Some basics for those of you just now dropping in: My sister and I are on an 11-month Christian mission trip to 11 different countries across 4 continents. We’re headed to: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Cambodia, and Thailand. The work will range from country to country in partnership with established ministries in each area.
It’s month 11. My team is in Lira, Uganda
In 3 days, 21 hours, and 56 minutes, we’ll land in Boston. I’ve only been to Boston once. We had chowder or whatever. It was a nice city, but I could never have predicted what it would one day mean to me.
Boston now means home, means a warm shower, means the end. I feel as though Lady Liberty herself will be at baggage claim to greet me with a coppery hug and Taco Bell. Boston. Man, what a beautiful word. I can’t wait to see that tea-stained harbor from the airplane window.
We’re going home. It’s been 11 long months. I actually haven’t written at all about our last one. Here are the quick deets:
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We worked with a ministry called Lightforce in Lira, Uganda. It was one of our best months. Some of us spent the month teaching in the school. The rest of the team did manual labor (read: corn). It was maize season and we harvested, shucked, bagged, dried, shoveled, and drowned in what felt like the largest collection of corn the whole world over. At one point we were literally doing cannonballs into four feet of corn kernels. We also cleared out a few old warehouses (killing a whopping 15 rats in the process) and built a pretty sweet goat pen. It was a great month.
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I’m sorry I haven’t written a lot about my month 11 in Uganda. All my extra time has gone to a last minute project. A few of us are working on creating a yearbook for our squad. When it’s finished I’ll post an electronic copy. Hopefully, the recap of the year will make up for one lost month of blogging. And we actually have one more Rwanda “Week in the Life” to share! We haven’t found strong enough Wifi yet to upload it. So even after I get home you can expect a couple more blogs.
As my Race wraps up I’m doing a lot of processing. I hope to share a lot of what I’ve learned and experienced in person over hot coffee in cozy mugs, freshly showered and wearing machine-laundered American blue jeans. But here’s the major thing: thank you.
At this point, I cannot think over my year without being overwhelmed with gratitude. Quite literally. I’m tearing up just writing this. This year was a privilege. I have seen the work of God across four continents. I’ve held his children in my arms. I’ve cried, worshipped, served, and walked with my family in Christ the whole world over. I’ve been blessed with three spectacular teams, each one unique and perfect. And I have all of you.
I am almost anxious over my need to be taken seriously in this. I need you all, the people back at home, to understand how much you have meant to me, will continue to mean to me. Throughout this year, I have felt supported and loved by you- through blog comments, WhatsApp messages, Facebook shares, etc. I know all of those things might sound shallow and electronic, but they weren’t to me. A world away, comments and messages and random Venmo payments were substitutes for tight hugs and eye contact. Those small gestures made me feel close, supported, and even protected in a weird way. It was like I knew that I hadn’t been forgotten way out here in the world.
And I haven’t forgotten that I am only here because of the gracious family of God that paid for me to be here. Fundraising was hard at the time, but during the Race that $18,000 was more than financial. It was $18,000 worth of “I believe in you” from people who loved me. And I knew they meant it because they backed it in USD.
I cannot be more sincere when I say thank you. This year has been the craziest, hardest, most wonderful year of my life. And it was a gift to me from all of you.
Thank you for that gift.
