I’ve been on the mission field for four months and as I was thinking back on what all I had done and experienced it felt… Well kind of pitiful. I realized that I have not taken advantage of the adventure and experience that the Lord had placed before me. So at the end of India I vowed to myself to start doing more, taking more chances and being more adventurous.
When I arrived in Nepal I was met with a plethora of opportunities to do something out of the ordinary; Parasailing, rock climbing, bungee jumping, or even getting a tattoo. I settled on the tattoo. My thinking was, a lot of my squad mates are getting it, it is cheap, it has a wonderful meaning and it would be cool to do it because how many times do you get to get a tattoo in Nepal? I prepared, designed it to fit what I wanted and I walked to the tattoo parlor. In the waiting room I kept trying to convince myself to not back out because, it would be cool to get a tattoo in Nepal. I waited for an hour trying to convince myself of that. Then they called me back. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack and I wasn’t even sure if I wanted a tattoo really. I sat down and he began to mark on my wrist where the tattoo would go. Loud screamo music pounded in my ears and I just kept thinking “but it would be cool”, when suddenly it struck me what a bad reason that was to permanently etch something onto my body.
I left, or rather fled, the building as quickly as I could feeling relived but guilty. I felt guilty because I had vowed to be more adventurous and fully experience the opportunity to live this life before me well and when I didn’t get that tattoo I felt that I had somehow failed. But you know what I know now? God didn’t call me on the race to get a tattoo. He didn’t call me to go parasailing or rafting the Nile. Those are fun, wonderful things… But that wasn’t the adventure He was calling me to.
My Father called me to grow in boldness and confidence. He called me to step out in faith and take spiritual risks. Adventure for me here is exploring my surroundings, meeting and loving people on the streets and in the shops. It means listening to Gods voice when He tells me to talk to the man in the glove shop and ask him to allow me to pray for him. Or the women in the coffee shop who wants to know what coffee you are drinking and is having a hard time finding a job. He wants me to take advantage of the beauty that is around me and to not take it for granted but to truly see it for what it is, a masterpiece spoken into existence by the one true God.
God does want me to be adventurous, He wants me to take risks and step out of comfortability. But that doesn’t necessarily mean what I thought it meant. Now I am not saying that people shouldn’t go and raft or bungee jump or get tattoos, I think if that is something they enjoy they should TOTALLY take advantage of that. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. But that isn’t the only type of adventure out there and that isn’t for everyone. So might I go parasailing or something at some point on the race? Yeah, maybe. But I won’t feel like I’ve squandered opportunities if I don’t. I will, however, feel that way if I leave this incredible journey without spiritual growth and confidence and if I don’t take every opportunity to share Jesus with the people I encounter. Because nothing is chance, the Lord has orchestrated every meeting and who knows what fruit those moments might bear in the future. So that is the type of adventure I want out of the race. Those are the risks and chances I want to take.
Praise the Lord for these moments of clarity and life lessons. I love how much growth the Lord has given me over these past few months. I can feel the difference and others around me can see it. What a beautiful thing. I am thankful that God loves me enough to give me this year of growth and experience.
As a side note, Nepal is absolutely beautiful and it’s cold! So I’m actually getting a month of winter before the death heat the next six months will bring. I got a new team of five other fabulous and fierce ladies and we were so excited to learn that our ministry this month will involve At risk girls and women. What a wonderful opportunity to show Gods love and redemption as well as experience a lot of growth. I can’t wait to tell you all about it in my next blog.
Prayer requests: our ministry is heavy and hard. Spiritually this month might take its toll, especially if we don’t prepare for it well. Pray that we will seek the Lords guidance in all things, that we will have a heart for these women so big that loves just spills out all over them and that God breaks our hearts for the men involved as much as they do for the women themselves. Thank you for all of your love and support! What an encouraging group of family and friends I have. You have blessed me so much this past year. I love you!
