Well, it’s official! I have been home for a little over two weeks at this point, and I wanted to write one last post to wrap things up.
First, my eye has been healing wonderfully! After staying in the Chiang Mai hospital for several days, with around the clock eye drops, I recovered the majority of my sight and my eye is just about as good as new! After returning home, I saw a local corneal specialist to confirm that all of the right steps had been taken. He was very impressed with the care that I had received in Thailand! I have been able to drive just fine, I will be able to wear contacts again in a few weeks, and I am still looking at getting LASIK surgery sometime in the future. I do have a scar still covering part of my pupil, meaning that my vision is the slightest bit blurry. However, my left eye has acquired dominance, so I really don’t notice it at all. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and the support you have sent my way! It was so appreciated!
Second, I wanted to give you a quick glimpse at what opportunities I am going to be looking into for this next year. I am currently applying for jobs this summer. I am excited to work somewhere that will challenge me and also be a good mission’s field! As soon as I secure a work schedule, I will be looking for a young adults group or Bible study to be a part of this summer. I want to surround myself with strong and amazing community while I’m at home!
The most exciting thing I have coming up is my hopeful return to Cambodia at the beginning of next year. I was radically changed when we were in Cambodia and God laid it on my heart to return to the same children’s home and continue ministering to them in many different ways.
Finally, I wanted to share the two biggest things that God taught me while I was on my trip. During month one, I began to delve into scriptures about prophecy and listening prayer. I received several messages from my teammates that encouraged me to really study what it means to speak life. I love that phrase already, but I realized that I have forever been wanting God to use me to carry His messages, but for so long I have neglected to listen to His voice. This journey led into month two of my trip, where I began to practice listening to God’s voice and following through with whatever it was that He placed on my heart to do. I definitely saw amazing results as I was able to grow closer to God and my teammates as I chose to intentionally pursue my relationship with God.
At this point, we continued on to month three of the trip. I was able to experience the Thai New Year celebration, referred to as Songkran. I found myself wishing that I could always feel as victorious and excited as I do when I begin a new season of life. In the last four weeks, God showed me that I really can! However, living each day with no regrets and motivation to work hard isn’t just some stroke of luck – it’s really something you have to choose. God challenged me to live each day like it’s the New Year – choosing to be the best version of myself and letting go of who I was yesterday. Along with this, He showed me a wonderful verse! 1 Corinthians 15:10: “By the grace of God, I am who I am and His grace towards me was not in vain.”
Thank you for being a part of this amazing journey with me! I am excited to see what God will lead me to next. Stay tuned for updates!
