Greetings friends,
You had questions, I got answers. Enjoy 🙂
Favorite country? Favorite memory?
It’s had to say. Each country was unique and had different things that I enjoyed but if I had to choose a favorite, i’d say Cambodia. Those kids stole my heart, the people at our ministry were incredible and the country itself was beautiful. I have many favorite memories from that month. Bike riding along the countryside, laughing just about everyday in my room with my teammates, learning speak Khmer from our hosts and the kids at the orphanage, climbing the water tower, fighting giant geckos, confronting water buffalos on my bike, questionable tuk tuk rides ( the thing was sooo shaky I was sure we were going down any minute), motorcycle rides and driving a moto for the first time… just to name a few.
best day, worst day…
Best day: pretty much anytime I sat back and took in how incredibly Blessed I am is a best day. Some of those moments were climbing Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala, watching the sunset at El Tunco beach in El Salvador, looking out at Victoria Falls in Zambia, riding elephants in Thailand, looking out at how massive Angkor Wat is in Cambodia, exploring caves in Malaysia. It isn’t always when I marvel at wonders God has created thought that definitely makes you stop in your tracks. Some of my best days are also when a teammate sees how stressed I’ve been and brings me some Oreos, when my coaches think of me and fly in to our debrief with 2 jars of nutella, when I see the joy on little faces at something as simple as a high five, when I hear of how God showed up in ways I cannot even explain #Mozambiqueexile. Those are also some of the best days.
Worst day: I don’t have a worst day… more like a worst week… this one time I tried to get 40 people into Mozambique. After getting the visas from the embassy and traveling for like what seemed like forever in a fish bus I got to the border, fought with immigration for 3 hrs and then got denied entrance. Then spent 4hrs outside in no mans land while trying to work with Malawi to get back in and oh did i mention it was FREEZING! Outside. Got a bus for the squad, traveled 2 hrs then crammed in a preschool for 2 days. 2 days later i got an email that my friend, Jacob, had fallen into the Rochester falls and was missing. 3 days after that his body was found. I lost my friend, my brother, an integral part of my life and community… and i couldn’t even be there for his funeral… that was perhaps the worst week of my life. I had failed at my job and thereby failed the squad, I couldn’t grieve the loss of my friend and we were still fighting to get into Mozambique. It was a rough week.
I’m curious about how it worked with student loans…did you pay them off before? During? Did they somehow postpone the payments until you got back? Well, I did not have any student loans. I received scholarships and grants for college. The rest I paid out of pocket. I was blessed to not have to take out any loans for school so I went on the race debt free. There are a number of people who do come on the race with loans. I hear that you can postpone. Some are paying throughout the year. For some government loans there is a volunteer deferment.
What is something the Lord has shown you about YOURSELF? One of the lessons I learned this year is that I am good enough. I don’t have to be a preacher to speak about Jesus. I don’t have to be a certified teacher to teach English. I don’t have to have years of experience to paint walls, caulk windows, lime wash, mix cement or move heavy furniture up the stairs. I don’t have to be “holy” to be a missionary. All you need is a willing heart.
Describe a day in Africa to me, I’ve never been! Early morning rises, mild temperatures, lots of dirt everywhere, friendly people, lots of stares, not understanding anything, nshima or rice for every meal, having church all the time, giving joy and receiving so much more joy back.
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What was the hardest thing about being in Africa?
The silly things: cold showers, cold nights ( we were there during their winter), everything always started late and lasted longer than expected, no real toilets and no toilet paper (if you had to go, the hole in the ground was your only option), being dirty ALL THE TIME!
The serious things: the overwhelming poverty, the hopelessness in both the men and the mothers who were left to fend for themselves, babies raising babies because parents died of AIDS or other diseases, not being able to create instant change.
At what point did you go “Wow God! This is what it’s all about!”? I had a number of those moments. One I will never forget was my last Sunday in Cambodia. The orphanage we worked at was run by a local pastor. Our last Sunday we went to their service. I will never forget seeing the kids worship, especially the little boys. I remember watching a documentary where it talked about child trafficking in Cambodia. In the documentary they spoke about educating the young boys, teaching them a trade so that when they get older, they don’t become the pimps that sell the little girls in the villages. In my mind I thought, “this is why we come here”. We educate them so they can have a successful future, we show them Jesus so they can be Jesus to others, we show them love, so they in turn love others. These little boys were so eager to learn and they were so smart. If me being in Cambodia means they don’t become pimps or involved in the human trafficking industry, that is good enough for me. If there is 1 thing I can leave anyone I came across this year with it is that THEY ARE LOVED! People who feel loved, love others. That is what it’s all about!
Stay Blessed
Kim 🙂
