The happiest llama you will ever meet.
Hi friends! Phew, it’s been a while.
As many of you know, June 22 marked a year I’ve been home in the good ole US of A. I’ve spent the better part of July rereading all my posts – a year’s worth of mountaintops and valleys and heart breaks and wins, all readily available to revisit whenever I (and the rest of the world) please. What a weird, precious thing.
When I left you last, I had no idea where I was headed. And some days, I feel like I maybe still don’t. Just weeks after stepping back onto American soil, I was offered my dream job with a company who plans the kind of events your wildest imagination couldn’t even dream up. I spent every day absorbing as much of their creative talent as I could and trying to keep up, but I very quickly realized my heart was no longer cut out for wild hours and six figure events. About the time I officially hit burnout (and considered jumping on the next flight to anywhere but America) was the exact moment my new job was posted. All of the hours I spent thinking God had lost his mind or I had misunderstood (third world missions to six figure events, SURELY I HEARD HIM WRONG?!) suddenly made so much sense. Here was Dream Job 2.0 hanging right in front of me, and I could see the direct path from when I stepped on my plane bound for India to the moment I applied for this new job. So cool.
So you can currently find me living my own version of the American dream, getting to combine my two favorite things: travel and design. I’m a graphic designer and illustrator in tourism, and it’s THE BEST. I now have all the resources necessary to continue pouring into my favorite organizations around the world, including spanish classes.
Watch out world, I’m going to be fluent in NO time.
Since my arrival home, I’ve continuously struggled to figure out how to merge my missional past with my present life. The tricky part about America is it’s totally socially acceptable to focus entirely on yourself. In fact, we’ve been taught that not only can you have it all, you SHOULD have it all. And you better treat yo’self in the process.
And while I wish I could say I’ve boycotted this mindset, I’ve found myself back in my old habits of having all my meals delivered to my door from any restaurant I choose (genius, though!) and waltzing into my comfy office job with overpriced iced coffee in hand.
Most days I still feel like I’m just wandering around in a culture that no longer feels like my own, but I’m guilty of reaping all the benefits that come along with it. I wonder how I can sit in my walk-in closet and be so content and so discouraged at the same time. It’s been a whirlwind, y’all!
I’ve found myself back in one of the wealthiest counties in one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet my heart is often broken in the same ways it was when we’d enter into a slum in a third world country. I’m more than confident that this is where God has me in this season, but I’m often guilty of asking the hard questions and not following through with the right answer. More than once I’ve been found pointing fingers and demanding a selfless society from the massage chair of my local manicure shop. Yiiikes.
Y’all, it’s SO hard. Most of us (i.e. ME) are so busy living our daily lives that we have no idea of the opportunities to serve our communities that are out there, only waiting for a simple yes. The beauty of the Race was that nothing else mattered. We were there to serve God, serve each other and serve the local communities. THAT was our only task. Sure, we were often tempted with ‘better’ things like adventure days or calling our moms, but we weren’t being pulled in 30 different directions by things that demand our immediate attention. I genuinely don’t remember having this many bills… where do they keep coming from?! I truly had no idea how hard it would be to carve out time each week to volunteer, pray, read my bible, do church AND a small group, reach out to Race friends and continually be present in my own life. I did that stuff before, right?! But little by little, God is revealing to me how I can stay invested in my favorite international communities while serving the people around me here at home.
So after tears and rejoicing and LOTS of prayer, I’m very excited to announce that I’ll be returning to Colombia in October on a short term trip!! Many of you know Colombia was my all-time favorite country we visited. We lived on Santa Cecilia, a mountain overlooking Bogota, at an organization called Formavida. Formavida serves as a safe place to land for kids whose home lives are devastated by poverty, drugs and violence. They aim to break the cycle of poverty that most of the kids feel trapped in by empowering them with whatever skills and dreams they have. They also provide a warm meal and help with homework/English/Bible. I’m so honored to be a part of what they’re doing!
As much as I love my Colombian friends, cheesy arepas and street art, this organization pulled on my heart for a much deeper reason. If you’ve heard my testimony, you know that I come from a great home with a superhero single mom. (And if you haven’t, let’s grab coffee! I’m always excited to discuss God’s goodness!) Seriously y’all, my mom is a rockstar. She worked two jobs while fighting breast cancer and provided the most stable home she could for my sister and I, sheltering us from the chaos and turmoil that comes with a substance-abusing dad.
Lucy, the creator of Formavida, saw the need for that same stability in kids whose lives are being traumatically altered by either the actions of their parents or the socioeconomic class they were born into, and she’s poured her entire life into it. THAT is the Gospel, y’all. I get weepy at the thought that God sees me fit to be apart of these kids’ lives in such a huge way. I get to financially help meet their physical needs and sit beside them and say, “The tired, the scared, the lonely you are feeling, I’ve been there, too. And there’s a God who wants you to know you are not in this alone. He loves you so much, and he has great plans for you, too.” That is worth every single thing I walked through as a kid.
But I can’t do it alone! In order to return in October, I’ll need to raise $2200. Our first deadline of $700 is coming up July 31. Would you consider partnering with me to help give the kiddos of Santa Cecilia the skills they need to beat the cycles they’re currently in?
There are a couple of ways you can help!
1) Buy a super cute shirt! All proceeds go directly to my upcoming trip back to Colombia and the work we’ll be doing at Formavida: https://www.bonfire.com/gostephaniego-2019/
2) Donate directly to my trip page. All donations go directly to my trip and the work we’ll be doing: https://app.managedmissions.com/MyTrip/stephaniehamilton
3) Sponsor a kid! They are all precious and perfect. You not only get to invest in a life financially, but also through encouragement and prayer. You’ll receive video and written messages, and you get to communicate back! http://www.missionlifechange.org/sponsorships?status=unsponsored&location=colombia-formavida
4) Pray. If I learned nothing else during my World Race, it’s that prayer is SO underrated. I’d be honored if you would commit to a weekly prayer for:
financial support
health, safety, and travel
spiritual preparation and development of our team
fluid team dynamics
a positive, flexible attitude
an openness to embrace Colombian culture (because it’s the best!), even when it often challenges what we believe
and most importantly, to make God’s love known above all else
Thank you, thank you for all the kind words and support as I’ve attempted to navigate American life. Y’all are wonderful, and I’m so thankful to be surrounded by people who constantly encourage and support. Feel free to reach out with questions, comments, concerns. I talk about Colombia all day, everyday, so I’m always up for a conversation!
P.S Ask me about the time my Colombian friends showed up at the airport to surprise me and send me off with a perfectly executed English-Spanish birthday mashup. All. The. Tears.
