Halfway Through! Creed To Finishing The Race Strong

We are officially over halfway through the race (what?!?!), and in the last few days we have left our ministry in Thailand behind. Month 6 was busy, and every member of Team Parkour (aka my team) was such an impressive teacher/painter/actor for the few weeks we were there. We all wore a few different hats in Thailand. It was definitely tiring, but we had a good month and loved using all the Thai phrases we learned. Kop Khun Ka! (Thank you). Just say kaaaaa a lot if you are a girl. 

Here is some of Thailand for you…..

Teaching at Wisdom Plus English School.

 

Our host Khwan brought us to the floating market.

 

The vendors sell their food from boats! I ate my first (and hopefully last) silk worm that night.

 

 

Here are some more from school…

 

 

Overnight train to Bangkok. We spent about 20 hours on it!

 

The gals of Parkour plus Khwan! Who would have thought we’d go bowling in Ban Pru, Thailand?

 

More of class…

Jonathan bought us a cake to celebrate the halfway day!

 

I definitely hit a wall this past month (or maybe it was more like the walls were closing in), and I had a day…or two… when I wondered how I would finish this thing. Needless to say, I love Thailand, but I am so thankful we had a chance to regroup and refocus before leaving for Cambodia.

We spent a few days in Bangkok for debrief (hence the regrouping and refocusing), and yesterday I got to ride an elephant. An ELEPHANT! Why am I not more excited about this??? I should be ecstatic! Something in me wants to complain…c o m p l a i n…that I wish I had more time to enjoy it or that I should have been more fearless or wish I had gotten more pictures or a hundred little things. I got to hold a leopard. A leopard. I held a leopard and fed it. But something in me wishes I could have cuddled with the baby tigers too. Wow. Just Wow. Discontentment is a slippery slope. It’s always looking for a way to drag you down. It happens in ministry. In friendship. In fun. I’ve seen it in my life (and this year) over and over in different ways.

I am sure, quite positive, that any of you sitting at home would love to slap me across the face for having any kind of complaints against riding an elephant or feeding a leopard. I would slap me too! Not to rub it in your face (okay I am definitely rubbing it in), but here is a taste of what that was like. I was freaking out on the inside a bit through all of it!

What I am pondering through acknowledging my own discontent is how I want to live in a state of gratitude despite physical discomfort. Despite any circumstance. Especially when I feel myself wondering why I don’t have something more or something different when I actually have blessing after blessing in my cup. Instead of focusing on whether what I have is as good as what you have, I want to be happier than a lark with every detail that is good and see it as a direct blessing from a God who lavishes good gifts on us. I am telling you this isn’t easy for me. I see a nature of discontentment wanting so badly to control my perspective of the world instead of a spirit of daughtership that recognizes the Father’s love in all things.

Going into a month of Cambodia, these are the things I am thinking of, the things I am aware of and wanting to let go. This won’t be easy, but I am praying for it and made a list of some of the things I know I need to work on. To me, finishing the race strong is going to require making an effort to do these things. I know I can’t achieve them on my own.

Here is the list I made that has become my “creed to finishing the race strong.”

In the next 5 months and onward I want to strive to….

Love and look for opportunities to love.
Serve without complaining.
Give even when it hurts.
Choose joy even when it is hard and all my inclinations want to choose self-pity or justification or self-righteousness.
Receive everyone in love.
Open my eyes to see others’ needs instead of only focusing on my own.
Strive to starve the selfishness in me and instead nurture thankfulness.
Focus on being grateful for the blessings I am experiencing instead of wishing I had someone else’s.
Be grateful for what is in my jar (see Mary anointing Jesus’ feet in John 12) and pour it back out again on Jesus.
Live in the moment and make the most of every opportunity.

There’s a lot in there about gratitude. Let’s try to start with that. Let’s start now.

Today I have been awake since 4:25 am. It is now 7:49pm, and we might not reach our host until 9:30pm or later. I’m hungry…goodness gracious could I go for something filling and delicious. But Jesus, thank you that I have eaten today. Thank you for the blueberry danish, banana, bag of almonds, 2 pea flavored chips and iced latte that I have consumed on this trip. I loved all of it…even the pea chips were okay. I know you will provide what I need for the rest of the day.

I am thankful for Keaton who just shared his snack that became my dinner.

I am thankful for the men who lugged our packs in a cart at the Cambodian border. We didn’t have to walk far and it wasn’t even hot.

I am thankful for an easy day going through customs.

I am thankful for a long bus ride with amazing views reminding me so much of Nicaragua but also with its own unique and enamoring beauty.

I am thankful for a bathroom here in Cambodia even though it looks like this:

I am thankful for a trip to the market because I got to see this:

I am thankful for running down the street and seeing a hundred smiling faces waving and saying hello.

Okay. Progress may be slow, but you have my permission to hold me accountable to this creed…I need that. I have so much to be thankful for now that we are in Cambodia, but I realize that the comforts that have been taken away don’t compare with the goodness that is surrounding us.

Here we go Month 7!!!

Love, h