Myanmar was an amazing month! Granted, for most of it, I was looking at the ceiling of our room because I had to rest my sprained ankle. But even when I only got to do “ministry” 3 days out of the month, God was doing amazing things in my life and teaching me so much. We were out in the bush of Myanmar at a bible college, where wifi didn’t exist and the mosquitoes were relentless. My team and I really enjoyed our month, and I am walking away with some great lessons.
I am Worshiping Again
I love to worship. That’s where God showed himself to me when I was 13, that’s where I meet with Him the easiest, and that’s how we build our relationship. And I realized that the past 5 months, I hadn’t been worshiping. Not out loud. It didn’t feel welcomed, but this month, I find myself free to worship God wherever I am. Washing my clothes by hand, washing dishes, sitting in my room with my headphones in, I just sing out my worship to my Creator, and I love being back.
Living on God’s Land is Noticeable
We stayed at a Bible College. One either side, there were Buddhist temples. We were surrounded by darkness, but on the property of the bible college, it was filled with peace. There was no fear. Even when the lights turned off at night, we weren’t scared because we felt safe. The couple that runs the school love Jesus. The students want to know more about Jesus and follow Him. That land was claimed by God and you could feel it. Do not think that God doesn’t want the physical land. He wants Heaven to come down to Earth in every single way.
The Love Handles are Back
We live a pretty active life on the World Race. We walk a lot, sweat even more, and eat pretty clean food (non-processed). Because of that, we like to treat ourselves with sweets or chips. Well, I was not moving this month. I was sitting on my butt praying my ankle would heal. I was also very happy and not stressed about my environment. Because of those two factors, my body decided it wanted to keep on some weight. Ehh, there’s always next month.
Hurt and Hope Can Coincide
This month brought an end to my relationship at home. Being on the race does not mean your life in the states stops or disappears. It’s a balance and when you mix in months of horrible wifi and still dealing with past hurts, it gets really hard to do communication well. But one thing that God has shown me is that I can be hurt and not give up hope at the same time. If I am going to grow and heal from this, then I must allow my heart to be hurt while knowing that God is still good and loves me. Both are valid and both are real and right now, I feel both.
This is How I Wanted to Do the World Race
I feel free. Free to be myself, free to show my mess and emotions, free to worship and love Jesus, free to show my passion and love for Jesus, free to laugh, free to pray. I am just free. And it is exactly how I how I pictured myself living the race. It may have taken 5 months, but I’m glad to be in this spot and I pray that I stay in God’s freedom.
Myanmar was personally hard, but spiritually amazing. I got to spend time with God learning about Him and intercession, I was able to bond with my teammates and learn to let them love me, and just about to be myself. We are heading to India, which could look like anything. I am ready!
