We made it to Thailand! It’s crazy how fast last month went! God has done so much within my heart and my life last month. The road of healing is rough. It’s bumpy and sometimes you find yourself at a dead end and God leads you to a detour. It’s so hard. But my strength comes from the Lord. The maker of Heaven and Earth and He sustains me. His mercies are new every morning. My joy is found in Christ and because of that, it will last forever. These are just a few things that God laid on my heart last month in Cambodia. I am so excited to see what God brings to us here in Thailand. I only have 45 “big sleeps left” (in my nephews’ terms??) which means I made it to half way! It’s so hard to believe that we are already half way into this amazing journey that God called each of my team members and I on. We’ve been in Thailand for a week now and this place, these children, already stole my heart. Their joy and their faith are so inspiring. Their laughs are contagious. Their hugs are heart warming. Their welcomed arms are so homey. Their home, my new home for the next 45 days, is so peaceful. What a blessing to have a place feel so much like home. I think it’s because I’m surrounded by people who love, laugh, and praise Christ like my family does. I miss my family a lot and these next couple months specifically are going to be very difficult because we don’t have WiFi at our mission house. However, God reminded me a couple days ago that it’s okay to be sad and it’s okay for this life to be hard. He never called us to an easy life. Our life isn’t going to be easy, but where He calls us, will ALWAYS be worth it. How blessed am I to have such an amazing family that I get to go home to in 45 days. What a joy it is going to be to see my parents, my sisters, my nephews, my grandparents and cousins, and my two amazing best friends when I get home. God has truly blessed me soo much with the family and friends that He gave me. I get the question “why?” a lot. Why do I go on mission trips? Why would I choose to go to a third world country instead of a college campus? Why would I choose to leave my family, friends and everything that is comfortable for three months? Those questions have so many answers. But the most simple, to the point answer I can give to you all is this- Because God called me here. Because He has blessed me with so much and I strive to give a little of that away to those less fortunate. Because I was raised in a family who taught me how to love and how to help others and my passion is to teach that to other people. God opened up this opportunity for me and I said “yes”. Here I am Lord, send me. Because of that, I am able to wake up and sit out on my porch while looking at the beautiful mountains that were hand crafted by our Creator. The same mountains that I watch the sun set behind. I am able to worship with 40 some girls under a pavilion every single night. I am able to laugh, run, swing, cry, play, joke, and dance with all of His beautiful daughters. Saying “yes” can be hard. It can be uncomfortable. But that is when God moves the most. If you have yet to say “yes” to something that you believe God has called you to, I challenge you to take that step of faith and say “yes”. Because your strength does come from Christ and He will renew your strength and your joy every morning. I promise you, no matter how hard it may be or how scary it seems, following the path that Christ has planned for you will ALWAYS be worth it.
