I am HOME.
It’s a surreal feeling & honestly it makes this last year feel kind of like a dream. I am writing this on my back porch with a cup of brewed coffee in hand. I am no longer surrounded by the 30 strangers that quickly became family. I can understand everything everyone is saying around me. I am no longer immersed in crazy, diverse cultures, but rather one that is so familiar. I am surrounded by the friends & family I have been longing to see for the past 11 months. I can flush toilet paper. I am in AMERICA.
I’m still trying to discern how I feel. Thinking about this past year and all that I experienced is a bit overwhelming. “Happy” & “sad” seem to be too small of words to describe the vast range of my current emotions & I don’t know if any blog post could ever properly summarize it all. As I sit here & try & sift through all of the memories, emotions, & experiences the Lord highlights an underlying feeling of thankfulness. Sitting in my cozy home in Dallas, TX I look back on this past year & I can’t believe the Lord gave me the honor of living it. I can’t believe He gave me the honor of sharing Jesus’ name & serving people all across the Middle East & Asia. I can’t believe He turned a dream I didn’t even know I had into a reality. I can’t believe I had the honor of leading my squad the second half of the Race. I can’t believe I had the honor to love dozens & dozens of women across the globe. I am so thankful.
I am thankful for every person we got to love on the El Camino.
I am thankful for every meal we shared in a local’s house in Morocco.
I am thankful for every intimate moment shared with the Lord in Cyprus.
I am thankful for every joyful laugh shared with a fellow traveler in Hostel Beirut, Lebanon.
I am thankful for every frustrated tear from hard lessons learned in Jordan.
I am thankful for every song sung next to Jesus’ tomb in Israel.
I am thankful for the slow, cold mornings living in community with the women around me in Armenia.
I am thankful for the moments where the Lord taught me to stop striving in Georgia.
I am thankful for the hard lessons learned in Azerbaijan.
I am thankful for every single crazy, life changing second in Uzbekistan.
I am thankful for every teenager we got to love in Kyrgyzstan.
I am thankful for every conversation we had with Queen Esther’s family in countryside of Mongolia.
I am thankful for every opportunity we got to worship on the streets of China.
I am thankful for every single person on my squad.
I am thankful for the 3 ladies I got to lead with.
I am thankful for all of the things I learned from every local believer & every missionary I came in contact with.
I am thankful for every dollar you gave to me, every comment on my blog, every letter sent, every facetime call that made me feel so extremely loved & supported.
I am so beyond thankful for every bit of this beautiful & hard journey.
Thank you for holding my hand through it all.
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Home. Now I’m home & getting all adjusted back into the American life. In some ways it’s harder than I thought it would be. Culture shock is a real thing even after reentering your own country! But I am so thankful for the relationships that just started right where we left off. They make the transition a whole lot easier. I am looking so forward to these next couple of months at home in Texas surrounded by some of the people I love most. It has already been the sweetest time full of reunions & parties & chic fil a. I am so thankful for these people. They are my home!!!
Ps. Stay tuned to what’s up NEXT! Big, exciting things are coming up! 🙂
M Squad on our last night in China
Cortnie, Emily, & Talia – My incredible Co Leaders, could not have done this thing without them.
Our beautiful coach Jenn. Jenn & AJ were the best coaches we could have ever asked for!
MADE IT HOME!
My mom kept a map of our journey up all year. She still made me feel so loved & thought of as I traveled all across the world.
Finally got to see sis!
My best friends threw me the sweetest coming home party!
One of the people I missed most!
This girl wrote me a letter for every single month I was gone + a letter from another friend for every month + she called me in every single country. I am still overwhelmed by all the love she shows me. This is a pic of us seeing each other for the 1st time :’)
Came home to a big fat YES to being this girls bridesmaid!!!
So many reunions my heart could just burst. I love these men & women.
