Wanderlust: strong longing for or impulse toward wandering/traveling
What I have discovered after traveling to 12 countries in less than 8 months with at least 3 more to go is that wanderlust is deceiving. Just the word lust alone says it all.
There seems to be this inherent desire in most people nowadays to travel more places, see, taste, touch, do, experience MORE. Then they get to the more and still aren’t satisfied. I only know because I have been there myself.
I think there is this common idea that traveling or living some kind of epic lifestyle will somehow fulfill a person. I am here to tell you that despite what all of the pinterest boards or wonderfully crafted social media posts depict, it won’t.
Travel and adventure alone will leave you thirsty IF that is where your search ends!
The deep longings of our heart can only be filled by having a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The world race has opened my eyes and given me knowledge of other cultures and lifestyles. It has allowed me to serve people with even greater needs and struggles than I knew existed. It is an experience that myself and others will be forever changed by for the good of Gods Kingdom and I know it’s right where the Lord wants me!
But, I think part of the reason the Lord brought me on the race was simply to teach me that the grass is not always greener anywhere I’m not.
I thought, coming onto the race, even the first few months of the race, that I had already learned that lesson, but I hadn’t. I could preach it to you, and I’m sure I did (sorry family). But, I hadn’t fully learned what it was to live it out.
I realized I was still always looking forward to the next day’s events, or the next country, or the next ministry host, or even what I would be doing after the race. Somehow, the beautiful sights around me started to seem mundane and the great mysterious unknown became the obnoxious for once I wish I knew something that was going on.
After awhile of leaving a piece of myself in every place I went, I felt like there weren’t any more scraps left to give. That is exactly where the Lord has met me each time, giving me the strength to go on and filling me back up so I can give just a little more.
I’ve also come to realize that I truly do value home, or even a place to loosely call home, and family so much. Maybe it took me leaving and seeing an abundance of the world to realize that I can be content with mundane daily living in the States. Yeah, I am pretty stubborn so sometimes the Lord has to do radical things to teach me simple lessons.
I just want to encourage everyone out there to truly appreciate the little things in life and even the things that seem boring because they are all a gift from our gracious Father.
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Just to give a quick update on what’s going on, we finished up our Ask the Lord month. He allowed us to be the answer to many people’s prayers: from the family seeking revival, to the jalepeno farmer who had prayed for helping hands, to the new business owners who had been wanting a world race team to come help but didn’t have time to fill out the form! We asked and He certainly answered! We ended with a week in Thessaloniki, Greece.
(worship and prayer downtown Thessoloniki)
Currently, we are in Vidin, Bulgaria. It is the poorest city in the EU and 1 in 6 people here has a mental illness. For our living situation think studio apartment for 8 people. We will be partnering with a pastor and his church doing different kinds of outreach including home visits and working with nearby gypsy communities.
On our first home visit today we met this woman who had miraculously encountered Jesus after a surgery and was able to walk and have a child against all odds. What a testimony of Gods love towards us!
(Romania is just across the Danube River)
It’s crazy to think my plane ticket home is already booked. We found out we will be flying in to NY on November 20th. It is also the last month on this team. Before Africa we will be changing teams one last time.
So, I am choosing to cherish each day of the rest of this radical lifestyle and embrace every opportunity because man, time just flies. I am so excited for this last month in Europe and what the Lord has for us here. Please be in prayer for this city and our team as we strive to step out in boldness sharing the love of Jesus with everyone we meet.
xoxo -Jenna
