1) Any information about adoptions.
Unfortunately, I don’t know anything about how someone can adopt a child overseas. This has not been something that I have personally come in contact with. Many of the children I worked with who were in orphanages were placed there permanently. Typically in the places I worked with, if something were to happen to the parents they would go to the nearest relative.
Im sorry I cant be more help!
2) What are the 5 strangest things you have eaten?
Surprisingly, I haven’t come across many situations where “strange” food has been placed in front of me. There have been things that are questioning and somewhat unappetizing. But also I learned that in many different cultures, they eat what they have and that may look different than I am used to.
Some things I have come across:
Tarantula in Cambodia. This was voluntary.
Chicken hearts in curry. In India a teammate of mine always seemed to find she was the lucky one. Luckily (I think) this never happened to me.
Chicken feet in the soup. I didn’t eat the feet but I did have the broth. This was found in many Asian dishes and was a delicacy.
Rice for breakfast. This may not seem that strange, but I can tell you rice just isn’t the same when you have to eat it bright and early in the morning.
Innards. Enough said.
3) What has surprised you the most on your trip?
How hard it is to say goodbye to each country.
How hard it is to live in community.
How much of Gods love is all around.
When we arrive in each country we don’t know what to expect. There have ben so many countries I have been too where it was heartbreaking to leave. In such a short amount of time you fall in love with the people, the food, and the environment. It is hard not too. I never realized I would be leaving a piece of my heart in each of these countries.
Living in community is hard. You have to choose to say yes each and every day. These people are with you 24/7 and more often than not there isn’t a place where you can venture off by yourself for some alone time. The amazing thing about community though is how much we care about each other. We care about each others growth. About each others walks with God. And about becoming the best person we can be. Without community I would not have been able to change the way I have.
Gods love for His people is EVERYWHERE. I knew this of course, but what surprised me the most is how He loves them. We are so lucky in America with out air conditioned churches, comfortable pews, and musical equipment. Or even just a building. People around the world love God as much as we do with LESS. Its been amazing to see Christians around the world living out Gods love for His people.
4) What didn’t you want to do?
Hmm…There are actually many things I didn’t want to do on the race, but if I hadn’t I wouldn’t have learned what I did.
-I didn’t want to preach in Ivory Coast. I have a fear of public speaking and it was month one. I didn’t feel qualified enough. I ended up facing my fears and did a good job. (Still scared me, but now I know Gods got me covered)
-I didn’t want to leave Ghana. I fell in love with this country, the ministry, and the children. If I didn’t come here though, I would have never come in contact with child trafficking and a passion to be involved with this organization.
-I didn’t want to go on the camping trip in Nepal. We were supposed to put our faith in God and allow Him to provide us with a place to stay for the night. I had God in a box and didn’t think that was possible. Little did I know we would find just the right person and ended up seeing the most beautiful sunrise the next morning.
-I didn’t want to live the village life in India. The last thing I wanted to do was travel from village to village sleeping in churches and pastors homes not knowing when my next shower would be. It ended up being one of the best months for my team and I have some of the best memories there. Plus we got to work with the sweetest kids and became good friends with our translator.
-I didn’t want to teach in Cambodia. I always thought teaching was not my thing. I still believe that, but I learned to give myself some more credit than that. I am capable of teaching. Just because it isn’t y favorite doesn’t mean it isn’t possible. Plus once again, I fell in love with the children.
-I didn’t want to listen to God in Laos. In the beginning of our month we tried to control the situations around us and weren’t allowing God in on our decisions. We learned fairly quickly that this was not going to work. As soon as we allowed God into our decisions He opened up many door for us and put so many people in our path.
5) What has made the greatest impact on your relationship with the Lord?
Getting baptized in Nepal was a huge stepping stone in my relationship with the Lord. It allowed me to surrender all the things that I was putting before the Lord.
Being in daily communication with Him. Whether that be through praying, reading my bible, devotionals or worship music. On the race I am creating healthy habits for myself that I will be able to take back with me and apply them at home.
