Real life is…
Arriving in a new country where no one is expecting us, with no established connections.
Real life is…
Cramming 4 women in a room with 2 twin beds because no one wants to sleep in the room that has bedbugs.
Real life is…
Acknowledging for the first time in my life that I could be persecuted for my faith if the wrong person overhears me.
Real life is…
Watching my teammates pick leeches off of themselves after hiking to some waterfalls, and hoping I’m not next.
Real life is…
Having a party with the locals, singing and teaching them the chicken dance, our first full day in country.
Real life is…
Truly learning how to depend on God’s guidance for my days because there’s no backup plan.
Real life is…
Sleeping in 4 different beds over a 3 week time-span.
Real life is…
That frustration that comes from being asked why I’m in Laos, and not being able to say God brought me here.
Real life is…
Worshiping on the porch of our bungalow at sunset, even though people can hear us.
Real life is…
E-mailing organizations we want to work with and trying to explain our purpose without talking about God, missions, prayer, Christianity, or any other words that would be noticed and investigated here.
Real life is…
Sweeping ants off the dinner table rather than trying to find a restaurant that doesn’t have them.
Real life is…
Finding ants in your bed and sleeping in it anyway.
Real life is…
Finding ants in your food and eating it anyway.
Real life is…
Spraying ants off the wall while taking a shower.
Real life is…
Getting really, really sick of ants.
Real life is…
Biking around the 4,000 islands, praying over the villages and families we pass along the way.
Real life is…
Fitting 7 adults onto 2 small beds for team movie night.
Real life is…
Learning to stay focused during devotions on the balcony of our hostel with a pressure washer going on one side of us and a crying baby on the other.
Real life is…
Being half a world away from home, yet still being well-loved and surrounded by family on my birthday.
Real life is…
Wandering around the city on foot, and exploring communities where Christians may never have walked before.
Real life is…
Pulling up a chair at a random roadside stand and chatting with the kids who live there.
Real life is…
Sitting next to a giant Buddah statue, praying to Jesus.
Real life is…
Opening a little piece of home at midnight, while my dear teammate sings me happy birthday.
Real life is…
Learning that youth group games are just as wild here as they are in the States.
Real life is…
Expecting nothing out of the month, and receiving everything.
Real life is…
Deciding our hotel is fine to stay in because we’ve only seen roaches downstairs, not in the bedrooms.
Real life is…
Laughing a lot with our English students and wishing we could stay with them longer.
Real life is…
Running across town in the heaviest downpour I’ve ever seen – coming from a Seattle girl, that’s saying something – and ending up soaked to the skin by the time we catch our bus.
Real life is…
Questioning whether my mouth is capable of making the sounds required to speak Lao.
Real life is…
Dance parties with 15 giggling Lao teenagers.
Real life is…
Motorbike adventures on muddy roads and dinner by the riverside.
Real life is…
Running up and down 4 flights of stairs – twice – trying to find my teammate while she runs up and down 4 different flights of stairs – twice – trying to find me.
Real life is…
Driving 20 minutes in a drippy tuk-tuk in the rain, then slipping and sliding down a path that’s more mud than road in our dress clothes, just to arrive at church and be asked to present a song for the service.
Real life is…
Jenga games, worship sessions in English and Lao, and watching movies in Thai with the kids.
Real life is…
That moment you realize the woman who washes your clothes uses a detergent you’re allergic to – and you sent ALL your clothes to her.
Real life is…
Not having plans, and watching God’s plans unfold instead.
