In July 2015, I left home for the World Race.
And I have left home seven times since then.
Every month, each country that I have lived in has become a home away from home. My bunk bed, my sleeping pad, or my tent on top of my mattress on the floor has become my bed. My farm, my hostel, or my prayer mountain has become my house. My hosts and my translators have become my families.
It seems cruel that just as I become to feel at home in every country, I have to say goodbye. Say goodbye to my new friends and family—to the people I have come to love. I can’t lie—it’s hard. And some months it’s even harder than others.
This is going to be one of those months.
Ecuador has felt more like home than any country I have been to so far. Our hosts, Bobby and Lori Leek, have loved us so well and really invited us into their family. And our friends from the church have become like our family as well.
I am going to miss them all terribly. I am going to miss the beautiful mountains and crisp air of Ecuador. I am going to miss all of the people we have met and served and who have served us.
But I take heart every month because I know that even though I have to say goodbye, I will forever have homes and families all over the world. I am so blessed to have nine places now to call home (including Georgia, of course), and I know that Peru, Bolivia, and Chile will become my homes as well.
I am so excited for the new friends and families I will make over these last three months, and I can’t wait to see my family back in Georgia soon.
And speaking of soon…
I am so excited that my parents will be leaving home at the end of next month to join me in Peru! They will be coming for a week to join me in ministry, hang out, and see a little glimpse of what my life has been like over the past eight months.
As this journey has gone on, it has only gotten better and better, so I can not wait for these last three months in South America.
