Wow. We are officially in the last few hours of our time in Asia. I can’t believe that 5 months have gone by so quickly. As I am sitting in a coffee shop in Singapore during our 16-hour layover to Ethiopia. I am filled with excitement about the upcoming countries and disbelief that we are already leaving Asia behind. I have learned so much and gone through so many emotions (both high and low) over the last five months. Learning how to reflect over my time and try to fully hold onto what God has taught me is something I’m really trying to work on, so I thought I would go through each country and share its impact on me.
India: What a crazy 1st month! We landed in Hyderabad with no plans for ministry or a host, with only the goal of finding new ministries for Adventures in Missions. I was so scared to enter such a vastly different culture with no plans or place to stay. But God taught me how to trust in Him fully, to handle the big details and the small ones. This included everything from what ministry we would be a part of to where we would sleep and what we would eat (even if is was curry for every meal – we only our hands for silverware). We had such an incredible month where we go to go into villages where foreigners had never been and preach the gospel and pray for people. We saw extreme poverty that was right alongside pure joy. We saw the Holy Spirit work through our prayers to heal the sick, make the lame walk, the mute talk, and marriages restored. God is so good and so powerful! His light shone in the darkest places and He invited me in to experience His glory.
Nepal: I had very high expectations for Nepal and I was so excited to see the beauty of God’s creation, and my expectations were blown away! The Himalayas are far more stunning than I could have ever imagined and every time we saw a massive mountain in the clouds, it took my breath away. Not only that but I learned a completely new side of God’s character. I saw and felt His hurt when He was rejected. Seeing how the people of Nepal worship idols and man-made gods that offer no hope or joy and how similar it looked to the people of the Old Testament of the Bible was crazy to me. I was turned away by a mother and daughter when I was offering a free gift and I believe that God was showing me the sadness He feels when we as His creation say no to His free gift of love.
Thailand: This country was probably my favorite in all of Asia. I loved the food, the culture, and the beautiful scenery. But most of all the people were incredible. We were able to partner with an orphanage for children who were affected by HIV/AIDS. Our main job while we where there was painting and building bricks for a wall they were putting up around their property. It was fun to work hard each day and see tangible results from what we were doing. My favorite part though was the relationships we got to build with the staff and children at the orphanage. I became good friends with a young girl named Nim whose story was heartbreaking. She came into the orphanage at a young age at the same time as several other children her age. All of those other children in that group have been adopted except her. Now at the age of 17, she is active at the orphanage with helping the babies, but I know it is still hard on her to not have been chosen. Seeing how well the staff at the orphanage made her loved and being able to be a part of that for a month was a great example of how Christ can redeem things. God taught me to find joy in the tangible things and rejoice more in relationships.
Cambodia: During this month I was able to spend so much time growing in intimacy with my relationship with God. Each day I was able to spend time in the word and in prayer and see how much that directly changes who I am and how I act. God filled me up each day and gave me energy to teach kindergarten without lesson plans, paint jungle animals, and pour out love to kids who live in the slums. One goal I had for this whole trip was to develop a strong habit of spending time with the Lord each day and listening to what He wanted to teach me. I feel as though God gave me a new desire to seek after Him not only with my actions but with my thoughts and heart as well.
Vietnam: Even though this month was probably the least exciting in regards to adventure and every day life, it was by far the most exciting for me to share the gospel in a communist country. Each day we would go to a café where people would come simple to talk with us, so they could practice their English. We spent time with mostly college aged students, and also some adults and high school students. They were so interested in us and why we would spend a year of our lives volunteering – which lead so perfectly into sharing the gospel of who God is and how He loves us so much that we wanted to travel the world telling people about Him. Several of the workers who we spent time with had never heard of the Bible or even Jesus! We were able to sit down and share the story of His birth just a few days before Christmas. How crazy that God takes us around the world into a small café in Da N?ng Vietnam to share who He is with people who have never heard His name. Again, God is so GOOD!
These last 5 months have been such a beautiful start to this unforgettable journey of trusting the Lord and sharing His love with people all over the world. I’m so thankful for all the awesome days, alongside the hard ones that have taught me so much. I’m completely blessed to be able to experience all this with Andy and see him grow alongside me. I can’t wait to happens as into Africa and then South America!
