As I was riding in the car to the local orphanage here in Kulim it hit me. Today my race is halfway over. I am halfway over this crazy journey that has been so much a part of my life for the last two years. I have met half of the faces I will meet. I have seen half the sights. I have prayed for half of the people, and I have played with half of the kids. I have spent half of the nights laughing with my team. I have gotten half of the feedback. Halfway done. Halfway home.
As I sit here in amazement at how fast this has gone, I find myself reminiscing on all of the surprises this trip has brought. I think back to month 1 arriving in Bolivia completely unsure of how to proceed. I think of my host family, and the laughter we had sitting around the dinner table.
I think of her face as she said goodbye with tears streaming down her cheeks. I think of Team Open Arms and where we were then and how far we have come. I think of the amazing example of transformation that we got to be a part of on that team as we learned to love and grow. I think back to our days in Peru when my favorite part of the day was seeing the faces of some of the worlds most amazing 5 year olds.
I remember the feeling of my heart breaking when they asked me not to leave. I remember fitting nine people in a taxi and the best chocolate cake I’ve ever tasted. I remember 40 hour bus rides and PB&J for a week. I remember the beauty of Ecuador and the excitement of our ministry host. I remember hiking up the mountain to get to ministry and jumping off the bridge into the river to cool down.
I remember visiting families and learning the true importance of relationships for the first time. I remember Colombia and the hardships of our community. I remember the young girls who wrote notes to our team inviting the girls to be their moms because their own didn’t love them. I think back to the dance parties and remembering the good in choosing joy. I remember the love and the life that spilled out of our host. I think back to Japan where I learned about family. I remember learning to trust and learning to let go.
I think of all the laugher that has made up the world race, the kind that makes your abs sore because it reaches the depths of you. I think of all the tears shed, the kind that shake you to your core. I think of all the in-betweens. I look around me here in Malaysia as I’m learning what it means to truly let love invade.
I think of Pastor Mark, our host, who we are so incredibly blessed to have and wonder about all the hosts we’ve yet to meet. I think of all the places we have yet to see, and the friendships we have yet to build. Yes, we are halfway done, but that means we have half of it left. We have so much more to learn and so much more to do. We have half of the people left to encounter, and half of the hearts left to heal. We have only laughed half of our laughs, and danced half of our dances. We have only seen half the sights and we have only prayed half the prayers. When I think about the first half, it only makes me that much more exited for the next. In order to stay for the next half, however, I have to meet my final fundraising deadline on January 1st. I still need $3,000. That is $1,500 each week for the next two weeks! Please consider helping me stay on the field with a financial donation of any amount! If you would like to donate to my trip, you can do so in two different ways. First of all, you can give online by clicking the “Support Me” tab on the left-hand side of this page. The second way you can give is to send a check with my name and squad (Shelby Weier: F Squad) to:
Adventures in Missions
PO Box 742570
Atlanta, GA 30374-2570
All gifts are tax-deductible so it’s a great way to get our end of the year tax write-off. Thank you so much for following my journey and prayerfully considering partnering with me in this! God Bless & Happy Halfway Day! Enjoy some of my favorite moments from the first half of the race!
