How do I even begin to wrap my mind around the past 11 months? It feels like a crazy whirldwind!- 325 days, 15 countries, 75 hours on planes, 270 hours on busses, 105 hours on trains, 35 hours on taxis, 40 times packing our backpacks, 3 months living in a tent, being on 3 continents in 3 days, attempting to learn 7 different languages which resulted in awkward meals and embarrassing translations; eating beef, chicken, frog, duck, impala, snail, gazelle, warthog, spider, grasshopper, cow heart and intestine, goat, and other unidentified meats; jumping off waterfalls, climbing volcanoes, surfing in Peru, climbing Machu Picchu, touring London for a day, going to a desert island in the Indian Ocean, African Safaris, visiting ruins around the world including Angkor Wat, debrief on a beautiful island in Thailand, going to Disney Hong King, mopedding through the mountains in China, boat rides down the Chinese Li River, alpine slide down through Chinese mountains, visiting and climbing the Great Wall, plus way too many times to count of preaching, teaching, church services, testimony sharing, kid holding, game playing, and song singing and SO much more!
AND ALL this with the same SIX people! So, living in community isn’t always easy. It’s like being in an arranged marriage to 5 other people at the same time. You eat, sleep, work, EVERYTHING with these people. I’m pretty sure, we were together more than any married couple is. I’m amazed that right now I still choose to hang out with them out of all the World Racers and I’ve already planned to visit some of them in January. Overall, I have loved my team this year! I loved them so much that I even wrote a blog about them in Cambodia. If you want to see how awesome they really are, read my blog “So, I’m Not Artsy, But…”
It has been neat to see God use us and see him work in so many ways this year! In Mexico, we led a VBS-like program each day and a church service at night. We got eaten alive by mosquitos and sand ants while we travelled to many communities that had never interacted with white people before, let alone missionaries. It was neat to be a part of paving the way for future missionaries to come through.
In Guatemala, we helped paint a retreat center now used to disciple street kids. We also connected with some amazing missionaries, The Watkins Family, in Antigua who took us in as their own and allowed us to serve alongside them as their goal is to unite the mission efforts in Guatemala.
In Peru, we ran the gamet of ministries. We did tract distribution, church services, kids’ programs, church planting, physical construction of the church, home visits, and school visits.
In Mozambique, we went into the bush where we worked with a family who led us around the village to pray for families and preach. We also went into the bush for a second time where we worked with the Zion Christian Church, preaching and teaching about doctrine, and helping unite the community of churches in the area.
In Swaziland, we helped organize the grassroots of a self-sustaining program for orphans. We visited care points where orphans received free meals and education up to pre-school. We spent lots of time loving on the orphans and teaching VBS-like lessons. We planned two teacher training days and did home visits. Since we were there in July/August, construction has begun on the new building, finances are overflowing, clothes are being donated, and it is really taking off!
In Thailand, we worked with the Night Light organization where we worked with women who have left prostitution and would go into the bars twice a week to make friendships with more of the prostitutes.
In Cambodia, we taught classes on discipleship and Biblical leadership. We visited different ministries within the capital of Phnom Penh. We played with kids at the Love House orphanage and visited the provinces on the weekends to lead church services and encourage the local Christians.
In China, we participated in a cultural exchange program where we created relationships with students and “ATLed” (Ask The Lord) in our second portion of China. I feel so blessed to be used in this way by our Father this year!
At the beginning of the year, we wrote letters to ourselves so that we could have them at the end of the year. I just received mine. One sentence I wrote in it said, “I hope that after this year, you were so impacted and radically changed that you can’t go back to the person you were before.” I didn’t mean that as I didn’t want to be who I was, but I wanted to be more of who I am to become. I wanted to be more of the Emilie that God wants me to be. Don’t worry, I’m still the same me, but I’m different…I think. I guess I’ll really see when I re-enter the States. Many of the changes in me have been in my thought processes. I learned more of my identity in Christ. I really have begun to grasp that I am a precious daughter of the living King and understand my authority in that. I am now more able to identify lies from the Enemy and rebuke them with truth! I feel more free, feeling released from the need of perfectionism, and have learned that negative emotions are okay. Through community, I have learned lots about conflict resolution. I amazed that when you actually handle conflict how it’s supposed to be handled, how easy and minute it seems. I’ve learned more how to speak my opinion and it be okay if it’s not the same as everyone’s. My team has seen me sad, happy, confused, hyper, upset, frustrated, tired, all the emotions and they still love me. That was a huge testament to me that no matter what I’m going through, people still love me. I learned more about following and leading. I know that I have natural leadership abilities and can get people to follow me. So, even though I’m not really rebellious or ever really go against authority, it has been challenging at points to follow leadership when I have disagreed or the way I would do something, would be completely different. I was challenged more and more about servant leadership and not needing recognition. I began to figure out times when I could step up and times when I needed to fall back. Finally, my heart for the world has increased. I have seen so many different people and cultures this year. I know that God created them all exactly as He wanted and loves them. It has been neat to learn from other cultures and love them this year!
So, where do I go from here? Well, I’ll be arriving to Detroit on the morning of the 20th. Then, I’m going to be hanging out with family and friends at least through the holidays. I will have lots of time for coffee dates, lunches, and dinners. So, be sure to snag me for a meal or coffee, and I’d love to hear about how all of your years have been. In January, I am going to travel in the States for a few weeks visiting some of the other racers. (I would have been away from them for 8 weeks at that point. I’ll probably be going through withdrawals. Yikes!) Then, I’m not sure what is in store for me. I trust that the Lord will lead me and direct me. Please continue to pray for me and all the racers as we begin to re-enter American culture, for recuperation, smooth adjustments, and future plans. Thank you SO much for all your prayers and support this year! Everything that God has done through us could not have been done without you!!!
