.

Living "in Christian community" might not make sense back home, but we're living the way God has called us to, we're living in groups of at least 6 (at times as high as 47) and we're working together. We need to figure out how to time manage together, budget together, prepare meals together, and work through problems together. In North America we're so focused on individuality that we have lost the sense of togetherness, luckily for us on the race, we've been "forced" to learn this important lesson. That in itself is one of the most important things we bring with us into a new ministry location.

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Ask and Ye Shall Receive

2011-02-03T13:43:00.001+09:00

Ask and Ye Shall Receive
By Jonathan Bunford on 2/2/2011

With our month in Johannesburg behind us, it's amazing to see all of the ways God showed himself to us time, and time again.

Our daily routine was to pray in the morning, and then see what God brought our way.

Here are some of the many ways in which we served:

We took turns (including our unofficial teammate John) cooking for everyone.

We got to play with the manager's son.

)

We met various travellers.

We helped brighten up the place with lots of painting.

We got to play with kids at Child Haven.

We got to meet part of the University of Johannesburg student congregation.

The guys got to take Neal (the manager) out...

...while the girls got to throw a baby shower for his girlfriend, Reinette!

We got to share stories with a lovely café owner.

We also got to meet some of the most amazing people every who showed us yet another level of hospitality. We cannot thank everyone enough for blessing us as much as they did.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Goodbyes and Hellos

2011-01-30T14:54:00.001+09:00

Goodbyes and Hellos
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 1/30/2011

If there was one thing I dislike about the Race (besides the fact that we've spent a month away from civilization) is saying Goodbyes. It doesn't feel fair that we are sent to amazing places where we meet incredible people, fall in love with the place and the people and just when I start feeling at home we are ripped apart and sent elsewhere! I know that's just how the Race works. Coming on it, I knew it would be hard saying goodbye, but I didn't know just how hard it would be.

Through it all though, I'm learning that our faith family is so much bigger than I had ever imagined. We now have family in 3 other continents and now 8 different areas in the world! It's pretty amazing. Heaven is going to be a sweet reunion where the nations will truly come together, can't wait!

Our last week in Johannesburg was unbelievably great. We invited a few ladies from His People church for the manager's baby shower. They took us to a super cute restaurant that we would've never found on our own, decorated the place, and went way over and beyond in showing some love. We had a really good time just chatting about babies, having dessert before lunch, and seeing her opening presents.

At the same time, our men took her boyfriend out for a guy's afternoon.

We were allowed to use the youth room at church for a squad wide worship and share stories. I loved it.

Friday we started our travel to the Philippines. It might've been the smoothest travel day yet! Though it did include napping on the floor at the airport while we waited for our flight and waiting over 6 hours there because our flight got cancelled. Still, the whole squad was together on the flight and it was so much fun.

We've arrived safely in Manila and on arrival we were greeted by two loving people who took us to the house we'll be at for the next couple of days. They've invited our team to stay and do a Fun Run (3k or 5k) Monday; all funds will go towards the ministry here (that includes an orphanage). I love running around city streets, I can't wait to have the opportunity to run around Manila! Tuesday we leave for Puerto Galera to do ministry with Threads of Hope (google them)!

Though it was hard to say goodbye in JoBurg I'm beyond excited to be here in the Philippines! It's been less than 24hrs but I can already say that I LOVE it here!

We'll miss everyone we met in Johannesburg even people we only met once! Thanks for the wonderful croissants!

Lesson Learned: Sad Goodbyes really lead to Wonderful Beginnings!

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Whirwind

2011-01-25T22:40:00.001+09:00

Whirwind
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 1/25/2011

That's exactly what this past week has been like.

First of all, Jonathan and I have been married for 3.6 years; and for the past 7 months we've taken a couple of days off ministry each month to spend time together - which roughly means that we've had about 15 days to ourselves. The remaining 200 days have been spent living in full out community with the team.

We've set up our tent in our own private balcony in the DR; where we had to walk through the men room to get to the bathroom and everywhere else in the house. We slept apart for a week in Moldova with me in the living room with the girls and our translator while Jon shared a bedroom with Derek. This month we're sharing a twin bunk bed. We still like to cuddle so we share the bottom bunk; don't worry no one sleeps in the top bunk! However, we still share the room with the team.

Don't get me wrong it's been a ton of fun. I seriously wouldn't trade this experience for anything. It's led to lots of hilarious stories and it's only made our marriage stronger. Still, we need time to just hang out by ourselves. It's what we like to call "Bunford Time." This past week we were blessed to have 3 days off ministry. Our parents again blessed us, this time with a getaway to Cape Town; thank you!! It was beautiful, lots of fun, and God even gave us divine appointments while we were away! We met lots of amazing people, got to pray for some and shared stories with others. We had an amazing time!

