Day 200 has come and gone, and here we are halfway through our time in Europe. Over halfway through the race. Getting dangerously close to being back home in the land of the “familiar.” Or what once was familiar. My team spent last month in Montenegro and will spend this month in Romania, which I like to refer to as my European summer. Europe is such a change from South America and Africa. What’s cool is we’ve gotten a small glimpse of what life could look like when we get home in November. Here’s a few stand-out moments from the last 200 days!
SOMETHING I’VE REALIZED:
I’ve realized a few different things over the course of the last 100 days. One being that the home I’ll be coming back to in November isn’t the home I left in January. One thing that I’ve struggled to come to terms with is that life at home carried on even though I wasn’t there to carry on with it. No one at home stopped their lives just to wait on me to get home. They all kept their noses to the grind and continued with their daily routines. Even if I wasn’t there to live it out with them. Our routines just look a little different these days.
SOMETHING THAT SCARES ME:
Being an actual full-blown adult when I get home. It’s starting to get close to that time when I have to start thinking about jobs or where I’m going to live or what the heck I’m going to spend my time doing. I’m not worried about it by any means, but it’s on my radar. The opportunities are endless.
SOMETHING I’VE BEEN LEARNING:
Patience. The Lord has been growing me a lot in patience these last few months. Patience in fundraising. Patience in my future. Patience with my team. Patience with ministry. My team knows that this is something I struggle with on the daily. I refer a lot to my “impatient pants.” When I start to feel impatient, I tell the CREW that my impatient pants are coming on. Through this I’m also able to be completely open and honest with them about when I’m struggling. They are great, and we can laugh about it after the impatient pants come off.
SOMETHING I’M EXCITED ABOUT:
Parent-Vision Trip. In Romania (LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY), there is a week when our parents get to come out and do life with us. My mom is coming, and I can’t wait to see her! She’s also bringing me a few things from home that are going to be a nice treat. PVT is going to be a great time to show our parents what life has looked like the past 8 months and show them how much we’ve grown.
SOMETHING FUN:
We went white water rafting one weekend in Montenegro! One of my teammates organized a rafting trip on the Tara River. If you know me, you know that I don’t get super excited about water activities. I’m a little terrified of drowning… BUT it was so fun! The “rapids” weren’t bad at all. We were having conversations while going through them. Plus, the water was cold, so it felt amazing when it splashed into the raft. We had a great time!
SOMETHING I WANT TO TELL Y’ALL ABOUT LATER:
The story of my baptism! I’m writing up a blog about getting baptized here in Montenegro! I can’t wait to tell y’all about it; be on the lookout for that blog coming soon!
BONUS PHOTOS:
The CREW with our Squad Coaches, Ruth and Phil
Love this CREW so much
