Before coming on the race and before walking into something Iv never experienced before I would try to guess what it was going to be like. I would make expectations for something before even coming into contact with it. I don’t know why I would do that, exspesally if what I am given ends up being “worse” then I exspected. I was just the one who always wanted to know “What is next? What is it going to be like?” And always wanting to be the one who had all the answers when in reality what I know is just an assumption that my mind came up with and not really the facts. I even had expectations for after highschool as well before learning about the race, I thought I was going to college for genetics but instead I’m traveling around the world with whatever I can fit in a backpack sharing who the Lord is.
That’s how it was coming on the race as well, I thought wow this is going to be so easy and my team and I will click day one because we’re all people Pershing the same thing. I thought Cambodia was going to be hot, and trust me it was I just didn’t prepare myself for how hot, I thought I was going to have to use a bucket to shower and was going to have lice day 3 after teaching in the school and loving children, I thought I wouldn’t get to talk to my family because there was no WiFi in this country, I thought I wouldn’t have a connection for anyone here and I thought it would be easy to say goodbye….
In reality Cambodia the terribly hot, every person you met wanted to talk to you and they had such a kind heart everywhere you went, we felt safe walking to peoples houses and just showing love to them by reading the Bible or just helping them around the house, we had showers with a shower head and didn’t have to use a bucket unless God was trying to teach you about leaving your comforts behind, then you used a bucket (my teammate Hannah, all of Cambodia) we showered 2 or even 3 times a day if we were given the chance to and not one person has gotten lice after holding, playing games, teaching, or even hair braiding with the kids. And honestly even if they had it we still showed just as much love to them as any other kid. Everywhere you went had Wifi except in the village, I was able to talk to my family back home every weekend without a doubt it almost felt like I never left because of how much communication I had with them, The people in the village that my team and I stayed with were some of the most incredible people I have ever met, they look so much like Jesus in everything they do. One night my host was preaching on stage at the Christmas program and after he was done he went to every single person asking them if they needed more food or drink and after that went to the back and took the lowest job of washing dishes, he didn’t do it so others would praise him he did it because he knew what Jesus would do. Vuthy and his wife was the hardest goodbye Iv ever had to do. And I thank God for them everyday.
You think I would have learned my lesson about making expectations for the future to come because of what I learned in Cambodia but nope! I had a whole scale of what “I thought” Ethiopia was going to be like.
Coming into Ethiopia I thought it was going to be hot, I thought the children here were just like any other African kid, I thought our living situation was gunna be in a mud hut and that everywhere you looked was going to be brown and ugly , I thought I would still get WiFi on the weekends so I can say hello to the family back home, I thought we were going to be eating beans and lentils for then next 3months, and I thought going into all squad was gunna be hard on my team….
But again in reality Ethiopia exceeded all expectations, the whole squad lives in this beautiful house on this compound with about 28kids, who didn’t have a home to got to, and they all have a way of holding onto you and making you love them, this place has brown grass but it also has a lot of green, along time ago the area lost all its trees and all the animals left and it was very hard on the air, but one of the ministries is reforestation where we bring the city back to life with plants and trees. In the forest I feel like I’m right back in the woods of Minnesota with tall pine trees and fresh air. It’s actually very cold here and it’s not even considered there “cold” season yet, but everyone wears sweatshirts, sweatpants, 2pairs of socks, and those who have hats them to, atleast in the beginning till we got used to the weather. In our house we have been blessed with 3 amazing women who cook our meals and clean our bathrooms for us (here we have real toilets, and showers that sometimes have warm water) they cook us fantastic meals that normally includes some form of pasta and lots of bread! And for WiFi, there is none except in the capital about 3 and a half hours away, but honestly I don’t mind God has given me so much peace about saying goodbye to those I love and trusting that he has everything under control.
I’m slowly starting to understand that we don’t need expectations because the Lord already knows and has planned what is best for us. And if you try to make plans he might not actually agree with them. I’m learning that it’s ok not to know the plan and that In the end it will all be ok. Right now I’m trying to learn from this and not try to guess what the next few months in Central America are gunna look like. Yes it is hard and I sometimes fail out of excitement of what’s to come but I’m trying to stay present and just trust that the Lord already has an amazing plan for me.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
??Proverbs? ?3:5-6 NIV
