Well, the Race has been over for a month and a half now. I’m getting ready for the next stage of life, which will be community college. I’ve had time to process the Race and what each country meant to me, and I’m sure more things will come to light as I have memories of my past experiences. Before you read the remainder of this blog, I want to thank all of you for your support: prayers, finances, and constant encouragement. I don’t know when my next “adventure” will be or when it will happen, but I’m definitely ready to stay in one place physically for a while. Anyway, I hope the following provides a recap of my nine month journey. Enjoy!
In Costa Rica, I had a very hard time transitioning. I had been stripped of my identity because I was no longer the Vice President of the National Honor Society or the Stage Manager for our theater productions. I didn’t have a title to separate myself from the people around me. I was the same as everybody else. On top of that, I was living with 50 other people under 1 roof and had no personal space to call my own. I battled homesickness and struggled with hurt from my past. During our ministry, I was just going through the motions. We served in a daycare, an after-school program, and in the slums. All of these areas were focused on children. I knew why we were there: to show God’s love through service. However, even though I knew the reason, I didn’t care. I was just there to be with kids and do whatever was asked of me. Working with children is also not a strong suit of mine, so I really needed a lot of patience. With all of that going on, I realized I didn’t have that intimate relationship with the Father. During those first three months, I discovered how the Lord loves me and I received that love. If you’ve heard me speak before, then you might remember that I’ve said that I felt the Father’s love intimately from those previous missions trips. However, because I was stripped of everything that brought me a bit of comfort, I had to work through past hurts and let God heal those wounds.
In South Africa, the Lord showed me how to receive love from people around me. I had a harder time being open with my team about personal things, so it took me a while to really trust them. However, during those three months, I learned to receive love from those who wanted to love me. I finally learned to embrace the love that they wanted to give me, even if I only knew them for only three months. For our ministry in that country, I worked at an after-school program called Beats & Books. My teammates and I helped kids with their homework and taught them how to play instruments. I led the violin class. During this time, I remembered why I was there and who I was serving, so working with these kids made it more meaningful. I loved the One who placed me there for a purpose.
In Thailand, the Lord told me that I was to show love to those around me. Our ministry was called Agape Home. Agape is a Greek term that refers to “the highest kind of love.” It’s choosing to love even when you don’t have a reason to love. It’s the kind of love God shares with us, and it’s the kind of love that He wants us to share with people around us. What do you know? God puts me in a ministry that shows nothing but love to kids with HIV/AIDS and work alongside them. We made little shoulder bags for school books, pencil pouches, and jump ropes. Everything we made at our ministry, we sent to Operation Christmas Child, the shoebox ministry started by Franklin Graham. Even though the kids living there had nothing more than their basic needs, they served by making these gifts for others and sending them out.
In Myanmar, it was the same. I was to continue showing love intentionally to those around me. My team taught English to the Burmese kids there, and it was such a joy.
This entire Race has been three-fold for me. What is love, how to receive love, and how to give love. Love is the key to knowing and understanding Christ. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” The only way for us to love those around us is to let Christ love us. If we are filled with His love, then we are secure in Him. We have to get alone with God and let Him fill us up. We can only serve effectively if we know who we’re serving. Even though our purpose was to serve in our ministries, it was also to meet with God in our own personal way and spend time with Him. We’re called to be like Christ. The only way for us to do that is to spend intentional, personal time with Him.
Thanks for reading! God bless!
