Before we launched we were warned about the race becoming normal. I thought they were crazy. I remember thinking to myself “How could traveling around the world, spending your days loving and praying for so many, and seeing things you never dreamed of seeing become normal?” I didn’t understand. But they were right. Three months in and the race is starting to feel more normal everyday.
This is my life and I wouldn’t change it for the world. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world getting to live out something that two years ago was just a crazy thought or a far fetched dream I would never actually do. But here I am.
My life here is so different than all of my friends and families lives at home, but it is normal to me and I love it.
Today I woke up in Quito, Ecuador. My team and I finally arrived to Quito, where we will be staying for the next 10 days, around 1am this morning after a 39 hour bus ride from Lima, Peru. Tomorrow we begin ministry working with a local high school. I am not sure what all that will entail. Updates to come.
The past two months in Chile and Peru have been some of the most life giving, over flowing with joy, and hardest months of my life. I’ve grown more spiritually, mentally, and physically in two months than I probably did the past two years. I actually thought to myself the other day “How did you make it 22 years without really knowing yourself?” Being on the race forces you to examine all parts of your life. How are you glorifying God in everything you do? Will you be okay if you came all these miles around the world for one person, one smile, and one hug? These are just a few of the questions I’ve really asked myself and pondered on over the last two months.
Here’s the thing God has really been teaching me from day one over and over. The people who end up making a difference for the Kingdom of God care about one child. one person. one hug. and one smile. They aren’t the ones going around trying to figure out how to end world hunger. The ones that are making a difference are doing it everyday by simply focusing on the one God puts in their path. The beautiful thing is over time all the ones add up. Sometimes loving one can transform villages, cities, and even nations for the Kingdom of God.
So here I am looking for my one to love, each and everyday.
Chasing after Jesus,
Emily Ann
Here are just a few pictures of some of the ones God has specifically put in my path that I have had the opportunity to love, and they have blessed me more than they will ever know. <3
Martin in Santiago, Chile.
Fernando in Santiago, Chile.
Julia and Luis in Lima, Peru.
Another picture of my sweet friend Julia in Lima, Peru.
Ari, Sofia, and Sabrina in Arequipa, Peru.
