For as long as I can remember I have lived by an academic calendar–nine months of school/work and three months of summer break. And even though for the past twelve years I've been at ENC each year has been completely different from the one previous. I never know what to expect. So to try and figure out what to expect for eleven months in a totally foreign place and situation is difficult. But I like to feel prepared so I've been thinking about it constantly. I read the blogs every day and have started rereading my journals from my summer long missions trip with Youth in Mission to try and wrap my mind around what is going to happen. So without further ado, here are my expectations:
THE GOOD
- I expect to be the literal hands and feet of God! I expect to offer comfort and love to those who are lonely and hurting and bring peace and hope to those who feel as though all is lost. I expect to see God in very real ways.
- I expect to meet the cutest kids in the ENTIRE WORLD (mostly because I will be traveling the world). I love kids and I expect to fall in love over and over again and just wish I could bring them all back with me!
- I expect to see and experience things many people my age will never get the chance to. I expect to fall in love with some countries/cultures/people and wish to never to leave.
THE BAD
- I expect to cry. Alot. I expect to cry out of frustration, homesickness, joy, anger, over tiredness, heartbreak, compassion, and emptiness. I expect to be wrecked and broken.
- I expect to feel helpless in so many situations. I expect to cry out to God why and how. Why is there so much pain and hurt in the world and how can I even make a difference?
- I expect to see things that break my heart, make me angry and question God. I expect to have images burned into my mind forever of true poverty, destruction and death.
THE UGLY
- I expect to get sick, hopefully only with things I've had before (cold/flu) but probably with things I haven't. Maybe even things I've never even heard of. Eek… I expect to miss my mom most on these days.
- I expect to be the smelly kid. I expect to not bathe or wash my clothes regularly and when I do there's a good chance it'll be out of a bucket and freezing cold water.
- I expect to eat things that make me want to die on the inside. I expect to smile, eat it and thank my hosts for sharing their food with me. Only when I am alone in my tent with my journal will I shudder and try to move on.
So those are just a few of my expectations. I know more will come up as I prepare. I look forward to rereading this post when I come home!
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*Thanks Google Images for these pictures!
*If you'd like to financially support this trip click the link of the left–I've got a lot of pennies to save for this!
