How do you sum up eleven months, thirteen countries, twenty-three people, thousands of miles in one blog? It was an experience that I will always cherish & I’m going to do my best to try & describe what it was like, & what I learned. It was challenging & scary, unexpected & thrilling, ordinary & extraordinary, beautiful & long, nonstop & adventurous, everything I hoped it would be & more. We experienced a different culture & currency every month. Constant change, always a different city, bed, team. You’re never on your own, since you’ve been thrown into a group of people who used to not know anything about you, but have now come to be like family. You eat together, shop together, room together, adventure together: you’re always with another human. Forget your independence, being an individual that can go anywhere, anytime is now impossible. We are always facing our fears, always uncomfortable, & constantly stretching the boundaries of what we think we are capable of. We taught each other how to learn, how to love unconditionally, communicate, cultivate vulnerability, truth, & freedom.
I learned that the church is being persecuted all around the world. But God is encountering the church all around the world. I learned that love always looks like something, & how God touches someone on day twenty-two looks different than day one hundred and seventy-eight. But it’s always love, & God is eager to see his children radically touched! He loves on the bus, on taxis, planes, & trains. In universities, malls, grocery stores. On the street, outside & inside mosques, monasteries, & churches. Catholics, buddhists, muslim, shaman, christian, God doesn’t care about the labels. He simply wants to know if we are willing to create with Him, & bring His kingdom to earth, to love when it hurts, to love when it’s inconvenient & uncomfortable. I have given up what I think I know once again to follow Him wholeheartedly!
I cant thank each & everyone of you enough for your support, your prayers & your encouragement every step of the way! God has touched so many hearts this year, & there is no doubt in my mind that it is because of you that a difference has been made. Thank you, thank you.
I am currently back in Salem for the next four weeks before I head out again in August to lead another squad to South America for five months. From one adventure to the next! I would love to meet up with anyone who wants to hear more about my last eleven months (& hear about yours!) & the five months ahead!
That’s all for now!
Love,
Emily
