In just a few weeks, my feet will once again be on American soil. I will be home surrounded by friends and family, and once again, the chaos of the American society. Honestly, it is a bitter sweet feeling. I get to see my parents, my brother, my closest friends, and so on. I get to see what God has planned for my future and what He has prepared me for through the race. I get to drive my car and go wherever I please. I get to begin working again and supporting myself financially. But truthfully, I will be losing a lot when I return home also.
There will be no more waking up to a rooster at 6am as it is screaming to the top of it’s little lungs right outside of my window. No more walking the clay streets of foreign countries greeting the locals in my broken local language. No more beautiful community of sitting in a room with 6-8 people who know you possibly more than your closest friends at home while just having deep conversations. No more sitting in a circle of over 30 people collectively singing beautiful praises to God with the ones I have grown to love over these 11 months. What I now see as normal will be no more.
But this isn’t all bad. These 11 months don’t just go to the trash. No, these 11 months prepare me to go home and build community once again. To find those 6-8 people to have super deep and vulnerable conversations with. To find those 30+ people to praise and worship God freely and however they choose. It has prepared me to see the brokeness and needs of the ones around me, no matter where I am. It has taught me that I didn’t sign up for JUST 11 months worth of ministry, but a lifetime of following, and doing.
So I am coming home. I am ready to challenge the ones around me. To push them closer to Christ as they push me also. To dive deep into the Word with ones around me. To have deep conversations. To worship freely and boldly. Home isn’t bad, or sad. It is a new opportunity to see Christ move in the lives around me as He moves in mine, and that brings me an abundance of joy in my heart.
I am excited to share my experiences from this year, but also hear about what happened in the lives of you all!
See you soon America!
-Preston
