Back by popular demand, que drum roll! PART 2 Question and Answer blog!
And we‘re just going to get right into it!
What is something you used/did every day, but realize is unnecessary now??
Well if you had asked me this question 2 weeks ago I would have had a different answer but because of some drastic I turn of events I would say my iPhone. Last week my phone died, like died died, it is completely dead; deader than a doornail (That’s an expression, right?). I know, if I was home and my phone died I would have cancelled my plans and drug my parents to the closest Apple store the very next day with me to buy me a new phone, because I know there is absolutely no way I would have been able to survive without it, even for a day if I’m being completely honest. It was my life support, the air in my lungs. And sadly that’s not even an exaggeration. I was 100% addicted to my phone at home. I was dependent on it to wake me up in the mornings, keep me up to date on the gossip I had missed while I was sleeping, give me directions to places, and to keep me on time and on schedule.
On the race it’s been a little different. So the first month in Swaziland we had a detox from our phones. During ministry time we left our phones at the compound and didn’t get them back until the end of the day. Also, we didn’t have power or WiFi so pretty quickly my phone became useless and dead. Then the second month we got power, but all three months we did not have WiFi at the base so I learned pretty quickly how to make my phone battery last a few days rather than a few hours. I also learned how to fill my time with things other than my phone screen. Such as reading my bible, playing card games with the squad, playing with the local kids at the playground, watching soccer, making new friends, and so much more!! The three months in Swaziland, “Where WiFi goes to die” I like to say, cured me of my phone addiction thank the Lord. However, I then had a WiFi addiction in its place. I was WiFi hungry, and still am. I have been battling that throughout my months in Asia where WiFi has been everywhere, slow, but all around, even in our dorms. A few weeks ago I started to notice that the first thing I would turn to in the morning was becoming my phone and scrolling mindlessly through Instagram again like I did at home, instead of my bible which is what I became so disciplined in in Swaziland. I noticed it, that’s the first step in quitting an addiction. However, i preceded to do nothing about, so I failed at the second step. My phone was becoming an idol again. Then a few days later, I was holding my phone and it died. All of a sudden it would no longer function. It spazzed going from a black screen to the white screen with the apple in the middle too a red screen and back to black again and again. Until I gave up trying to fix it. It was a 5S iPhone, but it was working just fine, it was not its time to go. Some people might say it died because of the Apple conspiracy that when Apple come out with a new phone the oldest model dies, some say it was just an old phone, some would say that thats just how life is sometimes. But I think it was God, some of you might see that as a stretch but knowing the back story behind it that my phone was becoming an idol again and knowing my God is a jealous God that just wants my attention, and seeing as I don’t believe in mere coincidence, God was all over that situation. So it is now the iPad life for me for the rest of the race, unless some kind soul feels it in their heart to donate an iPhone to their local missionary *cough cough* me, please let me know. I would love to take pictures again. But until then, I have realized that my phone is no longer necessary to my existence.
What is the biggest change in your life from being home, to being so far away?
I think the fact that I am now so far away from my family, people that have known me for so long and who actually know me! I am on this journey with about 46 other people, each one I only just met in July and we are still getting to know each other after living with each other for just over 6 months now! I left behind my home, my mom, dad, and sisters that know me better than anyone else on this planet, a place where all of my neighbors are my cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, and my town where everyone is related in some way. I never realized how special that was until I left it all behind and found myself with almost 50 strangers whom I was going to live with for the next nine months. And then every place. I’ve been so far, Swaziland, Nepal and India I’ve met people who’ve never seen white people before. Sometimes I feel like I’m on parade because so many people stare at me all the time, or want to take pictures with me because we don’t look anything alike. Those are the times I crave the comfortable, especially my family and friends back home who have known me for forever, and even for people that look like me, and understand my language and mannerisms. But very quickly I remember, this is exactly what I signed up for, I don’t mean when I signed up for the race, I mean when I accepted Jesus into my heart and answered his call to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth! The uncomfortable is part of counting the cost of being His disciple. That’s why everyday I pray, “God break my heart for what breaks yours, give me your eyes to see what you see, and your wisdom to understand what you are trying to teach me today.” Then I am reminded of these lyrics to All Sons and Daughters song, “You Have Called Me Higher”, (go listen to it!) I could just sit and wait for all your goodness hope to feel your presence, I could just sit right where I am and hope to feel something again. I could hold on to who I am and never let You change me from the inside, I could be safe here in your arms and never leave home, never let these walls down but You have called me higher, You have called me deeper, and I’ll go where You will lead me Lord. This is the song that sparked the fire inside of my to go on a missions trip. Because I knew that being in the comfortable was not where I was going to grow anymore, I could have stayed at home waited for my relationship with Christ to spark again, and not knock down the wall that I had built up keeping the uncomfortable and unknown out, or I could go and be immersed in the uncomfortable going where ever God leads me. And this missions trip is only the start of all the places God is going to lead me, and only just the beginning of my love story with Christ.
