Written Nov 19th & 20th.
A year ago today, I stepped off a plane in Ohio. A year ago today I was greeted by my family. I hugged my mother, my father hugged us both, and we all shed some tears.
A year ago today, I came home from the World Race.
I remember flying into NYC from Ukraine a year ago. I couldn’t believe the World Race was over. An exhilarating 11 months of traveling, loving, serving. The whole experience felt surreal, like a dream. When I woke up in my bed the morning after, I remember rubbing my eyes and wondering if it wasn’t all just a dream. I remember it felt eery, how normal it seemed to wake up in my own bed, or to be back in American culture; making all the other mornings I had waken up elsewhere, in another culture, seem imagined.
Now, I look out over Seattle as my airplane approaches and the reality hits me, I just flew from the exact opposite side of the world to get here. . . . I am visiting the USA. . . . I live in Cambodia.
The feeling is the exact opposite from the previous year, not surreal at all, as the reality sinks into my mind of what my life truly is, and where I have landed as a result.
In the last year . . .
I heard the sweet words, “Welcome home, Ms. Paulick” from the immigration officer after 11 months of being away from home.
I have cherished my relationship with my parents more than ever.
My grandmother and I continued our Christmas tradition of drinking Hazelnut coffee and eating pound cake.
Some of my favorite evenings were spent at my sister’s new house sharing delicious meals with her and her Husband.
I walked through the slums of Phnom Penh and fell in love with the children.
I befriended young, teenage girls in Thailand, and came face to face with helplessness and outrage as I watched men- old enough to be their grandfathers- grope and paw at them.
I walked the streets of Calcutta’s most notorious red light district and found hope and beauty in the faces of women now set free from a life of prostitution.
I met the most amazing Americans and Kiwis with pink and purple hair in India!
I have watched Tangled more than 10 times so far, it is one of my FAVORITES.
God began speaking to me about His plans for my life, and asking me to weigh the cost of following Him.
I completed two full circuits around the entire world.
I fell in love with a man in ATL . . . . this lil man!
My WRHT team discovered deep love and intimacy reside on the other side of conflict, and we learned how to love each other well.
I met some girls headed to Cambodia, and the Lord poured so much love into my heart for them. Then He told me to join them in Cambodia.
I spent the summer planking, sitting around campfires, and loving.
I met the Lord each summer morning on the open road as I biked through the countryside.
One of my favorite times of the day was when I stopped after my morning ride to have a cup of coffee with my Bubbe.
I celebrated my birthday with one of my best friends in our usual fashion: sushi and pedicures!
God has provided for ALL my needs.
I became a full-time missionary.
I moved to a foreign country.
I began learning and speaking a new language.
The Lord has begun teaching me more about humility, loving, and serving others.
I have struggled to know how to pray with great faith.
I have learned that it is imperative to suit-up with the armor of God because every day I am walking into a battle.
I have eaten some pretty weird things: tarantulas; chicken feet; crickets; pig kidneys; and meat from inside a small shell that I couldn’t identify.
I have learned how to make one Khmer dish well.
Full-time mission work has shown me that it is impossible to walk by sight successfully; we MUST walk, at ALL times, by the Spirit and not by sight, otherwise things go pear shaped.
Jesus crucified my flesh with Him; it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me and this life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.
I have grown accustomed to not wearing seat belts, shopping in a marketplace, taking cold showers, riding my bike in PP traffic and surviving, wearing jeans in 90+ degree weather, and eating rice more than bread.
I have been more reliant on Jesus to be my Lord, Lover, Papa, Savior, Justifier, Redeemer, and Friend.
I discovered I loved the Khmer/American band Dengue Fever.
I have made friends with two of the most beautiful street children and now we call ourselves sisters.
And now, exactly one year from the day that I heard those sweet words for the first time,
“Welcome Home, Ms. Paulick.” . . . . I hear them again.
Today, I will step off of a plane in Ohio. Today, I will be greeted by family. I will hug my mother, my father will hug us both and we will all probably shed a few tears.
Today, I am returning from Cambodia.
