How excited are you to meet your beautiful niece Stella?
When I got home and held her for the first time, it was surreal. I saw her on Facetime and saw hundreds of pictures of her sent by my brother over the phone while I was gone. Being away when she was born was an extremely difficult day. My brother’s world transformed that day and I became an aunt of the sweetest girl. I loved her the moment I saw her through video when I was at a hostel in Panama shedding a few overjoyed and sad tears in a hammock.
Finally holding her harbored a lot of meaning to me because I waited 3 months to finally meet her! I was watching her this morning and she started snoozing after a good session of kicking and punching the air. Looking at her tiny hands and little feet, I was overwhelmed with peace and contentment knowing I was right where I needed to be. With her!
What one moment grew your faith the most?
Oh, wow. There are many packed into one month alone that challenged and grew my faith! I think the overall one for the entire 11 months is being able to go and stay on this journey. One of the most intimidating obstacles from my perspective was raising $17,617. Through other’s personal faith or own love & kindness, people donated the funds to partner and walk alongside me in this year long venture. The foundational reason was God. There’s no other explanation for meeting the deadline a couple weeks before the final cutoff.
What is something you learned during your trip that you will never forget?
Reinforcing dignity and empowering/equipping others means more than giving.
While there is a place and a time to donate shoes, clothes, or money it’s better for an individual or family to be empowered. This realization came from experiencing low-income, incredibly impoverished homes while in Costa Rica. Giving things can help and does in certain circumstances, don’t get me wrong. But to provide lift in a deeper way, somehow families need to be given their own dignity than only charity.
A good example of this was Cambodia and Costa Rica. While in Cambodia, women were given job opportunities and a means for income by making paper bead jewelry. In Costa Rica, we were with an organization where women pay a $2 enrollment fee to learn their choices of different skill classes. Examples of some of the classes are sewing, therapeutic massage, or hair cutting. They have something to be proud of while also being able to start their own business to make an income. While in these classes, they also have a community of women they see often. In particular in Cambodia and Costa Rica, they were encouraged in Christ and also growing in relationship with Jesus.
I’m still trying to figure out how this translates to America because it’s slightly different due to different cultures.
Women rolling beads for jewelry at Mine Field Village in Cambodia
Which of the 11 countries that you visited changed your perception of the world the most?
Either Malawi or Malaysia.
In Madisi, Malawi, it was an authentic rural African village and we lived in some of the same circumstances as them. On a smaller scale anyway such as using the restroom in a hole in the ground outside, having little electricity, and getting the water from a pump we walk to outside their school.
Photo cred: Janele Tating
Another change happened when the high school students I taught biology to were in the classroom on their WINTER BREAK and they’d walk miles to come to class. Many of them wanted the opportunity to go to college but they needed impeccable grades for them to be accepted. That is if they have the money to go.
It was a humbling experience not only being told stories about the children and families but to be experiencing only a piece of it for a month. Meeting them, building relationships with villagers, and seeing their lives brought a larger perspective of my world back here in America. The wild thing is they still had joy even though I’ve never met people with so little.
In Malaysia, I was heartbroken to hear that if individuals want to follow Jesus, they are forced to leave the country. Oftentimes, their family doesn’t communicate with them or keep contact because of this choice. Malaysia is a huge Muslim country. Once you enter Islam, you cannot leave it. If secret Christian believers are found out, they are put in a camp to try to convert them back to the right teaching and to Islam. If they don’t attend their mosque after 3 weeks then they will be arrested based off Shariah Law. It was a reminder that I can freely choose to follow Jesus and not have to leave my home or suffer immensely since I live in the United States.
Title of your autobiography?
I don’t know.
Right now? Better Than A Quarter-Life Crisis.
Or… It Happened and It’s Still Happening.
