here i am almost nine months older than i was last time i was at home. novel answer questions looming ahead “what did you learn” “how was your trip” “which country was your favorite” i used to think the hardest thing to answer was what restaurant i wanted to go to but now these bad boys take the cake. i have survived multiple
rainy african nights with
bugs in the bunk rooms a lot like
you’d imagine locusts in egypt ,
ripped my left knee open in
every country i’ve stepped foot in,
i failed at learning the harmonica
, i succeeded in facing heartbreak
when leaving places,
i ate dog,
i taught liz how to cartwheel
and i was burnt in fires but came out tarnished and stronger. his way has been the most precious and pure. yet never once was i bored with said way.
i’ll stay singing the highest praises for the rest of my days. and they ask what did i learn? that the father is always showing new sides of his face so who am i to put him in a box. the definitions i had written about not only this world but my creator were rewritten. tools packed into my belt about true identity, gospel living, stewardship of abbas creation, power and authority of our words and so many more this would take up the whole internet. i learned that i do have passions. i learned i do have gifts. i was challenged in ways i may never want to be challenged again. i learned fear and comparison are the nastiest things to ever come to existence. i learned i form community and that i am anointed. i learned i am an encourager. i saw miracles upon miracles. i was shown a new level of grace and an understanding of the level i will need for coming back home. i developed my own favorites because of me not because they were someone else’s. my patience was tried. my heart was broken for the world. comparison riddled my life for a horrible season. the power of intercession broke chains. so many things. one day i’ll write a book i think.
and then they’ll ask how was my trip? hard. so hard. but in such a temporary fleshly way- i lived glory to glory.
another popular question is, “which country was my favorite?”
swaziland showed me freedom, instilled in me a love for his word and abbas character was shown in every encounter.
nepal grew me in honor, showed me what living out the gospel looked like and opened my eyes to the stealthy hold satan has on this world.
india showed me how purposeful everything our God does is, how much he cares for his church and brought me one of my best friends and favorite .
guatemala gave me so many dang tools to use, an even larger appreciation for hospitality and a better understanding of loving your family. there are so many tales i never want to tire of telling. our creator is such an extravagant dude. it is good and it is finished yet it has just begun.
love is a battlefield a dear friend used to frequently say. bringing the kingdom is as equal of a battlefield. good thing it constitutes the same thing.