We got back to just in time to visit the University of Johannesburg and got to see some of the campus ministry that His People church is a part of there. We got to share with some of the students, hang out, pray together and chat with the amazing couple that are part of the leadership at UJ. I loved meeting them all; they are so full of joy and love for each other and God. It made me miss McMaster, Sanctuary West and the Royces! We then went to a comedy night at the youth group at church, so fun.

Mark (the youth pastor we met earlier in the month) gave up his Saturday to take us to a nearby game reserve. We saw rhinos, crocodiles, zebras, white lions, buffalo, and even got to pet baby lions! That night we were invited to a Braai - a South African BBQ! There we met a ton of amazing, loving, funny people; who are only making it harder to leave South Africa.

We love this church so much that this Sunday we attended not one, not two, but THREE services: the youth one in the morning, adult service and a young adults meeting. I loved it! After the last service we joined some of the young adult crowd for dinner. It reminded me a lot of the old days from my youth reunions; I seriously miss those days and everyone that made them special!

We have a few things planned for this week: A baby shower for one of the lodge's managers, attending a worship night at church, cell group, and perhaps a worship night with the entire squad. In addition to anything else that may come up out of the blue! We leave for the Philippines on Friday. I'm so not okay with saying goodbye just yet, so I will blog about that at the end of the week.

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Child Haven

2011-01-23T22:54:00.001+09:00

An Update was made to cinthiaramirez.theworldrace.org

Title: Child Haven

Click on: (or cut and paste)

http://cinthiaramirez.theworldrace.org/?filename=child-haven

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: The Christmas Special [VIDEO]

2011-01-13T20:38:00.001+09:00

The Christmas Special [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 1/13/2011

In December The A-Team Remix, along with Team MOR3 were in Dzuwa Village, Malawi.

Here's a video of our time there, enjoy!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Introducing The A-Team Remix [VIDEO]

2011-01-13T20:37:00.000+09:00

Introducing The A-Team Remix [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 1/13/2011

Here's a quick video that we put together to introduce our new team (new as of the beginning of December).

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Final Countdown

2011-01-06T02:28:00.003+09:00

Final Countdown
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 1/5/2011

Happy New Year to my wonderful friends, family, and supporters! I hope you had an amazing Christmas and New Years back home! Spending this holiday season in Africa has been wonderful in many ways, and I thank you all for helping me get here!

However, there are some people on my squad that are still needing help to continue on this journey with us. Our final deadline for funding is coming up very soon!!   Even after an extension we only have 10 days left, until January 15, when everyone needs to be funded.   If our squad does not have all the financial support in by this time then our teammates and squad mates will be headed home in less than two weeks. This is because right now back in the states they are having to purchase our plane tickets to Asia and also back home in late May/early June, and without being fully supported they can not do this!

One thing I have learned on the world race is BE REAL. Be upfront with your needs, it never hurts to ask and absolutely NEVER hurts to have more people praying for your needs. So here is the truth, the real facts of what my squad still needs. Please pray for our financial needs right now and if the Lord leads you to support one of these amazing people below, their websites are below. Just go to their site and click on the left hand side, the support me tab!

Thank you all for how much you have already given to support me and so many others on this squad. It has been AMAZING to see everyone rallying behind us in the States while we are way out here in Africa! We can't thank you enough!! We hope you have a happy New Year!   We love you! -P Squad

Alicia Hodges   $3,564                     aliciahodges.theworldrace.org
Lauren Newborn   $2,400                  laurennewborn.theworldrace.org
Melissa Ventura   $2245                   melissaventura.theworldrace.org
Brittany Smith $1,739                      brittanysmith.theworldrace.org
Robin Jarrett   $1,357                        robinjarett.theworldrace.org
Samantha Moor   $1,000                   samanthamoor.theworldrace.org
Shannon Taylor   $770                      shannontaylor.theworldrace.org
Krystel Kemper   $759                      krystelkemper.theworldrace.org
Sara Hansen   $669                          sarahansen.theworldrace.org
Carrie Miranda   $600                        carriemiranda.theworldrace.org
Kameron Kissinger   $480                 kameronkissinger.theworldrace.org
Amanda Burkett   $259                     amandaburkett.theworldrace.org
Thomas Sullivan   $205                     thomassullivan.theworldrace.org
Stephanie Woody   $175                   stephaniewoody.theworldrace.org
Alexandra Squyres   $175                 alexandrasquyres.theworldrace.org

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Final Countdown

2011-01-06T02:28:00.001+09:00

Final Countdown
By Jonathan Bunford on 1/5/2011

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T20:21:00.001+09:00

Happy New Year!
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 1/5/2011

Happy 2011! I pray that this year God blesses you all abundantly in ways that you don't even know what to do with - like He's been blessing us already. I'm going to summarize how we ended the year and also share how the year has begun; but I'm going to do it in my native tongue - Spanish. So if you want to read it, you can either google translate it or read Jon's blog instead: link

Feliz Año Nuevo! Antes de que les cuente como ha empezado el año, les voy a contar como terminamos el 2010.

