I
expect:
–to be
dirtier and smellier than I’ve ever been in my entire life
–to
cry more than I’ve ever cried before– out of pure joy, pain, happiness, anger,
laughter, sorrow, loneliness, love, “Holy Spirit moments” and shear
overwhelming experiences
–to
want to adopt and take home every orphan I play with and love on
–to
sleep outside, in strange locations, in a jungle, in a forest, near a village,
in a missionary compound, in a tent, and very rarely…in a bed (but probably not
😉 ha ha…)
–to have
a few “near death” experiences
–to
have the craziest and unkempt hair EVER
–to go
without shaving my legs for nearly a year
–to go
without caffeine for a year (I will DEFINITELY miss Starbucks & Diet Coke)
–to
truly learn what it means to be a daughter in the Kingdom of God
–to
see the Lord work miraculously through me and the rest of my team
–to
witness the Lord casting out demons, healing the sick and filling the forgotten
with supernatural strength, power and love only HE can give through prayer and
complete faith in the Lord
–to
live in a community of fellow disciples and to truly comprehend what “living in
community” means…which, I’m sure, will be happy, sad, annoying, beautiful,
difficult, spiritual, overwhelming, fun and a little ugly at times
–to go
without eating junk food, fast food, or “good American” food for a year…I
expect to miss Chipotle and Roma’s Pizza a lot!
–to be
changed forever: emotionally, psychologically, physically, and spiritually
–to
fast from television and movies for an entire year
–to
make relationships with people that I will cherish for the rest of my life
–to
miss: my family, my best friend, my boy friend, my church family, and my
friends so much I will ache
–to be
the light of Jesus to some of the darkest corners of the world
–to
learn what Jesus meant when He said “If anyone would come after me, he must
deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.”
–to
bring the love and hope of Jesus to prostitutes, drug addicts, orphans, slaves,
the sick, the lonely, the forgotten, the poor and the lost
–to
continually grow in my knowledge of the world, social justice, poverty, the
Holy Spirit, the mystery of God and what it means to be a true disciple of
Jesus
–to
preach and teach the Gospel in 11 countries
–to
come home with a completely new appreciation for all the luxuries I have been
privileged enough to have here in America
–to
learn to blog well
–to
learn to Skype and to cherish every Skype call I have with my loved ones back
home
–to
face the challenges of cultural differences and language barriers
–to be
completely broken by the Lord, and after falling to my knees, have the Lord
restore my soul and heal my heart in only ways HE can do
–to
learn more about myself, my strengths, my weaknesses, my spiritual gifts, my
languages of love, and my inner struggles
–to gain knowledge and wisdom for my future ministry as a pastor that can never be taught in seminary or a church conference
–to have experiences throughout the world that most people only dream about
–to learn what Paul meant when he said in Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ, and no longer live…but Christ lives in me.”
–to
never be the same…
This is
what I expect.
