Lately I've been jamming out to Mississippi Isabel by King Charles. An Estonian introduced our team to his music. Estonians are hipsters, in case you're wondering. For your listening pleasure, I have added the Mississippi Isabel video. Listen as you read. 🙂
After 324 days on the field, I have just 6 more precious days until this journey will come to a close.
In the last year I have spent
6 months in Asia,
3 months in Africa, and
2 months in Eastern Europe.
During this time, I have taken
17 flights,
57 buses
(3 of which were over 24 hrs long), and slept in
64 beds
(And by beds I really mean floors, couches, tents, hammocks, and, well, beds)
My team has traveled by
Bus, car, plane, shuttle,
tram, elephant, subway, tuk-tuk, van, taxi cab,
in the bed of a pick up truck, gravel dump truck,
safari jeep, double-decker bus,
red thai taxi,
Rental scooter, train, monorail, boat,
ferry, motorcycle, bicycle, sleeper bus,
raft, bungee cord, ambulance, ostrich,
matatu, trolly bus, alpine slide, chair lift,
rowboat,
Escalator, elevator,
and more than anything else,
on foot.
We have spent the night in
- motels,
- hotels,
- hostels,
- churches,
- orphanages,
- homes,
- guest houses,
- planes,
- buses,
- airports,
- prayer halls,
- convents,
- tree houses,
- living room floors,
- office floors,
- basements,
- outreach centers,
- bamboo huts,
- town houses,
- apartments,
- tin huts,
- school houses,
- tents,
- hammocks,
- retreat centers,
- and under the stars.
I have had lice, ringworm, bedbugs, heat rash, cysts, and every type of bug bite imaginable.
Our squad has celebrated July 4th in Washington D.C., Halloween
in Malaysia, Thanksgiving in Cambodia, Christmas in Vietnam,
New Years in Uganda, Valentine’s Day in Kenya,
St Patrick’s Day in Tanzania, Easter in Latvia and
Mother’s Day in Estonia.
For ministry, we have…
Worked in 4 orphanages, 3 hospitals, 3 schools, 2 nursing homes, 2 offices, 1 coffee shop and a restaurant.
Taught more computer and English classes than I can count on my fingers and toes (and even a few Swahili ones).
Done evangelism in 4 different countries on 3 continents.
Spent hours sawing down trees and chopping wood.
Built homes, sheds, fences, decks, stage sets, fishponds and chicken coups.
Planted gardens, raked leaves, weed-wacked, hoed fields, picked up trash and level roads.
Preached in 5 hour long African services and danced 3 times a week for a month.
Scrubbed, cleaned, organized, and packed boxes.
Led more prayer meetings, prayer walks, bible studies, worship services, church services, youth events and children’s events than I can remember.
Collected durian fruit and harvested rice.
Helped with Nepal’s only Bible distribution and helped in the planting churches.
Handed out food to the homeless and bread to those in need of God’s love.
Painted murals, done professional photo-shoots, as well as being the stagehands, ushers, choir members, makeup artists, lighting and sound techs of a Christmas pageant.
Over the course of the year, we been blessed to distribute Operation Christmas Child gifts in the middle of March, play with Indian orphans wearing Toms shoes (buy a pair, give a pair) and giggled with Compassion sponsor children.
Here is my journey at a glance…
Melbourne -> Orlando -> Charlotte -> Washington DC -> Doha -> Kolkata –> Hyderabad -> Ongole –>Hyderabad ->Delhi -> Kathmandu -> Surunga -> Dundunga -> Gaighat -> Chitwan -> Kathmadu -> Delhi -> Bangkok -> Chaiprakarn -> Chiang Mai -> Chaiprakarn -> Chiang Mai -> Phuket -> Hatyai -> Dannok -> Kuala Lumpur -> Port Klang -> Kuala Lumpr -> undisclosed location -> Kuala Lumpur -> undisclosed location -> Kuala Lumpur -> Lumut -> Pangkor Island -> Kuala Lumpur -> Phnom Penh -> Pouk -> Phnom Pehn -> Ho Chi Minh City -> Da Nang -> Hoi An -> Da Nang -> Ho Chi Minh City -> Dubai -> Entebbe -> Jinja -> Kampala -> Rukungiri -> Kampala -> Nairobi -> Bungoma -> Nairobi -> Istanbul -> Riga -> Tartu -> Nuutsaku -> Viljandi -> Tartu -> Riga -> Istanbul -> New York City -> Orlando -> Melbourne ( <3 HOME SWEET HOME <3 ).
Absolutely Outrageous Numbers:
103 – the number of people on a public bus (July 4th, Washington D.C.)
16 – the number of people crammed onto a tuk-tuk (July, India)
42 – the number of hours spent on a bus within a 4-day period (August, Nepal)
24 – the number of hours spent on the bus to Phuket (September, Thailand)
12 – the number of pastors we met in one month (October, Malaysia)
6 – the number of fowls killed for our Thanksgiving feast (November, Cambodia)
52 – the hours traveled by bus to Da Nang and back (December, Vietnam)
8 – the number of ministries we worked with in one month (December, Vietnam)
6 – the number of bedrooms and bathrooms in our house (January, Uganda)
35 – the number of plastic water jugs in the house at one time (February, Kenya)
30 – the number of people in squashed into one matatu (March, Tanzania)
200 – the number of loaves of bread we passed out in Riga (April, Latvia)
10 and 3 – the times the sun set and rose in Viljandi (May, Estonia)
I cannot thank you enough for walking alongside me during this journey. This year has undoubtedly been the best and hardest year of my life, and I am incredibly grateful for the life lessons I have learned and the sweet intimacy I have found with my Papa. It really is like nothing else.
He has some of the most spectacular adventures in store if only you’ll say “yes.”
Do it.
You won’t regret it.
