I haven woken up to the sound of a dozen roosters for a week now. I still wake up feeling like I’m in a dream.
Writing a blog post is somewhat stressful to me. There are about 1,000 things I want to say, images I want to try and create, stories I want to share and yet I sit here staring at my keyboard.
We all want to say something inspiring. We all want to do something impactful. Well, I need to admit something…God has taught me this week that I’ve been having the wrong mentality. Since stepping on the plane, I instantly began having expectations. I knew I shouldn’t. People told me over and over again to drop expectations. The World Race is much different that I had “expected”. I have only been here a week but I have totally been waiting for that moment. The moment when God would “wreck me” like everyone talks about. By waiting for that moment, I have started to devalue the little things. I journal a lot, and everyday I write down the “little moments” of the day–the moments that I sit in as long as I can so that the image can copy and save permanently in my brain.
Here are a few:
1. Not needing to set an alarm because the roosters wake you up at 5am sharp.
2. Two little boys at the orphanage blowing bubbles and trying to slingshot rubber bands to pop them.
3. Girls at the orphanage swinging while belting out Frozen songs. (I think I hear “Let it Go” over 100 times a day…seriously).
3. Looking down from the balcony to see Filipino kids gather together from the village with signs that say “I love you!”.
4. Learning Tagalog (the language here) from my new friends Jacqueline and Wen.
5. Getting an hour massage from an old Filipino women which only cost $7.50 and is the only source of income for these women.
6. Surviving the worst jet lag ever.
7. Swimming in the pouring rain with some of the girls from Jaz house while eno-ing across the pool.
8. Walking down the street to search for fried brown sugar covered bananas (heaven in your mouth).
9. Getting stopped on the street to have an arm wrestling match with some of the street boys. (Note to self–I need to start working out).
10. Getting lost because I asked the bus to take us to “SM YA YA” when I was supposed to ask for “SM TAY TAY”. Whoops.
11. Being called “Tita Kristen” everywhere I go, which means aunt in Tagalog.
12. One of the sweet girls learning what a pinky promise is. She now holds up her pinky any time I leave and makes me promise I will be back.
These are just in a days worth. I could go on and on. The point is, these moments that I don’t see as “big” or extravagant have actually impacted me the most. I am building incredible relationships–specifically with 5 girls here. I will write about them later. I am experiencing a new culture and God is opening up my eyes to the beauty that exists in poverty. I am dropping the expectations and accepting the little things that seem mundane throughout my day as the greatest gifts. These are the things that will ultimately wreck me and change me forever.
There is very limited wifi where I am, so I may randomly post several pictures on Instagram or post to Facebook but do not have unlimited access. I will try and post a blog once a week or a quick update! Thank you for all of your continued prayers, love and support.
With so much love,
-K
