I am shocked at the fact that being on the World Race has not yet hit me. I am dreading the day when it hits me like a sack of bricks square in the face. I haven’t cried. I haven’t felt homesick. I have however felt at peace. Felt like for once I have made the right decision. For the first time in my life I can honestly say that I am happy. I am gleaming day and night. I smile because I am surrounded with people who have the same interests as me and for the first time in a long time I am surrounded by people who get me. They get my weird quirks, they understand my adventuring soul and know when I am lost in my own thoughts. Yes, I have only known these people for a few months but I have come to find that these are the type of people that I want to spend the rest of my life with. These are the kind of people; God loving, God fearing, people loving, life changing people who lift you up even when you aren’t down. For the first time in a long time I can say “bring it on” and walk completely blind into a situation but have FULL confidence in the direction that it is going to go in. I have never felt so safe with such a plethora of people that are still technically strangers to me. They are always going to be there… day and night through life and death, good and bad. It is amazing to think that I am going to be spending eternity with these people. I love it. I love where God has put me and I love what He is doing in my life and how he is showing me that there is more to life than the nasty American privileges that we drown ourselves in. Only to blind ourselves from the real world.
My dad always said while I was growing up that “a family that prays together stays together” I find this to be the most true statement to this day. Gap J is a family that prays for any need big or small and when we pray, we pray together. Just like we always will. Togetherness in prayer is what keeps us as close as we are. I am blessed to have both a blood family that prays together and a family of Christ that prays together. I am blessed to be living in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It may only be for three months but I have been here for just four days and have already fallen in love. It’s crazy to me that I would even say that “I love this city” but I truly do. It has such an unrecognized beauty to it that you can only experience if you go there. Spend time with the people. You may not be able to hold much of a conversation with them but it means the world to them if you at least try. I talked to a man on the bus today on the way to the market and he told me his entire life story, in Spanish might I add and for a Spanish class drop out after sophomore year I did not know much. In fact I knew almost nothing until I touched down in Quito. Instantly my Spanish came flowing back to me, I was able to hold my own in the conversation. We talked about our families, the reason I was in Quito, where I was going today and vise versa. We even talked about God. He told me how he came to Christ and I understood every word. Language may be a barrier for some instances but for the right situations it has nothing to do with the telling of a story. Language is not only something referring to the words you speak but also the motions you make. You can tell an entire story with a wave of your hand. All it takes is for someone to listen and be willing to try. Ask questions. Listen. Listen. Listen. A person will tell you anything it just takes the heart of the interviewer to be open both in their mind and their ears. So yes, it is shocking that I have not yet missed home. But I have found a home where I am, I have a home anywhere I go because I make it that way and God makes it that way for me. Yes, it is shocking that saying “Sí” on the bus ride next to a strange man can turn into an amazing conversation. Even more so it is SHOCKING to me that people don’t even take the time of day to get to know a complete stranger even if it is only for a few minutes. All you have to say is “Hola”. That’s it. It’s shocking that there are so many people in the world who don’t know the love of Jesus but that is something that can be fixed one conversation at a time. No excuses.
