How was my year?
Well, beginning January 8th, 2013 I left my home state of Wisconsin to board a plane to Washington D.C. it was here that I met up with O squad to go on an 11 month journey to 11 countries. 11 months is kind of a long time, it is almost a whole year! My squad of 45 people at the time left the US of A and proceeded to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I wasn’t really sure what to expect since the only country I had been to in Central America was Mexico. I noticed a lot of Hispanic looking people, stray dogs, and small structures made with sheets of metal and scrap materials to make houses; I definitely was not in America any more. My squad and I set up our tents and unpacked our things to make our home for the next month. Since it was my first month I didn’t really know what to expect so I tried to make the best out of every situation even though on the inside I was freaking out a little. There was one bathroom that everyone (45 people) shared with 3 toilets and 2 freezing cold showers, a station to hand wash clothes outside and constant noise 24 hours a day. My very first day of ministry consisted of digging out granite boulders from the side of the mountain and rolling them through mud and poop to construct a dam. Each rock weighed hundreds of pounds, even the 2 boys in our group were struggling to move them. When I got back from the first day of ministry I almost lost it. What am I doing here? Is this what I am going to have to do for the rest of the year? I don’t think I signed up for this. Except I did sign up for it. I signed up to be used by God in whatever way I was needed.
I am happy to say that I did not have to chip away at rocks in a mountain all year but I did do a lot of things that were challenging, stretching, and trying. I had to keep my attitude in check when I was just over it. I spent hours in the hot sun doing manual labor, painting, scraping, digging, shoveling, mowing, raking, moving rocks, cutting down trees, pulling weeds, cleaning out barns, white washing, cleaning bathrooms, and I could go on. You get the picture. I am not really a yard work, manual labor kind of person yet that was my main job for 4 months of this year and I really hated some days to the point where I just needed to cry. Through all that manual labor and through all the times I complained about it to my team mates I believe that those times humbled me more than any other ministry. This year was hard, sometimes Marianne and I talk about different things that happened this past year and we can laugh about them now but at the time we just hated it.
Now the cool ministries that I was able to participate in are way more fun to talk about. I was able to run around catching chickens in Guatemala to give to widows so they would have eggs to eat. I cooked tortillas for poor school children in the mornings to eat for breakfast. I lived at an orphanage in Kenya where I started a clean drinking water program and ran with the kids down dirt roads for a couple miles a day. I helped deliver babies in Uganda and spoke at churches. I worked with an organization that helps prostitutes in China. I did relief work in the Philippines to help those affected by the typhoon. I chased kids around the playground, lead Bible studies, taught in schools, and made friends with locals.
I went to AMAZING places. I visited the capital city of each country we went to, climbed mountains, swam in oceans, spent a day in NYC, visited Italy and Hungary, went on a safari in Kenya, white water rafted the Nile, went to the Great Wall of China, watched volcanoes explode, went shopping in local markets, ran through banana plantations in Africa, swam in waterfalls, explored castles, had gelato in Europe, had a fish pedicure in El Salvador, got a tattoo, and I did all of that with my amazing friends by my side.
I got around by plane, train, car, truck, taxi, helicopter, boat, subway, motorcycle, trike, geepne, bus, and by walking. I have slept in hostels, houses, tents, buses, trains, floors, and hammocks. I have picked up and moved all of my stuff over 40 times to go to a different location. I have tried foods in countries that make me wonder how America could be missing out on so much good food.
I have had so many moments where I needed to ask myself- Am I here right now? Is this real life?
Yes, this is real life and it is my life. I am so blessed.
It is pretty much impossible to sum up this past year in a blog, a short conversation, or a few pictures. I still haven’t comprehended exactly what has happened in my life over these past 11 months. I am thankful to my friends/team mates who have been with me every step of the way to get me through the hard times and celebrate the good times with me. I also have had an incredible amount of support from my parents and Grandparents who have skyped with me even when the time zones got weird and sent me encouragement on facebook and emails. This year has been nothing short of incredible and I will be going home with a new outlook and appreciation for the world and for myself.
I have always been a confident person but my confidence came from a prideful place. I believed in myself to the extent of my capabilities but now I have a deeper confidence that comes from the Lord. I am confident that wherever He will lead me I will be taken care of, I believe that I can dream big and act on those dreams. I may just be one person but I believe my impact is big. I was made to go, to do, and to follow the Lord’s direction.
Enjoy a few of my favorite pictures from this year
