Trip: the act of going to a place and returning.
Journey: The act of traveling from one place to another.
If you ask me how my trip was when I get home, I will love you for it. I genuinely want to tell you about everything that’s happened this year, so please ask! But just know that I may give you an answer similar to….“it was amazing!”, “life changing!” and also in the same sentence something like “it was difficult and challenging”. I’ve seen things and experienced things this year. Things that most people don’t see when they go on a trip and then return home 10 days later.
This is just the beginning of my ongoing journey, my Journey with Jesus and listening to His voice, and being with the Father. This wasn’t the best year of my life (although it will go down in the books for sure), This is just The beginning of a new journey with a renewed freedom in Christ. So here are some things that might be hard for me to think of in the moment when you ask me what I’ve experienced.
I’ve seen sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, and sunrises on an African safari.
I’ve seen the crashing rapids of the Nile river and experienced their wrath.
I’ve seen 5 people on one “boda-boda” (Ugandan for motorcycle) like it’s no big deal.
I’ve seen my squad mates healed from sickness by prayer alone.
I’ve seen roaches and rats in shower stalls…and it was all just another day in Thailand.
I’ve seen beautiful Buddhist temples and talked with monks about the 8-fold path, all the while wondering how I could possible show them Jesus.
I’ve seen churches in the Rwandan country side alive with Jesus.
I’ve seen transvestites cry as we pray for them on the streets of San Salvador.
I’ve seen children digging through trash looking for anything of value
I’ve drank fermented horse milk in a Mongolian Yurt.
I’ve seen over a thousand Afghanistan refuges living in an abandoned train station in the middle of the sprawling city of Belgrade Serbia, because they are trapped and forgotten.
I’ve seen horses run through the Mongolian country side, and it took my breath away.
I’ve snorkeled off an island in Malaysia, met Nemo and Dory.
I’ve seen moms carry babies on their backs, and 5 gallons of water on their heads, and not even break a sweat.
I’ve repelled off a 40-meter cliff without freaking out too much.
I’ve cried because I missed the birth of me niece, and my cousins’ engagement.
I’ve given an Elephant a bath, and he gave me one too.
I survived a massive thunderstorm, in the middle of the night, in a tent on a Malaysian beach.
I’ve seen kids as young as 7 years old high off glue in the streets of Kampala Uganda.
I’ve roasted marshmallows on a volcano in Guatemala.
I’ve said a Christian prayer of blessing over a group of monks and expectant mothers in a maternity ward.
I’ve climbed the Mayan Ruins of Tikal, and lived in the surrounding Jungle.
But greatest of all I’ve experienced the Love of Christ like never before. I’ve lived in community where unconditional love was expected, truth was spoken (even the hard truths), and fun and laughter were completely non-negotiable. I’ve lived a different story this year, a story of a new kind where you listen to God for your next move, where you seek out the people no one wants to seek out, and where you love them because you know the love of the father.
“God is thrilling and dangerous and safe all at the same time. He is wild, he will send you to the corners of the world if you say you are willing and will heal your wounds with soothing tenderness. He is everything good about life wrapped up into one.” -Stephanie May Wilson
Every day of this Race has its own epic story. Some more epic than others by worldly terms, but each day we moved together, we sought the Lord together, we ate and drank together, we got lost in translation together, and we dreamed together. There were positive and negative hairpin turns, close calls and stolen phones. There were late nights on buses, and almost missed flights. There was vomit and diarrhea, butt shots and gapping wounds. There were kind strangers willing to point us in the right direction or give us a place to stay. There were tarantulas, and mosquitoes. There were children…oh were there children, eyes wide and hearts open. Each day God showed us His grace and each day we were transforming. Transforming into new people, people who love with abandon, who fought to know the hard stuff in each other’s stories, and the stories of those around us. People whose character was changing, even if ever so slowly and grudgingly. Our journey demanded that we grow, that we change, and that we go deeper with the Father. I want to never stop. To never stop loving, to never stop caring, to never stop walking with Jesus, because that, I have realized is the most important thing.
I will be home in 12 days…
I would love to sit down with you and catch up, to tell you stories, and to hear your stories.
I would also love grace in this next chapter. No I don’t really know whats next and I’m learning that that’s ok. So give me grace with those questions.
I love you all, and I truly cant wait to see you!
-Yergs
