I think about a lot of things as I begin to prepare for this spectacular adventure. For instance with Thanksgiving coming up, I think about, for a whole year this will be my last Thanksgiving with my family. Next year I’ll have Halloween in the Balkans, Christmas and Thanksgiving in the Philippines, Easter in South Africa, and my birthday possibly in an airport. I don’t know about you but this excites me, it makes me smile. It saddens me that my family can’t be with me while I celebrate, but it also brings me joy that I get to experience these things with a whole new family and team.
I have dreamt since I was a little girl, that one day I would be able to travel the world and see new cultures and my dream has come true tenfold, because not only do I get to travel the world, I get to do it while being a missionary, I get to do it proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ our Lord. I get to experience the world’s biggest holidays in a new way and in a new culture while also still being at the foot of the cross.
I also think about my friends and how different they will be when I come back or how different I will be. I think about all the amazing times we’ve had and all the laughs we’ve shared. I think about how they encouraged me into being a better Christian, and how we would have discussions of faith in the middle of the beach at 1:00 in the morning, and most importantly how they encouraged me to stand up for what I believe in and to have my own faith and not someone else’s. I think about all the pain we have shared and how all of us have grown from it. I think about who they will become and I wonder how each of my friends will change, either for the better or for the worst.
I wonder what will happen to my family in the next year. Who will get married? Who will have a kid? I wonder what my niece will be like and she’s not even born yet. I wonder how much will my nephew will change in just a short 9 months.
I wonder.
This is amazing I get to see my new family and team grow in Christ, but I get to see my family and friends change in Christ.
