Hello friends,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted and I apologize about the delay. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with friends and family. My holidays were very unique and exciting. I am not going to sugar coat the story by only telling you the good things that happened although there were many times that were beautiful but also some hard times as well.
Christmas was rather crazy with our ministry doing different activities with the children and the different villages. It was so beautiful to be a part of a Christmas that wasn’t full of gifts and spending money but rather spending time together with people you love. Christmas Eve began the craziness of my story, I was sitting in a tree pondering the questions of life when a wasp came a stung me one time… and then six more times after that making a total of 7 red swollen sings on my back and arm. Then, Christmas night began and so did the African storm when my tent poles broke and flooded with water while I was in it asleep in it. Then the day after Christmas was filled with drying out all my stuff that had been effected by the rain storm and that night I began to plug in my phone to change and I got electroc. Needless to say it was a holiday filled with giving and growing. During those days I was distressed much of the time but it was so sweet to see my team come along side me and held my hand and lifted me back up. I am so grateful for these precious girls I have spent the last 4 months with. We have learned so much together and leaving them to join my new team will be a rough time! It’s been a beautiful adventure we’ve had as each one of us has opened up to one another. Although our team is separating our sisterhood and love for one another will never be gone.
After the craziness of Zambia our squad met up and took a 30 hour bus ride to Malawi for our debrief. Debrief is a time for our squad to spend resting and reflecting on what God has done on the race so far. Although debrief is a time for rest and restoration sometimes debrief can be difficult. The last debrief I had was in Nepal and God showed me so much stuff in my life I needed to let go of. It was a hard time for me but very rewarding. This debrief I was so excited to rest and get ready for the next thing God was going to teach me. The night we arrived I walked out by the lake and prayed that God would wreck me, I was asking Him what He was gonna do in my life. A few moments later I heard God speak to me and say, this week is not about what you can get out of it but how you can invest in your squad. This can be hard for me sometimes especially because I am an introvert and when I find my “people” I don’t usually like to branch out. I knew then God was going to teach me some awesome things through other people and He sure did. I would love to say it was a wonderful week filled with encouraging people and hugs and kisses but it wasn’t. I struggled a lot at times with understanding people. I got hurt many times but through it all I was able to see Gods desire for me.
Looking forward, I am excited to begin ministry next week with my new team. God has blessed me with another group of all girls and I am so excited to get to know them and also run a long side of them.
During debrief God did show me how He wants me to live out the next 5 months of my trip. I spent the last 4 months working on my relationship with the Lord and He showed me so many adjustments in my life I needed to make. Coming into the next half I feel the Lord is calling me to invest. Invest in my team as we begin to grow deep relationships with one another. Invest in our ministry as we work at a school in Malawi. Also invest in the locals, getting to know their stories and caring about them. This is our first time we will be at a ministry for 2 months and I am stoked to see the Lords hand in it.
Thank you all for your continued love and support. May God bless you all.