More recently, the greatest impact is reminding myself how much God truly loves me. How much His love is in everything and that in order for me to allow others in I need to break down the walls.
6) What have you learned? What has God revealed to you about yourself throughout your time?
SO. MUCH.
Every month my relationship with the Lord only seems to grow. Each month I think I am done learning for a bit before He shows me something else I need to work on.
I have learned a lot about surrendering the things that were taking Gods place. Surrendering control of the things that I, in fact, cannot control.
Learning that it is okay to put God before anyone else in your life and not only is it okay, but it is what God wants.
I have learned that even though I think God isn’t there, He is still working around me and through me.
I learned that there are many things we need to work on in our own character to “live more like Jesus.” These may be hard to hear, but in my heart I knew them to be true.
I have learned that God knows exactly what my future holds and me worrying about it is doing nothing but hurting me. He will show me when He wants and in India He did just that.
I learned that change is GOOD. Change is needed. I love change. It keeps things interesting and keeps me growing.
I learned that I never truly let people in. I learned I keep people at a distance and in order to change that I needed to redefine love and allow God to love me.
I learned to love running. Not the actual physical part, but it is the one time a day where all my thoughts aren’t going wild in my head. Its the time where I find the most peace.
Most importantly, I learned my relationship with the Lord is different than anyones else. I don’t have to do all the things that the people around me are doing. My relationship is between Him and I. I also know that it will never stop growing. That my favorite part.
7) Are you afraid of anything?
In the beginning, I was afraid of not changing. Coming back from the race the exact same person I was when I left. Luckily, that isn’t the case anymore because I KNOW I am changed. It is hard not too on this experience.
I feel like I am afraid of many things, but each day they seem to fall away. Things like not being good enough, disappointing others, not living up to my full potential. Even little things such as sharks, heights, and vulnerability.
I want to live a life where I have no fear. I don’t want to be afraid of living my life to the fullest and stepping outside my comfort zones to share the Gospel.
8) Did you taken pictures from the hot air balloon!?
9) What’ve you learned about how culture impacts our lives and understanding of the Gospel?
I have learned that church can happen anywhere. It can happen in a building, in a home, or preaching from the back of a truck with the mountains in the background. The cultures around me don’t worry so much about how big their church is. They care about worshiping the Father.
I have also learned that you don’t need to speak the language to know the Holy Spirit is present. There have been many Sundays where we didn’t have a translator (or did but still count understand) but there was a fire in each persons spirit.
In some cultures where they have a Hindu religion, many of the people we came across who were considered Christians also believed in other gods. This helped my understanding of the Gospel by showing these people that there was a choice to be made. Serve God and God alone. Or serve these other gods. We were able to lead by example and speak truth into those around us.
10) What’s something you want us back home to know about this to better ourselves and our relationships with God?
One thing I would share with those back at home to better yourselves is to be aware of the things around you. It is so easy to pass by someone in need with blind eyes. We are so focused on what we are supposed to do, we don’t allow God to interfere and show us what He wants us to do. Never get too busy where you aren’t able to show the people around you how much God loves them. Even if that means taking some time that you don’t think you have to show this to someone else.
With your relationship with God, I would say it is okay to fail. God already knows we are going to. Don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day of devotional or miss a church service or forget to pray. God understands and He doesn’t condemn you for it. Remind yourself that you are human and are bound to mess up. Pick yourself back up and try again. Then again. Then again.
11) Have you seen any miracles?
By the actual definition of a miracle “a highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences.” No, i personally have not.
This doesn’t stop my beliefs for them though. Because I have heard so many stories about the marvelous things the Lord has done for others and read about them in the Bible I know the Lord will show me them in time.
A blind man was healed. Demonic forces have been cast out. My coaches and mentors also share of stories that they have seen in their travels. Such as limbs growing back before their eyes and the power of witchcraft and spells.
