Hey everyone! I know it’s been a while
since you heard from me. We were in a closed country last month,
which meant no internet for us. It also means that I cannot post much
online about the specifics of my experiences there. I can tell you
that I have a renewed appreciation for the freedom we have in
America. I cannot imagine what it would be like to spend my whole
life in a place where I could not speak freely about something that
is such a big part of my identity.
Last month, we spent time in two
different locations. For the first week, we had all kinds of
different opportunities for ministry, which I will talk about in a
different blog.
One 40-hour train ride later, we
arrived at our other location. Let me just tell you about these
trains. Oh my goodness. That much time spent on a train is crazy
enough, but get this: they sell standing tickets. Our train
car was full. Obnoxiously full. Smoking was allowed on the train, and
the windows don’t open, so there was a cloud of smoke in the air the
whole time. It. Was. Crazy.
Back to the story. At our second
location, we worked with a handful of Canadian and American long-term
missionaries. We were blessed to be living in an apartment where we
were able to worship daily, which was something none of us expected
going into last month. We did a lot of prayer walking through the
city. Friendship evangelism was supposed to be our primary ministry,
but it was difficult to do so because it was extremely rare to meet
someone who spoke English. I did meet a few girls from the teaching
college, but we did not get to have any life changing conversations.
One of my favorite nights of last month
was when a couple of us girls got to babysit for one of the
missionary families so they could have a much needed night out. It
was awesome to be with children who spoke English again; that night
reminded me of why I love kids so much. The two kids we were with
have very different personalities, but they were not afraid to be who
they are. I think that’s exactly why God calls us to be like little
children — they walk in their God given identities without caring
what anybody else thinks.
