I keep getting asked often when I will be back in the United States. Yesterday (Saturday) marked 5 weeks left on the World Race. Today (Sunday) marks 5 weeks until I land in South Dakota. We all fly into LAX and shockingly, I couldn't get a flight that night back to SD. It it crazy that 11 months is now down to 5 weeks.
This week will be a whirlwind. Tomorrow (Monday) is our last day of ministry at Teen Challenge. I am going to be very sad to leave one of my favorite ministry sights on the race.
Tuesday we will transition into Phnom Penh as we have to be at the airport Wednesday at 5am. We love the early morning flights on the World Race. We will arrive in the Philippines later that day. We will have a couple of days of briefing prior to flying to Mindaneo, another island south of Manilla. It is a big island as it is actually geographically bigger than the Czech Republic. We should arrive there sometime on Saturday and be there for the upcoming month.
It is wild to think about all that God has done in my first 10 months on the World Race. I have seen many lives changed and my own has been changed as well.
I had to laugh as sometimes it is simple things that make the most difference. Last night I slept in a bed for the 2nd night in a row for the first time since we left Africa in February. I've spend 3 total nights in a bed and it feels like a treat to have a bed and not a "norm".
God continues to challenge my heart as to what I "need" versus what I "want". I see poverty and brokennes and wrestle with what it looks like to continue to live out the love of Jesus when I am back in the United States living a more comfortable life. What does it mean to "love my neighbor" when I have seen how different the way my neighbor lives from the way I can live.
Last night I was watching CNN in the hotel we are staying at. We took our day off to see Angkor Wat yesterday and so stayed in a guest house where a room with a bed cost me $3 a night. How cool is that? But, I digress. On CNN it talked about how over 40% of people in the Philippines live on less than $2 a day. In India, the statistic was that more than 40% lives on less than $1.50 a day. I would guess that Cambodia has a similar statistic. I am one person, but I want to see the world changed and ponder this morning what impact God wants me to have in 5 weeks when I am back in the comfort of U.S. living.
