Seriously?
Are there really only seventeen days left on the World Race? How did that happen? I'm not quite sure. Maybe a few got misplaced along the way, because it has gone fast. It seems like a long time has passed (which it has) yet no time at all. I can vividly remember my ride to the airport the morning I left my home in Tucson, Arizona, bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready for the adventure known as the World Race.
Almost eleven months have passed since that day, and while my body may be a bit more tired than that first day I left Tucson, God has opened my eyes up even more to the world around me, and the work that He is doing in it. I am so thankful for that.
This last month in Moldova (Transnistria, actually, google it) is flying by as well. Our team is with one other team from our squad, and we're living in an orphanage, helping prepare it for summer programs and camps. We are partnered with a church and going to what we affectionately call the “brick yard” where we salvage bricks from demolished buildings for the church to use for a new training center. Tedious work, but it has been teaching us all different life lessons. Funny how those simple tasks speak volumes in our lives. I am also working on a mural with another squad mate for the church! Pictures will be up soon to show our progress. I'm blessed to have the opportunity to paint a mural in my last country of the World Race.
Leah and I handing out Pepsi cans with the youth from the church that say "Salvation is a gift"
Transnistria reminds me a lot of where we were in eastern Ukraine, and it is capturing my heart in a funny little way, much like Ukraine did. God has given me a heart for the people in Ukraine, and He's also waking it up to the people here as well. I love the language and culture. I'm trying to pick up some Russian while here, which is a fun but challenging task. In all, I'm enjoying our last month of ministry, and the lessons that God is solidifying in my life during this season.
I know that the end of this season is just a doorway into a new beginning. I can't wait to see where God leads me, and all of our squad in the seemingly daunting “next.”
It's been interesting to look back this month. We have been taking time to look back at each month on the race and share with each other the memorial stones that God erected in our lives during those months. What He did, what we learned, what stood out to us. What is equally as interesting for me to look back on was browsing through my blogs leading up until when I left for the race. They almost make me laugh at some turns, just remembering all of the emotions I faced leading up to the beginning.
Some things that I wrote struck a cord…
“I will say see you later, but I know I will never return the same. This will be the last time I look out into Tucson with these eyes. When I return, it will all seem different. Kind of crazy to think about, actually. It will be exciting though. Because I will see Tucson through eyes that have seen God's love spread across the entire world. Through eyes that have seen what breaks His heart, and now it breaks mine. I will see His eyes for Tucson. At least I would hope I would. An even deeper glimpse at His passionate love for this city in Arizona.”
Indeed, I am not returning the same. And I am excited to see Tucson through new eyes. And these words are just as true now, 17 days before I return home as thy were those 27 days before I left Tucson.
“His fingerprints are everywhere, leading us to this exact moment and day. For such a time as this. He has created us for this, and that is exciting! Take a minute to think back on how you got exactly where you are today. Can you see how God prepared you, how He led you to this moment? And if you are in the middle of the storm, take heart and joy in the fact that one day you will look back and see God moving in these hard times.
God has used so many hard times even to bring me to this point. Many tears have been shed. My heart has been tested. My resolve has come under attack. But He is so faithful, and every step of this journey already has been a beautiful testimony to God's unending love, patience, and faithfulness. I wouldn't trade it for anything.
So as I walk through this last month in Tucson, I celebrate His fingerprints and direction in my life that has led me to this moment. And I walk towards that moment, 27 days from now, when I will step onto the plane, buckle my seat belt, and let God launch me into this new adventure.”
Oh Sarah back then, if only you knew what lay ahead. You would laugh and smile in delight even more at the sovereignty and control of your Savior. And, I'm sure “future Sarah” will be saying the exact same thing to who I am now. Because this is just the beginning. God's just getting started.
And that, my friends, is exciting!