Todo el mes de Diciembre estubimos en el pueblito Dzuwa en Malawi, sin electricidad y sin agua. Fue un mes dificil, pero Dios nos dio la oportunidad de conocer una nueva amiga quien esta de misionera ahi por un año.

Para Noche Buena comimos arroz con frijoles y nuestra compañera Christal y otras chavas nos hicieron un pastel sobre una parilla. Para Navidad pudimos hablar por telefono unos minutos con mis papas, mi suegra y el hermano de Jon con familia. Fue algo muy especial.

Tomamos un par de dias de descanso y nos fuimos a la capital - Lilongwe, Malawi. Ahi pudimos relajarnos! El ultimo dia salimos a comer con Stephanie - si van a Malawi recuerdense que ir a cenar puede tomar 2 horas antes de que les den la comida. Afortunadamente este pequeño restaurant Italiano nos sirvio mas rapido! Nos agrado conocer a Stephanie y compartir con ella, la vamos a extrañar mucho! Este mes nuestro equipo va a trabajar solo, vamos a extrañar al equipo MOR3.

Al final de Octubre llegamos a Johannesburg, South Africa para tomar un bus a Malawi. Ese viaje nos tomo 67 horas en total, hasta tubimos que dormer en dos fronteras porque estaban cerradas. Estabamos preocupados que nos tomara ese mismo tiempo, pero solo nos tomo 36 horas esta vez! Llegamos bien sin novedad y estamos muy entuciasmados de estar aqui.

El 31 un equipo que estubo trabajando aqui en South Africa nos invite a salir con ellos. Fuimos a un edificio que tiene todo lo que se pueden imaginar! Adentro habia un monton de restaurants, cafes, almacenes, cines, hasta un casino! Estube muy contenta en una biblioteca por un par de horas tomandome un café de Starbucks (quien sabia que tenian Starbucks en Africa?!). Despues si bailamos un ratito a media noche antes de irnos a la casa.

El primero, los muchachos nos hicieron una gran cena. Me gusto empezar el año asi, espero que sea una señal de com ova seguir el año.

El primer Domingo del 2011 fue una bendicion! Jon encontro en google una iglesia cerca de nuestra casa por el mes y la fuimos a bucar. Al no mas entrar nos sentimos como en casa. Nos dio la bienvenidad Mark, el pastor de jovenes y Terry un professor de los Estados Unidos quien esta aqui por dos semanas. Terry conoce al fundador de AIM y la Carrera por el Mundo - el mundo es mas pequeño de lo que piensan! Me encanto la iglesia, y estoy segura que voy a sentirme triste cuando nos vayamos. Despues de el servicio, Mark y su familia nos invitaron a almorzar - hasta nos dieron pastel de chocolate y helado!

La generosidad de la familia, y de muchos que hemos conocido en la Carrera siempre nos deja boca abiertos. Jesus dijo que amemos a nuestro venico como nos amamos a nosotros mismos - pero quien lo hace deveras?! Especialmente a 7 extraños, extranjeros, quien solo lo has conocido por 5 minutos? Nos tomaron y trataron como familia, fue una gran bendicion. Mark nos llego de compras, se llevo nuestra comida a su casa mientras nosotros fuimos de compras y a ver la nueva pelicula de Narnia (fue de lo que hablaron en el servicio). Despues trajo nuestra comida, y nos llevo a nuestra casa, que Corazon tan servicial!

Lo tomamos como un reto, de ser asi tan servicial como la familia de Mark cuando regresemos y tengamos nuestra casa. Estoy entuciasmada a ver a quien manda Dios a nuestro hogar, talvez deveras tengamos angeles con nosotros como dice Hebreos 13:2.

No se olviden de mostrar hospitalidad, porque por ella algunos, sin saberlo, hospedaron angeles

Talvez este reto es para ustedes tambien, en 2011 sean mas serviciales y muestren hospitalidad mas de lo normal - talvez miren a un angel, o quizas seran un angel para una persona en necesidad.

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Our First Sunday of 2011 and in Jo'Burg (and how God showed up)

2011-01-03T04:43:00.001+09:00

Our First Sunday of 2011 and in Jo'Burg (and how God showed up)
By Jonathan Bunford on 1/2/2011

We arrived in Jo'Burg (which is the hip-cool way of saying Johannesburg) around 6pm on Thursday December, 30th. Our travel time took "only" 36 hours (which was really quick compared to our last bus adventure across Africa). For the month we'll be staying at Rosebank Lodge & Backpacker, which is the lodge our entire squad stayed at for a few nights at the beginning of November.

