I am pretty certain that this blog is going to be a volcano of emotion and memories, but I will do my best to follow a train of thought.
This is the blog. The one that wraps it all up. The blog that talks about the end. The one I didn’t realize I would be writing so soon. What is it like to be at the end of the World Race? To know that after traveling to 11 countries for the past 11 months that in just 11 days I will set foot on familiar territory. I will be in a place that I actually know, a place I consider to be home.
It’s at a time like this that I have to look back and appreciate all that God has brought me through. This year has been full of His work around me and within me. Serbia almost feels like a lifetime ago.
Month 1:
Serbia was a lesson from the Lord in embracing people. It was an awesome start to my race. I constantly remember God teaching me of the value of people around me. Each person holding a beautiful reminder of God’s own image. It’s funny, God taught me a lesson from the very beginning of His Bible at the beginning of my Race.
Month 2:
Albania was about hard work. We only ended up staying at the farm for 2 weeks because of our quick turnover to helping with the crisis in Greece, but I do remember how God spoke to me there. In short, what you put in is exactly what you’ll get. The days felt long on the farm, yet I wanted to work hard to prove worthy of serving Jesus in all circumstances. Especially during the times it doesn’t look very glamorous.
Month 3:
I am pretty sure that Greece will be my answer when you ask me what my favorite month ended up being. There were a number of close seconds for sure. It was in Greece that the Lord taught me how to be a warrior for Him. To stand tall when everything around me crumbles. In Greece, many times, I saw the camp and often wondering how we could possibly help this many hurting people. The Lord told me to stand tall. In that place, I could love and show God’s complete control of every situation by taking one step at a time. I couldn’t solve a war, but I could bring food to the hungry who were running. I remember thinking: They’re not running from something as much as they’re hoping of running to something. They were looking. Others might say they’re search was for a better future, but I believe their search was actually for Jesus. It just so happened that this war drove them from what they knew to a whole new world. A place where our teams had the opportunity to be Jesus in skin to them.
Month 4:
In South Africa, the Lord called me to my future, a future I had never expected. It was in South Africa that God told me I will be a teacher of His word to many. The funny thing about teaching is that it was the spiritual gift I had considered to be my worst. God said that was the very reason He was calling me to it. I would never be able to take the credit for the work He would do through my teaching. All the glory would go to Him.
Month 5:
Absolutely no question about it! Zimbabwe was my hardest month. Here, I had to guard against false teachers and at the same time stand up for scriptures truth. The Lord specifically said to me during this month: you will be an ambassador of my truth. You must know my truth and deliver it according to how I lead you.
Month 6:
Lesotho was an incredible picture of how the Lord sees each one of us and where we are at. It was during this month that God lavished us with gifts of rest and encouraging people. In Lesotho, I was reminded that God is good through the difficulties and through the blissful times in our life. Our team met other missionaries from America in this country. We were encouraged over and over again as we joined with them in worshipping and awesome conversations about how God is always at work.
Month 7:
The Philippines taught me to look for God in every nook and cranny. He was effecting so many different areas of that country and town. I didn’t see it at first, but as each day passed I found the Lord’s hand in a whole new a way. I saw Him in churches, in schools, in alleyways, in dramas, and in the people I said hello to in passing. My eyes were refreshed so that I saw God every moment as long as I chose to look for Him.
Month 8:
I absolutely loved working at the guesthouse in Cambodia. Here, I was shown on an even deeper level what it means to see a person’s need. I learned how to be the person who could pinpoint and meet a need in another. We had such an awesome time loving on our hosts in Cambodia. We were able to bring the gifts God gave to us and use them fully for others.
Month 9:
My favorite part of Thailand by far was having my dad come! I am so thankful for the family I’ve come from. I learned in Thailand that I want to raise my children with the same desires my parents gave to me, the desire to serve Jesus no matter the cost.
Month 10:
The second time we were in Cambodia, God taught me what it looks like to take ownership of the ministry I do. We weren’t given hardly any tasks when working with this church. They mostly just wanted us to do anything to help so it took seeking God in this month and choosing to do ministry even when I had no idea what that was. I have a good feeling that this will apply to me in many ways as I journey forward. There are always opportunities to serve the Lord and it’s perfectly okay to learn how to create those opportunities as well.
Month 11:
The last month, Vietnam. The lesson I’m learning here is typical, but I don’t mind. It is in this last month that the Lord is drawing ever so close to me and asking me to cherish. Cherish every day. Cherish the people He gave to me. Cherish the amazing memories I have. And most importantly, cherish our relationship. Because the truth doesn’t change. God is my stability through the many changes that I’ve endured and He will be my constant through all the changes I am about to encounter. Emmanuel. God is here, with me, with us.
Coming home is going to be both wonderful and extremely hard. Yet, God is so faithful. I am fully confident that this upcoming year is about to hold some awesome miracles from Him that I will have the blessing to see. I have a long way to go before God is done with me. I’m ready to keep running this race. I’m racing to Jesus with every once of strength in me. To sum it all up, I would like to end with the words of John Newton:
I am not what I ought to be.
I am not what I want to be.
I am not what I hope to be.
But by the grace of God, I am not what I was.
(If you are interested in hearing in more detail about any paticular month, feel free to reach out to me with your thoughts. I simply kept these short considering I wanted to go over all 11 months.)
