43 days left…

for the 10th time
i unpacked my bags
made up my bed
and settled into my temporary home
month 10 of the race…wow! this race has truly flown by!

i sit on my bed between ministry and look at all the pictures from the past 10 months on my computer…
i write down memories from each month in my journal…
and for those split seconds i relive the last year of my life
the hardships
the tears
the laughs
the relationships
the children
the ministries
the sightseeing
the travel days
the sickness
the responsiblity
the world race

i have 43 days left on the race..fourty three!
that's a little over a month
and i know your probably thinking "Erica i know how long 43 days is…"
but in 43 days my life as i know it is over…
this amazing chapter is coming to a close, no more kids screaming "MZUNGU!" or being an automatic celebrity everywhere you go, no more jumping on a motorbike to go to the grocery store or picking up baby goats & chickens during ministry to have something to play with…
all this craziness that has been my life for the past year is coming to end

and ill be back in America, living out the next season of my life.
How do you go from crazy world traveler missionary christian completely out of her mind person to a student, a daughter, a friend, a sister, just a regular person in a regular life?
i honestly can't answer that
because no piece of me says that ill ever be regular or normal again
I've seen things that are unexplainable
I've felt things that are a once in a lifetime feeling
I've lived places people wouldn't dare go near
I've played with the dirtiest and laughed with the rejected
I've prayed with the ones that people see as "useless"
and I've hugged the ones that are completely invisible!

this past year has not only changed the way i think but it has changed the way i act
it has challenged me to be a better person
to notice the unnoticed, to love the unloved, and to build relationships with the lonely

but i believe that this is apart of my character now
its the NEW & IMPROVED Erica!

i know when i land on that South Carolina soil i'm going to automatically miss the times in Guatemala when i would cook for the team, the times in Vietnam when we would go watch the basketball games at midnight and then stop by seven eleven before going back home,  the times when i would sing & dance with mom, agape, and patrick in the kitchen while making dinner, or playing dutch blitz in Uganda on the dirty carpet

i will miss the sweet times i had on all three of my team
the hot days, the starry nights, and the moments of love & laughter…
i will miss b-squad and the family that they have become to me…
i will miss this community and traveling with all of these crazy people that i call my best friends…
i will miss every bit of the race…

but as a adult i have to realize its time to make plans, to work towards a goal, and to accomplish something
everyone idea of success is different and my success is based on the Lord and what he calls me to do

43 days will be long gone before i can even blink my eyes
so though my heart is in preparation for what's to come
i know that i will never be fully settled or fully satisfied because the rest of my life will be devoted to the Lord and his plan for my life

so heres to the next 43 days, i promise to:
laugh until i cry
to sing at the top of my lungs
to make plans with my squad mates & teammates for when we get home
to find a cute dress to wear on the airplane
to eat as much chipote as i can
to sit outside and watch the stars more
to be completely filthy covered head to toe in dirt everyday
to take my team as a blessing
to love people beyond what the human heart is used to
to make ministry hard to leave
to realize and appreciate daddy's beautiful landscape
to hug kids & people i meet harder than i have ever hugged before
to take more pictures that capture beautiful moments
to meet with daddy everyday..hours upon hours
to make memories
and to embrace life-just as it is…PERFECT!