January is our "ATL" month, where we as a team have the opportunity to seek our own ministry. Going on The World Race is quite a step of faith and this month challenges us to take another step. Our "plan" (which means nothing since it's not necessarily God's plan) is to serve at the lodge (construction projects) as well as in the community. Our lodge has helped us get in touch with a few organizations in the area including "Child Haven" (remember this for later!).

Today was our first Sunday in Jo'Burg and this is how it all began:

On Saturday we attempted to Google for a church near the lodge, not much came up besides "HisPeople" which was meeting at 9am. So on Sunday morning we woke up, had breakfast, prayed that our first English service in months would be a blessing and we also prayed for divine appointments.

We made our way to the church and on arrival we instantly felt at home. Just seconds after walking through the door we were met by Mark & Terry. Mark is a prominent youth pastor in South Africa and Terry is a professor at Bethel University in Indiana who is here for 2 weeks. After brief introductions wthat Terry knows about The World Race and has done mission trips with AIM! (remember we prayed for divine appointments).

The service was great and the day continued to get better and better. After the service, Mark approached us and invited the 7 of us to his house to have coffee & lunch with him, his family & Terry. We had an amazing time at their house and we got the opportunity to share stories from our past 6 months. Throughout our talks we learnt that HisPeople is the group ultimately behind Child Haven and other groups including Baby Haven and Young Mothers Haven.

God absolutely blew us away today, we thought we'd just be going to church but we now have countless phone numbers including a personal connection to 2 orphanages and a young mothers ministry! GOD IS GOOD!

It seems like every month we're learning more and more about what "hospitality" really means, while at Mark's house we were blessed with a delicious meal, great conversation, and he even drove us to a grocery store so we wouldn't have to walk with all the bags! Now who does that for someone they've only met for 5 minutes in the lobby of their church?

In the book of Hebrews, Paul writes "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." (13:2), for us today we didn't host angels, they hosted us!

It also says in Psalms 139:9-10, "If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." It's true! God showed up here in Jo'Burg!, even though we're over 13,000km away from "home"!

We're getting more and more excited about what this month has in store and we look forward to keeping you all as updated as possible with how God continues to work through us here in Jo'Burg!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Over the "Hump"

2010-12-27T21:55:00.001+09:00

Over the "Hump"
By Jonathan Bunford on 12/27/2010

In the 5 day work week of the average North American, Wednesday is considered "Hump Day". This is in reference to Wednesday being the middle of the week, and therefore afterwards (Thursday and onwards) it's all downhill...until the following Monday that is.

Well for those of us on The World Race who left in July, this month was our Wednesday. At this point we're past the half way point. With 5 (almost 6) months behind us.

Our time in Dzuwa village has come to a close. I haven't had the ability to work on videos since we haven't really had electricity! So those should be coming along in the following weeks.

This past month we had the opportunity to really dive into God's word, encourage one another, encourage the staff at Joy to the World Ministries, as well as a missionary who's here on her own for an entire year! It's been a great month and we're ready to head into month 7!

Later this week The A-Team Remix will be heading from Lilongwe, Malawi to Johannesburg, South Africa. You may remember the adventure we had going the opposite direction at the end of October (if you don't, you can read/view it here). Our journey back should only take us 36 hours (though it took us 84 hours to go the opposite way).

You may recall that for January we were given the opportunity to find a new ministry contact. After a lot of prayer, and research our team felt called to return to a hostel we had spent a few nights at (prior to "Africa Travel Week 2010"). Our plan for the month of January is to:

- serve at the hostel (they're doing renovations and other various construction projects)

- holding bible studies & times of worship

- going to nearby orphanages

- plus many other opportunities that are in the surrounding neighborhoods

We're all very excited about this upcoming month and how God will work through us as well as the people He'll put in our paths.

Side Note: An employee at the hostel here in Lilongwe has had an amazing experience through hosting World Racers throughout this month. We're praying that we can meet people similar to Brian in January!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: (DELAYED) Mzuzu Videos (Parts 1 & 2) [VIDEO]

2010-12-27T21:28:00.001+09:00

(DELAYED) Mzuzu Videos (Parts 1 & 2) [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 12/27/2010

Here are some videos of our month in Mzuzu, Malawi (November).

Mzungus in Mzuzu Part 1

Mzungus in Mzuzu Part 2

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: All I Want for Christmas is a New Pair of Shoes

2010-12-23T20:05:00.003+09:00

All I Want for Christmas is a New Pair of Shoes
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 12/23/2010

Seriously, when was the last time you heard someone add that to his or her Christmas list?

I'm not talking about a fancy pair of shoes, just good soles and a sturdy pair.

You see I came on the race with 3 pairs of shoes:

1. Shower Flip Flops

2. Sandals

3. Trail Running Shoes

My flip-flops broke back in Haiti. I bought them in South Korea for about $4, but I don't want to let them go. So, I keep fixing them - tough they are not sturdy enough to go around town, they are good enough to walk around the house.