What has been your most profound God moment?
That is a very good question! Many little things have happened between me and God not many HUGE moments. But I would say the missing puzzle piece moment I had a few weeks ago that rocked my world. Lil’ summary, there is the missing piece inside all of us that we will try to fill with other things knowing it or not. For me it was approval from others, relationships with boys, knowing the “right stuff”, and my appearance. For others it’s sex, drugs, alcohol, money and so much more, it could be anything. Anyway I realized all the things I had been trying for so long to fit it into this space inside, because I needed to feel complete, sadly no matter how I stuffed, bent, ripped or whatever it wouldn’t fit. Then I realized a few weeks ago the reason none of that stuff would fit was because that hole was just Jesus sized, and meant for Jesus and Jesus alone. You can go read about it in a previous blog I posted titled, “the Missing Piece”.
At this point in your adventure what do you foresee as the biggest life impact so far?
Oh my goodness there are so many things that I have seen, experienced, or learned that have left an impact on how I view life. But this impact would be one that God is continually teaching me and it’s one just between me and God, but I’ll let all of you in on it too, since you asked. It would be, how God speaks to me. He doesn’t actually speak to me at all, not with an audible voice, or in words at all, visions, or gut feelings, but through ordinary things most people don’t see the value in or notice, God uses those things to show me His character. For example, the children at the CarePoint in Swaziland they didn’t care I was older than them, didn’t speak the same language, and looked completely different they just wanted a friend to play with that is exactly how God looks at you and me. God, when he looks at us, doesn’t see our mistakes, failures, and whatever else that separates us from Him, He sees you as a son or a daughter first. The ants mighty strength, that even though they are so small they can move such big things! That’s us and our faith, faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains! I see God’s character very clearly through songs, even secular songs like that Coldplay song “Fix You”, that’s God telling you He is aching to put you back together and be there for the whole process of fixing you! And so much more I’ve come to realize. As long as I’m willing to look, God is there.
What are your experiences with bathing and hygiene like?
Oh dear, are you sure you want to know? Well Swaziland was very nice! We had shower stalls and shower heads, toilets and eventually hot water, but no curtains in my bathroom for the toilet or shower stalls, mostly because we kept forgetting to ask for them. We were fairly clean in Swazi, except our feet were always caked with red dirt because it’s so dusty. I showered about three times a week, I think. Could also use the tap water to brush our teeth! Then Nepal came and boy my hygiene went out the window… ugh now my secret is out, I only showered 3 times that months. I do not suggest that, I was a “dirty goyl” as my host would have said. Here is the situation, there were about 21 people living in this apartment sized house. And it was winter in Nepal, it was cold, and the shower situation was a bucket shower and to heat up the water you had to use this electrical rod-thing. And that took a lot of work so I just didn’t do it. So after 13 days of not showering (new showering record for me!) our host took a few of my team to a restaurant that also had hot showers! Brilliant concept if you ask me. So I showered, even blow dried my hair, then at momos, did spill soup all over myself but worse things have happened. Now here in India we have cold, I mean freezing cold bucket showers. If you are unfamiliar with a bucket shower let me give you a little tutorial, there is a bucket in the shower stall you fill with water and then there a small scooper you use to pour the water over yourself. That’s it, thats all there is to it. It really made me realize how much water I waste in my showers. I use about one and a half buckets for my body and then 2 for my hair. I am now realizing how nice we had it back in Swaziland, hot showers and toilets. So all in all, my squad definitely is not the model of hygiene, but with the conditions we are trying.
What is a local clothing item or accessory Americans don’t generally use that you think is useful or fashionable?
In Nepal we had to cover our heads in church with a scarf, and that is something I actually really liked and will continue to do.
1. Keeps your head and neck warm.
- Can use to cover mouth and nose to keep out bad smells, and dirty air
- Won’t get hat hair
How have the children inspired you? What have you learned from the little ones?
They have taught me how to play creatively again, to see potential in trash basically. The Carepoint kids in Swaziland have some of the most inventive minds I’ve ever known. They made toy push cars out of discarded wire and caps or cans as the wheels. Also they would find a long string and use it to play large group jumping games. In Nepal I saw many children tie wilted lettuce together and use it like a hacky sack or as a birdie for badminton which they also played with a book as the racket. And they taught me that dance circles are the best ways to kill some time and laugh a ton! The children I meet all over the world remind to stop constantly getting caught up in how different people are, but to instead accept people for the way that they are and love them regardless.
Thank you everyone for your questions they were very good questions! If you have any more please don’t hesitate to email me if you have other questions! Love you all so much and thank you for your faithful support throughout this season!
