Today I sat at a bus station that doubles as a gas station from about 10:30am until 6:05pm.
And it was amazing. And God moved. And it was AMAZING!
I met people from Oregon, Florida, Maryland, Pakistan, Panama, and Pennsylvania. I met people whose lives were in disarray. People who had just gotten out of prison a day ago, a week ago, a month ago. People who had been clean for 2 years, people who hadn’t been clean from drugs for 24 hours.
William’s mom loves her son very much. She has blue hair, a tender smile, an easy laugh, and a tattoo of her three year old’s name. She is headed home to Maryland to finally live with her little boy and his Dad.
The woman in the pink pants and chopped hair has been in prison for 17 years because of shoplifting and drug use. She is loud, feisty, loving, and hurting because her second husband divorced her after taking $500 from her and being released from prison himself. He now has a new wife and Ms. Pink Pants has a broken life. But guess what? A pastor picked up Ms. Pink Pants on the road and gave her free lodging, free food, and a compassionate family to pour into her. AND NOW SHE’S A BELIEVER desperately just trying to find her next step. “Maybe its in a textile mill if she can stay clean.”
I met three homeless men and one proclaimed wanderer. The homeless men lost me in conversation as we jumped from the elderly in Florida to penguins huddling and migration patterns in Antartica. They had a lot of fun theories to talk out.
The Wanderer (Andy) has been traveling for five years without a home, living off of people’s generosity and kindness. He processes things internally, lives in the woods, is looking for enlightenment, and is focused on finding work on a farm in Tennessee (if he can catch the next bus). He has a seven year old little girl that he never gets to see.
Ricardo is from Panama and has been living in Georgia for twenty-one years, visiting home once every two years. He likes it when people compliment his Spanish accent because it lets him talk about home. He’s divorced but he loves his children and grandchildren more than life itself. When he was working construction a couple of years ago he fell off of a beam three stories high and broke numerous bones in his body, now he gets disability. He’s been to Nicaragua to visit his cousins once and he said that he admires my mission and the distance I’ll travel for my calling. Today he waited three hours with me at the bus station for a friend that never showed up.
Tony is from Florida. He told me his wife and him fight a lot about his drinking. He’s not “into that praying thing.”
One of the employees from the gas station introduced himself and his wife to me. His name is “Danash Chan” (the H is silent). He loves his wife who has lived in Gainesville Georgia for the last thirty years with her immigrated family. Danash desperately misses his mom in Pakistan. He loves to smile, loves a good drink, and loves his six year old son more than it all. He saw me threading bracelets as I talked with people and asked me to make him one so he could remember me. So I did and he loved it! He’s going to show his color choices off to his wife tonight! He comes from a family of seven; everyone is married. There are five sister and one brother all living in various places across the globe. When his son gets older he wants to convince his family to move to New York because he loves the city’s convenience. When I left he made sure I had all my stuff as I boarded the bus, called me his friend, and gave me a free Snapple. I won’t forget to pray for you Danash.
All of these people have stories, loved ones, plans. Each one of them impacted me today. This is what God has called us to- being present and loving people where they’re at. I got to be in a community of people in transition today, physically and spiritually, and I’m so grateful. I’ll take a twenty-two hour bus ride back home any day to keep sharing God’s love with people from sun-up to sundown. I feel so blessed to have been at a training camp these last ten days that prepared me to share the gospel today!
Things I Learned At Training Camp:
1.) Q Squad is my church (my missions route group)
2.) God desires to hear from you everyday, growing in partnership, companionship, intimacy, and empowerment
3.) God has a never-ending, all forgiving, reckless love
4.) Community shows its true colors in dance battles
5.) God SPEAKS through his people and uses their individual spiritual gifts to grow the body of Christ
6.) Mosquito nets and bucket showers save lives
7.) Faith is an action not just a feeling
8.) I’m going to miss my loved ones a ton but God is still my comforter
9.) Before you can make disciples you have to be a disciple
10.) God truly equips those He calls( and hint hint, everyone is called!)
Bonus: Walk in joy for God has “anointed us with the oil of joy” Hebrews chapter 1
Training camp was a rollercoaster ten days. There were physical, emotional, and spiritual trials that I had to rely on God for to get me through. In this I encountered an all-consuming God like I never have before. I grew in my faith and grew in community with my squad mates as my church. God provides, he teaches, and he loves us so well! Our mission field is everywhere and everyone, as I witnessed today at the bus station.That being said I am still so excited to enter into a new stage of my mission field in 7 weeks in Costa Rica!
If you feel called to help me with the next steps of entering life on mission here’s how: (and if you don’t feel called I think you should pray about it further 🙂
1.) Pray for me, pray for peace in my spirit, wisdom in preparation, and love in my actions.
2.) Support me financially, join me in mission. Be the hands and feet of Christ, just go to the top of this blog and hit the Donate button!
3.) Buy a world race t-shirt! I am currently selling shirts in blue for $20! (extra soft)
4.) Email me, I would love to talk to you individually if you have questions, concerns, advice, or encouragement!