Last wee, Jon did one of the sweetest things a husband can do on the race: he washed our sandals. (Wearing them for 5.5 months straight gets them pretty gross.) We left them out on the sun to dry during the day. At night, I found Jon's Keens but mine were nowhere to be seen. The only conclusion I can come up with is that they've been stolen.

Our budget while on the race is $10 a day - $4 food, $5 lodging, $1 transportation. That makes us $8 rich than 80% of the world. Still, it leaves me no money to buy a new pair of shoes. I'm amazingly blessed to have parents who are able to transfer Christmas money into my personal account so that I can buy shoes once we get to South Africa. The kids around here do not have that blessing. They either have to work around barefoot - or go to the length of stealing in order to have shoes. While stealing is still wrong they do it out of necessity not out of greed.

Everywhere we've gone we've seen kids and adults who have to go barefoot. I know you've heard this before - but being on the race make statistics real. It's because of that, that I wasn't angry when I couldn't find my sandals.

If you want to help one more child be able to have shoes this upcoming year - consider buying yourself a pair of TOMS shoes. For every pair they sell, they give one pair to a child in need around the world.

I know that you care for those around the nations. I know that, because it has been through YOU that Jon and I have the amazing blessing of being FULLY FUNDED!!! We are done support raising so THANK YOU!!!! To read about everything you have done during the first 6 months of the race, go to Jon's blog.

It's not even Christmas Eve yet and already it's shaping up to be a good one. We are fully funded and I get two pairs of shoes! I pray that your Christmas is at least as blessed as mine has been so far.

We leave Malawi on December 29 and head to South Africa for the month of January. There, we'll be working at a hostel and just building relationships with the backpackers there. I cant' wait, I'm so excited we get to be there for the month - I met incredible South Africans while in South Korea, I can't wait to meet more of them!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: THANK YOU!!!

2010-12-23T20:05:00.001+09:00

THANK YOU!!!
By Jonathan Bunford on 12/23/2010

Wow!

In the middle of the bush of Africa, as we borrow solar power to charge up our laptop Cinthia and I are speechless at God's provision.

We look back to September 2009 when we began our first fundraiser - which was the marathon in South Korea - at that time the goal of $28,600 seemed a long way off, and at times impossible to reach. Since then, with tons of support from friends & family members we've been able to hold other fundraising events including coffee sales, bread sales, dinners, games nights, bowling, donut sales, etc.

We've also seen many individuals give outside of these events to support us directly. Our church, The Sanctuary Mississauga has also been a huge support for us. This Christmas as they celebrate & learn about Christmas in The Advent Conspiracy they've urged churchgoers to support missions rather than buy another gift for someone.

Whether you were able to donate $5 or $1,000, whether it was a one-time donation or a monthly donation, your support has helped us more than you could imagine! Everything we've done has only been possibly with your support!

Here are some things you have done:

July - Dominican Republic

- You began the journey with an amazing team, Team GreenLight.

- You loved children. You cleaned a field for them to play baseball without fear of hurting their bare feet.

- You helped a family earn money by splitting peas.

- You helped shine God's love in a dark neighbourhood plagued by violence, drugs, alcoholism, and depression.

August - Haiti

- You delivered houses to people affected by the earthquake in January.

- You later painted those houses to bring colour and protection from the elements.

- You hiked for 11 hours to visit a mountain village that had never seen Western missionaries.

- You have continued to stay in touch with those from the area and prayed with them & their family throughout the cholera outbreak & recent hurricane.

September - Ireland

- You camped by the ocean in the windy/rainy season and saw your tent become a pancake (if you haven't seen the video online, check it out through our blog!)

- You did service ministry by cleaning up the streets & washing off graffiti.

- You delivered 10,000 worship CDs while praying over each household.

- You helped behind the scenes at a Worship conference held by 3 different churches.

- You found a home-away-from-home at An Tobar Nua, a Christian coffee shop that is a light in the area.

- You celebrated with Sean, who got accepted to The World Race (their second Irish person)!

- You evangelized to people in the park who had either never heard of God, or had horrible misconceptions of who He really is.

October - Moldova

- You became part of a new team, The A-Team.

- You were flexible and went to 3 different villages to encourage pastors & church communities.

- You befriended your Russian hosts & perfected the art of charades.

- You helped clear a building of wooden rafters and delivered those to a woman to use for firewood.

- You painted the outside and inside of an outhouse (damn those things smell!)

- You celebrated the harvest festival.

- You joined numerous youth group meetings. You played games and shared your testimony.

- You helped clear a yard full of weeds & bushes.

- You chopped and put wood in storage for a family whose son is an alcoholic, mom is going blind, and dad is bedridden.

