Everything Has Changed!

You may see a title like that and think that I am exaggerating. You say to yourself surely not everything has changed…that’s just a fun catchy way of introducing only some new things. Or you may just get a Taylor Swift song stuck in your head.

But nope, a whole bunch of stuff has changed, and i’m excited to introduce y’all to those changes!

1. New month. We have made it to month 5 already! Time is literally flying by so fast I absolutely refuse to believe that it is considered a constant. Entering into month 5 enters myself into a whole new realm of the World Race. For instance, in just 1&½ more months, we will have reached the halfway mark. So now I sit here reevaluating everything I’ve done so far. Have I been giving it my all? Have I made the most of the opportunities that I find myself in? I’m aligning myself and re-fixing my eyes on the path that I wish to walk upon. You see, I am no longer a newbie World Racer. Four months have come and gone, and now I can look around me and this life of mine is kind of normal. But how can barely finding a home away from home become an attainable normalcy? Easy. Home is where the heart is. Okay okay–cheesy but true. And that doesn’t mean that I 100% acclimate to each new place and forget everything I’ve left behind ever; it just means that I’ve made home a bit more broad.

2. New Ministry. This month, I am going to be spending four days of the week doing ministry at a pre-school! Every Tuesday-Friday, a squadmate of mine and I take a public bus into town, then walk another 30 minutes to the school. We spend a few hours with the kids playing, teaching, helping them with their workbooks, practicing English, teaching them manners, and just loving on them. The teacher there is absolutely amazing. She is a mother of two with a third on her way. Although she is due at the end of the month and I am absolutely terrified that the baby will decide to come early one day in the classroom. After being there for four days now, I honestly think the biggest impact we have been making on these kids is just by being present during playtime. Usually they would be alone while they play but since we are there, we supervise. And the amount of times I have had to break up fights, tell kids that it’s not okay to bite/hit/kick is insane. On the first day, one of the little four year old boys walked up to me, slapped me across the face, and ran away. As frustrating as it can be sometimes and feel like a losing battle, each and every day they seem to actually listen more and more. And more and more they seem to actually take in how to be kind to each other and the value in it.

    

   

   On Mondays, our whole squad attends the office’s weekly meeting then goes out by teams to do market ministry! This is talking to and making relations with the locals and showing them the love of Jesus. This is praying over their business, for their families, and for their health. This is showing them that they are seen and cared for by their brothers and sisters in Christ as well as their Heavenly Father.  

3. NEW TEAM! As told in my last blog, last month was the last of Team Vessels of Joy. During debrief, they gave us new team assignments! So without further ado, meet team Kianoceros!   

    

   

   Starting from the left we have our team leader Jacob, Shiloh in the back, Shawn, Eva, me, Lauren, and Sharon!

   I am so excited to spend a lot of intentional time with this group for the next few months. Already, they are stretching me in new ways, offering new perspectives, new skills, new life stories, and just new dynamics. Our name Kainoseros (mostly) comes from the word “new”. The entire New Testament was written in Koine Greek. And what was used for the word new was translated from this root word “Kainos” meaning “recently made, fresh, unworn, of a new kind, uncommon, unheard of”. And then someone was like hey Kainos kinda sounds like the beginning of Rhinoceros. And thus born Kainoseros.

4. New Leaders. With team changes came new raised up leaders. This is the last month that the alum squad leaders will be with us. Because of that, 3 squadmates were raised up to replace those leaving. I am super excited to be led by that group. They have such a deep connection with the Lord, an intimate nature with community, and such joy and  excitement for ministry.

With all this newness, i’d be lying if I said it didn’t ever feel a little overwhelming. You get so used to the life you’re living and  the company that you spend it with. For the last two months, my team Vessels of Joy was completely alone. We literally lived in tiny little spaces with only ourselves for company. And now we have new teams and it’s another all squad month.

And through all this newness it could honestly be really easy to slip into new struggles. But luckily, I was wrong in saying that everything has changed. Because surely there is one thing that will never change, and that is the God we serve.

In all this newness, He remains the same. He nature is constant, His character is never contradictory, His intimacy never falters, and His love never fails.

And I’ll take that constant over any other anytime.