God brought you on a long, weird, crazy journey, and you’re just starting. Here are some things you should know.
1) Open your mind. Logic isn’t going to serve you well. Things are going to blow your mind, and it’s gonna start soon. Do not run from it. Instead, run toward Him.
2) Trust. The world around you is scary and dangerous. But it is also, and much more often, bright and joyous. Look for the sunshine in every moment. Don’t think the worst of people, of situations, of God. Let down your walls. It’ll be ok.
3) Just do it. Push the extra mile. Try that ridiculous looking food. Skip that hour of sleep to play with the kids you live with. Tell your teammates about yourself, good and bad. You will never regret the things you did, only the ones you didn’t.
4) You won’t break. Walking might, literally, be tough starting out. Just when you feel like you’ve gotten your feet back under you, you’ll get cut down. You’ll never be on the team you want. The ministry will always look greener (except in Malaysia and Cambodia, so savor those). Things won’t ever seem to go your way. So what? You’ll get malaria. You’ll fall harder on this trip than you ever have in life, and then he’ll be gone. You will feel like the world is crumbling down around you. But you will keep going, and you’ll be just fine.
5) It’ll all be worth it. I know you do not believe this. But you’ll make it. Month 11 will come, and a part of you will wonder where the time went. You’ll wonder if you loved hard enough, if you waited too long, if you missed something. Don’t worry. You will do what you can. You won’t always be your best, but that’s life. But believe me, you’ll be better when this is all over.
6) Soak it in. Remember every detail you can. Especially the ones that seem too small, too insignificant. The faintest smile. The softest laugh. The silly little questions. Those are the moments you’ll cling to as the months, and eventually years, fade away. Hold tight to them.
7) No one will forget about you. I know one of your biggest fears is that people at home won’t remember you. That their lives will move on, that you won’t be a part of that, and that there will be no place for you when you get home. Don’t worry. They still love you and they’ll be excited for you to get home. But until then, be ok with exactly where you are in the world. That’s the only way you’ll have good stories to tell when you get home.
8) Be tired. Let yourself be so thrown into this thing that you are exhausted every single day. It’s ok. Even if you give your all every day, no matter how much that happens to be, you’ll still make it to the end. There will be days where you think it’ll kill you to try a little harder. And it might (probably not). Do it anyways. You will feel so overwhelmed, so angry, so annoyed, so disheartened, so defeated that you won’t think you’ll be able to make it another minute, much less another day, week or month. Let Jesus carry you in those moments. You cannot, and will not, do this thing on your own.
9) You’ll finish. One day soon(ish… But actually not soon at all), you will be sitting in Vietnam looking back on the last 11 months. Yes, you will make it. You will not give up, even though there will be lots of times you’ll want to. But you’re in this. For God, for you, for your squad. You’re here and you’ll finish. Just take it one day at a time.
Well, that’s all I got. The rest you’ll figure out with every bump and bruise, every triumph and victory. Good luck. See ya in 11 months!
Love,
Month 11 Me
