I’m just going to start this blog by saying my ringworm is back. That’s 2 countries across 2 continents I’ve been lucky enough to have it, how many people can say that?
Now it’s the end of March and we are in Guatemala. We finished our Parent Vision Trip, which was when the parents visited us in the field, and I got to see my mom in Nicaragua. As we prepared the sessions for our parents, the invitation was given for racers to give testimonies. I didn’t sign up, because for some reason I knew that whether I signed up or not, I’d give one. 10 minutes before worship I was approached by a friend, she said:
“Can you give a testimony of what you’ve learned on the race so far, for the parents?”
*past 6 months and 4 countries flash before my eyes*
“Sure, I can come up with something.”
No one had signed up. I laughed, God knew I was scared to speak without a translator, so He pulled me on stage to do it afraid. As overwhelming as that question was, I said yes, and I didn’t think about it further until I stood up in front of 60 people. I shared about life in Nepal, the chickens, sitting on cliff sides for church, and where God was in the midst of the Kathmandu smog. I told it like it was, parents laughed, and my friends rolled their eyes because we all lived the dirty chicken life.
Lately I’ve been learning how God will take your fear and turn it to a strength for Him, but He will also align your passions with His. After I shared a testimony with the parents, I was less afraid to do it again. My mom once told me to never make a decision out of fear, and I’ve been striving to live that way. If I had looked at the fear in sharing a testimony for parents, then I would have said no. Instead I said yes, because ultimately God told me to, but also because I knew it would increase my confidence in speaking, help me process what I’ve learned recently, and inspire parents to seek out the Lord’s heart in everything. I love God’s sense of humor in my life, and I’m going to continue making his truth relatable and funny as I learn about it.
After PVT we all hopped on a 24ish hour bus ride from Nicaragua to Guatemala, in which we drove through Honduras and El Salvador. My pack was randomly checked in El Salvador, and the face of the border police when they found my Clif bar stash was priceless. One look at the Tetris that is my pack, and they zipped it right back up. When we made it to the AIM base we are calling home until June we were immediately found relief. Each team gets their own room with a bathroom, and each person has a bed with a mattress. It gets better, the showers have hot water. I didn’t realize the daily stress (this isn’t the best word to describe the feeling) that squatty potties, no toilet paper, and no showers had taken on me. You can’t fully relax when you are always trying to think of how to get clean, or where you will be able to steal napkins or paper for the long overdue poop you are planning (when you get to a decent bathroom of course). Asia was fun and I grew a lot, especially in our second month in Nepal, but being in Central America is good for every aspect of health, mental, physical, and spiritual.
Following the Lord isn’t always relaxing. Sometimes you go through months of using the butt sprayer as your shower, and sometimes you have hot water and mattresses, but no matter what God is there, and He has a lesson for you in it all. I’m learning what the Lord has for me in Guatemala, and I’m loving life here with my new team. Christianity isn’t a boring lifestyle, if it is, you’re doing it wrong.
