Month 11. Honestly, I never thought this month would come. It was talked about and dreamed about but the reality of it has felt uncertain the whole race. Probably because the thoughts of the end are constantly and methodically pushed out of my mind.
In choosing my route, Indonesia didn’t stick out all that much to me. Confession, I’m not sure I really knew where in Asia it was when I signed up. Even coming out of Malaysia, I wasn’t sure what to expect out of our last month and didn’t receive details of our ministry until a couple of days before we arrived. I was walking blindly into my last month, partly exhausted and ready to go home, and partly ready to face the month head on and stretch it out as much as possible.
As our van rounded the corner into the school I knew there was something different about this place. Our ministry is with Bandung Alliance Intercultural School (BAIS). We worked with other schools this year, but we had yet to be met by a group of Americans. We had yet to be taken to a 5 bedroom 3 bathroom house all to ourselves. We had yet to be met by such overwhelming love and understanding.
The first night there we had people inviting us over for dinner and including us in their plans for the week. God had given us the cake and was letting us eat it too. How do I know this? Simple, candles. That dinner the first night with our host included fall scented candles when we walked through the door. It was a small glimpse of home and what we are walking back into.
Working at BAIS has been a daily reminder of God’s overwhelming love for us and his desire to give us good gifts. We are able to transition back home slowly by spending our last ministry working with North American teachers, people who have chosen to put their lives in America on hold in order to pursue what God has for them overseas. I can relate to that. It’s just a simple reminder that God sees me and knows how to love me during this transition.
And God really has given us cake. We had the most amazing cake made for us by a teacher with a map of the world and the World Race logo on it. On top of that we can’t even keep all of the dinner plans straight. People are willing to invite us in and love us as part of their team. They have shown me easy ways to love people in my daily life when I get home.
As my time on the race is quickly ending I could not be more thankful for a time of being poured into and loved so well. I am blown away by God’s good gifts and his desire to love and bless so well. As I ride down the road on my bike ( which teachers willing gave us and went without while we are here) with the wind in my hair, I smile because God gave me my cake and I will be eating it all the way home.
