This blog post is question and answers post from all of the questions that my mama asked me during the PVT. I hope you get a kick out of my reflections on the past 8 months. Enjoy!
Q: What has been the best part of the World Race?
A: Honestly, choosing one particular moment has the best part is a near impossible task. My Race has been filled with emotional and spiritual ups and downs that have been a cause for celebrations and for grief. The best parts have been those moments of absolute clarity. When I can look at a situation and say “This right here is why I was sent around the world for 11 months.” These moments have happened countless times. For instance, praying for my friend Goma (the woman who smelt of alcohol) in Nepal or when I got to encourage Mark in the park. Just getting to see God’s confirmation is like a tangible hug from Him.
Q: What has been the hardest part of the World Race?
A: The hardest part is always the end of the month. By the end of my short few weeks at a particular ministry, I am emotionally torn. Part of me is itching for my next country, my next adventure. And the other part of me is at a loss. I want to stay; I want to continue to invest; I don’t want to leave my new friends. It feels as if my heart gets torn in two each time I have to say goodbye again.
Q: In what ways do you think you have changed in the past 8 months?
A: My heart has been changed in so many ways, by so many people. However, I think this question is a challenge for me to answer because I don’t have perspective of an outsider. In one specific way, I would say that without a doubt I am bolder and more confident. I feel less inhibited by my own fears, and able to step out and pray for a stranger or preach in front of my elders. I am freer.
Q: What has God been showing you this year?
A: God has been showing me a lot and so many varied things. Most recently, God has been reteaching me that I need only be still. I just need to depend on Him in all things and He will take care of all my worries. (Exodus 14:14)
Q: How do you really feel about your team?
A: Here’s the undiluted truth. It is challenging living life with people. It is challenging when you live in rough conditions (7 girls one room, one bucket to wash clothes and shower with). It is challenging when you are with the same people day in and day out for months on end. It is challenging because we all have issues. It is challenging, because we all can be emotional. It challenging because sometimes you don’t even want to talk to anyone else let alone see someone who annoys you. However, despite these challenges I can honestly say that I have loved my time with team Nahala (and team Crash & Burn). It is hard and it is raw, but it is also real and it is worth the struggles.
Q: What are the stand out moments for you?
A: I have a stand out moment in each country, but for this Q&A I will share the past 4 countries (India, Nepal, South Africa, and Swaziland).
In India, the stand out moment was when it poured rain in a village we were working in. It had not rained in this village for 4 years, and while my team was going through our children’s program, there was a deluge. The rain brought all of the adults into the church and gave us a platform to share Jesus with the entire community.
In Nepal, I was able to share my testimony (and the gospel) with a board of directors at a city hospital in Kathmandu. These learned men were all Hindus, but God gave me a platform to discuss my medical issues (diabetes, hyperthyroidism, etc.) and therefore talk about the healing and redemption found in Christ. My team also got to ride home from ministry that night in an ambulance, which was just fun!
In South Africa, my team decided to go to Hillsong Church in Cape Town one Sunday. The church service and worship was brief, but amazing. Afterwards, they had volunteers available to pray. My team decided to get prayed over. It was so encouraging to have others praying for us instead of us always pouring out for others. After that we got coffee, and chatted with some of the Hillsong volunteers. They even offered to save us money and drive us back to where we were living (which was a huge blessing!).
In Swaziland, my standout moment was this little boy at my carepoint. I never found out his name (language barrier problems) but he was my little one. I don’t know what hardships he was facing, but each day I would just hold him in my lap while he cried his eyes out. However, on my last day at the carepoint, my little one was a bundle of smiles and laughter. Just watching him smile as he swung on the swing warms my heart in ways I can’t properly relate.
Q: If you could return to only one country from your Race which country would you choose?
A: While all of my countries/months have been special and vital in their own right, two countries have been particularly special to my heart. The first is Kosova, my very first country, and the second is Nepal, my sixth country. The persecuted church is where I feel called long-term and both of these countries suffer from persecution.
Q: Where are you going to go from here?
A: Right now I am still praying about what’s next. Grad school for Non-profit business? Working for International Christian Concern (an organization that is based in Washington D.C. and raises awareness for the international persecuted church)? More mission work? Something else which God has yet revealed? I honestly don’t know where I am going yet. I do know that I am going to God with my options first, and I am trusting He will let me know where I am going when it is time.