November - Malawi (Mzuzu)

- You became part of a church community.

- You went to nearby villages to evangelize daily.

- You went to schools and encouraged & shared with the students.

- You taught & preached at services.

- You brought communities together to share with them.

- You became "the travelling dancers" driving on the back of a truck from one area to another to advertise a church event.

- You put on a church event that included games, face-painting, and a skit.

- You now have a family in Mzuzu, Malawi.

December - Malawi (Dzuwa Village)

- You helped to prepare the food for the food-program at the nearby school.

- You feed hundreds of students, once in the pouring rain.

- You helped with a games day for the students.

- You shared at church events.

- You helped prepare food for the teams (which is a full day job here in Malawi!)

- You shared at a village-vs-village football (soccer) match.

- You had the time to really pour into each other, encouraging each other with scripture and lessons God is teaching you.

- You had the opportunity to encourage an American missionary who is here alone for a year (August '10 - August '11).

- You went village-to-village sharing with households the love God has for them.

- You lived for a month in the African bush, without electricity & running water.

(UPCOMING) January - South Africa

- You have planned to return to a hostel in South Africa and do "Backpacker Ministry"

- You will help out at the backpacking lodge.

- You will organize bible studies & worship sessions with travellers.

- You will have the opportunity to go to nearby orphanages to help.

- You are excited for the people you'll meet!

(UPCOMING) February, March, April, May - Asia

- You have 4 months in Asia where you will partner with various new forms of ministry.

- You have 4 months in Asia where your heart will continue to break for those that are in need.

- You have been transformed.

- You have been made new.

- You will no longer see the world the same way.

- You will do your best to live in such a way to bring change to statistics.

- You will remember that 80% of the world live with only 20% of the resources.

- You will remember the struggle of living on the race with $10/day (for food, lodging, supplies, etc.) but most of the world lives on $2.

- You will remember the brothers and sisters you've made around the world.

- You will no longer be the same.

Thank you for sharing with us in this life changing experience. Though we're now fully funded, we're sharing these experiences with 63 others, some of whom are still in need of financial support. Here are some of our friends who need support:

James Woodley - http://jameswoodley.theworldrace.org (the newest addition to our team, The A-Team Remix)

Amanda Burkett - http://amandaburkett.theworldrace.org (a member of our team, The A-Team Remix)

Samantha Moor - http://sammoor.theworldrace.org (a member of our old team, Team GreenLight)

Will Diefenbach - http://williamdiefenbach.theworldrace.org (a friend who we've been praying to be fully funded)

Continue to read our blogs to see what you are doing throughout the nations!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Years!

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2010-12-14T18:11:00.000+09:00

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: I'll Be Home For Christmas.If Only in My Dreams

2010-12-13T22:57:00.001+09:00

I'll Be Home For Christmas.If Only in My Dreams
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 12/13/2010

Truth is, I'm the furthest I've ever been to home (when 'home' means family, friends and being comfortable). I'm exactly in the sort of place I've always said that I would never want to live: Our 'home' is surrounded by farms; I can see our contact's house and one neighbour but no one else. We rise and fall asleep with the sun. We have no electricity. We have outhouses for toilets - thank goodness they were new when we arrived!

Tough this will definitely be a challenging month, the people that surround me are amazing. I love my team and after debrief we got a new member added to our family: James Woodley. I'm so excited that we get to be a team of 7 with 3 amazing guys!

Our squad got spread throughout Southern Africa and our team along with 3 others got the chance to stay in Malawi for another month. Already though it seems like we're in a completely different world.

This past week was the last week of school of 2010. We helped Stephanie, an American missionary who's been here since August teaching kindergarten, with her games day. The kids, though seemed to have a lot more fun running back to the classroom then when they were doing relay races and leapfrog; I guess they were not very competitive. This school also has a feeding program - the kids get a type of porridge every day called "Pallah." We helped make it one day over firewood in a poor ventilated shack. Apparently cooking in those conditions is the equivalent of smoking 5 packs of cigarettes a day. For two days we helped feed the kids, it was awesome. I wish we could've done this all month.

Friday we visited the "Group Chief's" home. I pictured a Native American dressed chief so I was really excited, but unfortunately he was not home. We did, however, get to pray over his wife whose face is swollen and has severe tooth ache. I'm praying that we'll see her heal before we leave.

We have just travelled 2 hours to get to the internet café, our truck almost got stuck in the mud due to the rainy season. Needless to say we will not have frequent internet access this month.

We'll be spending Christmas singing Christmas songs around our "fire place" along with Team MOR3 and our new friend Stephanie. Even tough it's early my "A Team Remix" family wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: I'll be [in Malawi] for Christmas.

