Some basics for those of you just now dropping in: My sister and I are on an 11-month Christian mission trip to 11 different countries across 4 continents. We’re headed to: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Cambodia, and Thailand. The work will range from country to country in partnership with established ministries in each area.
It’s month 8. My team is in Sofia, Bulgaria.
In our last week in Romania, our parents came to visit. The experience was surreal. I’m not sure that I was fully prepared for what it would be like to see my mom and dad, to give them hugs and get to joke with them. It was such a relief. But it also made all of this even harder.
They reminded me of how much I miss home. I thought when I first hugged them they would smell like an airport, but they smelled just like home. Like our house in Galveston, Texas. I can see myself standing in our living room right now and everything is just like I left it. (I think they’ve gotten a new couch actually, but you get my point.)
More than missing home, life here felt harder when I saw it through their eyes. I had to process things like: “Huh…. You’re right, Mom. This bathroom is disgusting. I’d gotten used to it…”
They definitely got the full racer experience- including ministry. And they were really good at it.
I got to see my dad boldly approach strangers, and he’s really good at it. I had no idea. Street evangilism isn’t something we normally did together. I got to see my mom tearfully lead a woman to Christ. That‘s now one of my favorite WR memories.
It was a really great week. We tasted new foods and met new people. We served alongside Romanian missionaries and caught up on each other’s lives. We laughed. We cried. Miranda turned 26.
And then they went home. We said goodbye in Bucharest, Romania, and then Miranda and I left with our squad for Bulgaria. And now I have new t shirts and enough Tony’s seasonings for my last four months.
Seeing my parents and getting to spend time with them was an answer to prayers. There have been so many times in these past 7 months when all I wanted was to talk to either of them. Getting that time was a refresher; in some ways, a restart. And four more months doesn’t seem like that much longer.
Check out our Day in the Life: Parent Edition
aaaaand this happy birthday message from all of our squad:
I love our squad a lot, and I’m grateful to them for loving my sister so well on her birthday. Special thanks to the incredible Jen Olson for putting that video together.
