I’ll be honest, I haven’t been very homesick since South Africa. There was one evening in Thailand where I heard country music for the first time since Costa Rica, and it made me think of home, so I was homesick that night. However, that was the only time since South Africa. Now, as for this moment, I think it’s come from listening to people talk about home and what they’ll do when they get home. I have an idea of what I want to do when I get home, but I’m not planning it out extensively. I’ll let it come when it comes. Right now, I just can’t wait to get home and hug my mom. She was supposed to come to PVT, but some stuff came up so that she couldn’t come. I thought I would see her after six months of not seeing her, but that wasn’t how it happened. I have to wait for nine months to see her like everything else I’ve left at home. We have limited WiFi here in Myanmar, so I thought I wouldn’t get many opportunities to call home. Since it’s the last month, I thought I would be fine going without talking to her. Well, it’s been a lot harder to adjust to. We have a lot of time on our hands here, so there’s lots of time to think about anything and everything. It’s both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I have plenty of books to read and time to spend with Jesus. On the other hand, I have time to think about what going home could look like and how my relationships with people could change. I’m going to a place where running water is always available and the government doesn’t turn the electricity off by the flip of a switch. I’m going to a place where I can choose any kind of fruit that I want, not just what’s available at the market. I’ll live with constant AC again, not just open air houses. The electricity won’t go out when a storm comes. All this to say, I am homesick. Am I ready to call it quits and head home? No.
While I can’t wait to get home and hug those I’ve missed while being away, I’m dreading having to say goodbye to all of the people of Q squad. I’ve formed so many friendships that realizing I may never see or speak to these people again breaks my heart. I will stay in contact with my team and a couple others, but as a whole, we’ll never be together like we are now. I can say that I love the members of Q squad. I couldn’t say that at the beginning of the Race and I thought I never would. Now, I can say that and I’m so glad I experienced missionary life with these people. I’m going to miss them so much. Q squad, I love you. I may not show it all the time, but I truly do. You have shaped me to become a better person and a better Christian that loves Jesus more than ever before. You’ve shown me love, and I’m so thankful for it. Thank you. You are a part of my family. Thank you for accepting me. I’m going to miss you, probably more than you realize. I love you.
Ministry Update: I LOVE ministry here! This is the first ministry I’ve actually loved. Beats & Books in South Africa was fun, but the kids weren’t as behaved as the kids here. All of them listen and pay attention. They really try to understand and learn more. They’re always smiling and talking to us. We have worship every morning and evening, sometimes in English and other times in Burmese. We sing a couple songs, then we pray together as a group. That’s the coolest thing because so many voices are raised to God, and you can just feel the Holy Spirit in the room. The first time I participated in the evening worship, I felt chills because the praying reminded me of back home when people would go to the altars at the end of the church service and just pray on their own. After prayer, someone gives a message about what they’ve been learning from the Bible. Finally, we close by reciting the Lord’s Prayer, and then we carry on with our day. I teach a Fundamentals English class with Emily and Luba, two of my teammates. We came during their summer, so this class is a summer course. We have class from 9am to 12pm. After lunch, we have the rest of the day off. We meet again for worship at 7pm or 7:30pm. The days are long, but we’ve already been here for a week. Only two weeks left until final debrief, then I’m home bound!
Thanks for reading!