2010-12-13T20:18:00.000+09:00

I'll be [in Malawi] for Christmas.
By Jonathan Bunford on 12/13/2010

Sorry for the lack of updates everyone, here's a bit of a catch up: we finished our month of ministry in Mzuzu, Malawi and made our way to Lilongwe, Malawi (the capital). We were there for a few days to meet up with the squad, have debrief, and we even had another round of team changes. The A-Team has been blessed with an extra member, James Woodly, and we're now The A-Team Remix.

The A-Team Remix along with Team Mor3 have been joined together for the month in Dzuwa Village, Malawi (good luck finding it on a map!!). We're partnered with Joy To the World Ministries (try googling them to see what we're up to!). So far in the week we've been here we've planted some trees, some crops, helped at the school with the food program as well as with a games day!

This month we're going to be doing a few different things, possibly including:

· Married couple seminars

· Youth seminars

· Farming (it's rainy season here)

· Sports ministry

· Preaching at church plants

· Door-to-door evangelism

· Open-air evangelism

· And we may organize a football (aka soccer) match between 2 villages

We're all very excited to see how God uses us and continues to grow us this month. We'll be here for the entire month of December and in January we begin our 7th month! Crazy to think we're just about at the half way point!

We're still in need of more financial support. We're currently in need of $2,248.10 to be fully funded. Help be a part of this life changing experience, consider partnering with us monthly! We need to be fully funded by the end of 2010!

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2010-12-13T01:32:00.000+09:00

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Moori-Oori!

2010-11-29T22:12:00.001+09:00

Moori-Oori!
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 11/29/2010

That's "Hello" in Chechewa. We officially only have one more day here before we head off to the capital to meet up with the whole squad again plus our coaches to touch base and make sure we're all doing great.

This past week our ministry was basically "church on wheels." The church rented a truck, packed sound equipment (sometimes that included a generator); about 20 Malawians and mzungus (white people) piled in and off we went to different villages. We drove through dirt roads, passed mango and mzagasi (dough ball) sellers, basked in the amazing beauty of the African sky, enjoyed the breeze in the heat and made it to our destination. Once we arrived at the villages, we split into groups to invite people to gather around the vehicle. The Malawians set up the sound system and begun blaring one of our favourite tunes "Permanent," which they play over and over and over again.

People naturally gathered around the truck as the praise team climbed on the truck and began to worship. Now, picture what you think worship is and now add beats and dance moves and you've got African worship! Once that was finished, one of the mzungus got up to preached. If this was done at home people would think it's super weird, but here they appreciate it. There were even "altar calls" done and tons of people received Christ - whether they mean it or if they will follow up with it's now on them and God. All I can do is trust that a seed has been planted in their heart and pray that God will send people to help them grow - most of the time the church took their name and phone numbers to follow up with them.

This past Saturday we had an outreach event. We mostly had kids come it was very weird seeing small kids without parents. We had games, face painting, worship and a skit prepared. It was an incredibly successful day and we had a lot of fun.

We had our last church service here this Sunday and it was perfect. The electricity went off in this neighbourhood, which meant that worship had to be done without music - I loved it!

Life here is incredibly laid back and people are not in a rush to get places. However, simple things take a really long time. For instance this blog at home would take maybe 5 minutes to be uploaded to the site, but in Malawi it probably took around 20 minutes to be fully done plus time to put pictures. We've seen how long our meals take too. I helped with dinner a couple of times and if I were to live here I know that I would NEVER make mashed potatoes.

Dinner takes hours to be done, no microwave dinners here. We've had a lot of potatoes, which baffles me based on how long it takes to peel them (no peelers), lots of rice and beans (yum!), French fries - these take even a much longer time to make, fried dough balls, rice pudding, pasta, chicken - these are killed the day we eat them and de-feathered right outside of the "kitchen", mango, bananas, beef - not sure where this comes from since we've never seen them kill a cow...Also Will from Team Haven bought a goat which we fed for a couple of weeks and he and Sarah Gaddy killed last Friday; we had goat skewers that night, it was delicious.

Due to all this food, which is mostly carbs the girls have been waking up around 6:30am and taken up running up and down a hill near the church. We get a lot of stares, since people don't run for fun around here. Also when kids see us, they quickly join up whether it's running up and down the hill or copying our jumping jacks.

Our Financial Support had been trickling in slowly these past couple of months. However, in the past couple of weeks, we have seen tons of support coming in. I can hardly believe that we needed a bit over $7,000 in the beginning of November and now we are in need approximately $2,000! Praise God! We only have one more month to raise this final amount, please consider continuing to support us and send our blogs along to your friends, family and co-workers. We are incredibly grateful for all your support and ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers. Pray for safety, for protection against malaria and other African diseases and for strength and energy for the remaining 6 months of the race.

