This year in a nutshell
We laughed, we cried, we sweat, we froze(well I froze) we taugh English, we raked leaves, and we met some amazing people .
This year had been filled with ups and downs, there have been many victories! Such as overcoming fear and anxiety, learning vulnerability, learning to enjoy community, trusting others, loving others, finding more of myself and who God created me to be, seing the bible come alive, seeing healings, preaching, and finding confidence.
There have also been many downs. There have been days and weeks of depression and not knowing how to get out of bed and tell people, there’s been times of felling bipolar because my emotions switch so fast, there have been many tears while God breaks walls down, there’s been anger and confusion, there’s been exhaustion and all the emotions that come with that.
I guess you could say this year has been a roller coaster. And it has!
But If I had the choice to do it over I would definetly do it. I would change something’s, mostly the way I handled situations, but in the end through all the hard crappy days I’ve found amazing days as well.
These are the Things I wouldn’t trade :
Conquering my fear of public speaking on our first day of ministry in SA
Being woken up by donkeys, cows and horses in our yard in Botswana
Somehow everyone fitting in the vans in Madagascar
Praying for a classroom of children who wanted to give their lives to Christ
Seeing spiritual warfare every day, learning how to pray our armour.
Learning how to fight for each other during those hard night of no sleep
The hard times on teams
Being so hot in Cambodia all I wanted to do was cry
Pillow talk for hours on end
Having my back covered in flying ants during my bucket shower
Cockroaches everywhere!
Laughing until we cried or for some of us peed
Asking ourselves ” is it gunshots, fireworks, cannons or bombs ?” Almost always fireworks
Being eaten by ants everynight
And being laughed at for being white
Playing charades with the neighbours
Crashing a scooter in Cambodia (oops!)
Never understanding what people are saying
2 hour hike and canoe ride to ministry
Watching friends get baptized
And seeing the growth in every single person
Loving fully even when it’s hardest
The reality is some of these things sucked, they were mentally exhausting. Yes I cried a lot but all of these things made me stronger in the end. I learned to laugh at the uncomfortable situations, i learned to embrace the awkward. And i learned that I am so much stronger than I thought I was. It was also eye opening because most of these hard things are things that locals see as normal. It allowed us to see into their lives.
I still don’t like bugs Or super crowded places. But I’ve somehow made it through this year. Many times I didn’t think I could do it, It seemed like an I possible task. But I can’t imagine not being here right now through all the struggle and triumph being able to say ” I did it !”
It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it
I still don’t know what the future holds, But what I know for sure is that ministry is where ever you are. There’s not specific country or place, it’s 24/7. All you have to do is say yes. To me this takes the pressure off needing to find a certain job, it’s about people. So I’m open and excited to see where The Lord leads me, because anywhere I go I’m bringing all the things I’ve learned this year with me.
