There’s something truly wonderful about the practice of journaling–reflecting on experiences, collecting small details of the day (or whatever period), or taking notes for one’s autobiography. There’s something truly wonderful about creating art. There’s something truly wonderful about having friends challenging you to find joy each day. This blog is a result of that challenge and a beautifully timed observation.
My friend & squad mentor challenged me to seek and pursue joy, right before one of my teammates told me that I look so joyful and happy when I draw. So, I asked her to help keep me accountable to draw at least once per day. For the past month, I’ve drawn something that stood out from the day; commonly, things that I wouldn’t verbally journal about. Here are some of my favorite visuals and/or stories from the past month.
August 29- “Flower Bed”: Today, my team and I were assigned to Property as our ministry. Early in the day, we managed to clear out a patch of and got permission to create a flower bed in that patch. I asked if it would be possible to turn it into a flower bed because one of our hosts absolutely loves flowers and her birthday was approaching.
August 30- “Sretan Complebaños”: Today was Kasey’s birthday. My team and squad wrote her many letters. On my card, I wrote “Feliz Complebaños” on the cover and signed it “Sretan Rodendan”. The cover was an embellished quote from a squamate who misspoke and that misspeaking was turned into an inside joke, and I signed the card with “Happy Birthday” in Croatian rather than my name because there is no one else who would have done so on our squad.
September 5- “Talent Show Ticket”: One of the last night’s at HOPE, the host family organized a talent show for the entire squad to show off their talents, strengths, and even weaknesses, so that a good time could be had by all (https://youtu.be/KfsCy0fqn-g).
September 8- “Abstract Sunset”: During debrief, we had our daily all-squad talks on a rooftop of one of the two residences. Honestly, there were some of the most breath-taking sunsets that could be seen in Puerto Plata, DR from that roof, and my view was perpetually interrupted by the railing that wrapped around the roof.
September 13- “Border Crossing”: This was our first travel day while in the field. It was filled with a lot of thoughts and feelings about the change of scenery & ministry, expectations of myself & others, and all of the differentiation that would be occurring in the coming days.
September 17- “Influential”: Tonight, Alexa led Women’s Group at church. The teaching, story, and activity were based on a Biblical story and the new name that God has given us. We were led to ask the Lord about a new name (characteristic) that He has given us. The word that I was reminded of was “influential.”
September 20- “Just HANGING”: After an afternoon of having to stay back from ministry, that ended up stirring up a lot of fleshly temptation and distraction, that led to a lot of asking the Lord and seeking understanding, I was given some uncomfortable revelation about my heart posture about the future (Would You Ever Come Back?).
September 22- “Tear Gas”: This was a day that forced us to realize the current state of affairs in Haiti from a firsthand perspective, but resulted in some amazing Spirit-led ministry.
September 28- “Clouded Trees”: During communal worship, there was a storm brewing during sunset, but the sky couldn’t decide if it wanted to be dark and stormy or pretty pinks & blues. The sky was filled with bright flashes of pink lightning, powder to navy blue skies, and white fluffy & grey wispy clouds, all juxtaposed against unlit trees in the foreground.
Angie Moore