I'm not sure if any of you has read any other July blogs but one of our teams, Team Chosen was in a car accident two Sundays ago. Everyone is well, they're just in pain and still in shock as you can imagine. Please keep them in your prayers and pray for safe travels for all the teams as we head into Lilongwe on Wednesday December 1^st.

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: Africa Travel Week 2010 [VIDEO]

2010-11-24T20:05:00.000+09:00

Africa Travel Week 2010 [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 11/24/2010

Here's a video showing clips of our 84 hour travel week from Bucharest, Romania to Mzuzu, Malawi. This is definitely an experience that all of us will never forget (no matter how hard we may try).

If you cannot see the video, click here: http://vimeo.com/17149955

We're still in need of more financial support. We're currently in need of $3,937.54 to be fully funded. Help be a part of this life changing experience, consider partnering with us monthly! We need to be fully funded by the end of 2010!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: (DELAYED) Moldova #3 - Badicu [VIDEO]

2010-11-24T20:02:00.000+09:00

(DELAYED) Moldova #3 - Badicu [VIDEO]
By Jonathan Bunford on 11/24/2010

This video is quite late, but that's what happens when you're in Africa! This video is of our last week in Moldova in Badicu. The pastor and his family opened their house to our entire team where we were able to stay. Most of our week was spent doing various church services as well as helping a family prepare wood for the winter.

If you cannot see the video, you can watch it here: http://vimeo.com/17149241

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Update from Cinthia Ramirez Bunford: Loving Life

2010-11-24T20:00:00.000+09:00

Loving Life
By Cinthia Ramirez Bunford on 11/24/2010

At least once a week - since the race started, I catch myself looking around in disbelief that this is my life. It's almost been 5 months; we're a few weeks away from being half done the race! It's incredible, the weeks go by slowly but the months just fly by. It's hilarious to hear most of our squad refer to months by countries.

Being half done though has started to hit a lot of us, the honeymoon period with the race is dwindling; I'm tired, I don't know if I have 6 months left in me; I am missing home - and I'm utterly confused as to which home I miss more. Do I miss Canada and family, or South Korea friends, galbi and norebang more?

There's a clear plan for the next 6 months - 2 more months in Africa and 4 in Asia; though I myself don't know which countries or what we'll be doing there, there's still a plan. What about after that? I've been stuck with that question for the past couple of weeks. I go back and forth between plans, I've stopped talking about it, have prayed about it and been trying to just really give God the wheel with it all. He knows what the plan is and all I need is to be open and receive whatever it is.

So with that, I've been trying really hard to stay in the present and enjoy Malawi - which is absolutely beautiful! Let me show you a few things we've been doing:

This is Favour; when we got here she would scream if a Mzungu (white person) got too close. Two weeks later here is JB carrying her!

We've done a couple of "Open Air" events

On our walk to an open air - love the view!

The A-Team girls and a couple of the Haven girls - love working with this team!

We've continued to do door-to-door

Done more services

Saw one of our squadmates get baptized!

We Bunfords had a couple of days off

And I'm starting to think that we scare kids

I'm missing home and I'm confused as to what we'll be doing in a year; but through it all I'm still loving my life right now, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!

We're still in need of more financial support. We're currently in need of $3,937.54 to be fully funded. Help be a part of this life changing experience, consider partnering with us monthly! We need to be fully funded by the end of 2010!

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Update from Jonathan Bunford: An eventful week in Mzuzu

2010-11-15T20:12:00.000+09:00

An eventful week in Mzuzu
By Jonathan Bunford on 11/15/2010

We've now been in Mzuzu, Malawi for a bit over a week. Though I am working on a video the internet here is slow & expensive, so it likely wont be uploaded for a while. Here's a quick run-down of this past week.

Saturday: We arrived after the epic 84 hour journey.
Sunday: Church service. Church here is nothing like we've experienced back home. The singing & dancing make church back home seem somewhat boring (no offense!)

Monday: Rest - We ventured into town, walked around the market & went to an internet café.
Tuesday & Wednesday: We were split into teams of 2 or 3 and went to a nearby village to do some door-to-door evangelism. Malawians are very eager to have us come into their homes and talk and we saw many new faces at church this past Sunady.
Thursday, Friday & Saturday: School visits. We were given the opportunity to go to some schools and encourage them academically, talk to them about God and sing some songs (with the younger kids).

Bithdays: This week we were able to celebrate 2 birthdays. The first (on Saturday) was for Bethsaida while the second (on Sunday) was for a man here named Moses (who waited for us for days to arrive from South Africa). We had cake, we danced, we prayed, they were great celebrations!

This upcoming week we are expecting to do some more door-to-door visits. We also hope to get the opportunity to visit a hospital and maybe even a prison! Should be another eventful week.

We're still in need of more financial support. We're currently in need of $4,094.44 to be fully funded. Help be a part of this life changing experience, consider partnering with us monthly! We only have 8 weeks left to get all our support in!

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