It’s hard to believe I’ve already been gone from the USA for 100 days! Time is flying by out here on the field. God has moved in incredible ways and I am thankful for all the moments I have been able to share in the work He is doing all over the world. My feet have already stepped into 10 different countries and my passport is filling up with stamps and it’s only month 4! There’s been good times and bad times, laughter and tears, excitement and disappointment, difficulty and days that pass with ease; through it all I have learned a lot over the passed 100 days or so.
1. Community Bites – Living in community 24/7 is hard work! Sometimes it does feel like the hunger games…you’re just fighting to survive! Haha…but seriously. Your focus has to be on loving each other well and not on your own well-being. Staying in this state of mind all the time is quite the challenge. You have to really be filled up in God and choose to allow His love to pour out of you.
2. You Can Run But You Can’t Hide – There’s this sense of “escape” in leaving on the race. You seem to think that your problems won’t follow you and life will be different and easier on the field. Psyche! Changing your location doesn’t change your problems. You still have to deal with them and allow God to complete the work, no matter where you are.
3. It’s Up To You – It is YOUR responsibility to keep yourself full of Jesus and monitoring your personal growth in Christ. You cannot rely on other people or expect someone else to pour into you constantly. You can go as deep in Him as your desire is to be like Him.
4. Bacon Is Not Bacon – No matter what the menu says, bacon isn’t bacon in other countries. It’s sad when they bring out your food and your mind is dreaming of the bacon stack that’ll come on it…false. It’s ham…or some form of it. Get ready America; we will be coming for all the bacon in about 230 days.
5. Personality Tests – No matter if you are an introvert or extrovert, or what Disney character you are most like. The race will change you. For me, I’ve become quieter and seek alone time more than I ever have before. Some of the more quieter people are coming out of the their shells. Being around people nonstop for 100 days will change you, in one way or the other.
6. TP Is Your BFF – Really no need to elaborate here. BRING toilet paper with you always. Bathroom is a broad term over here ya know…sometimes its just a random corn field or bushes. Always be prepared.
7. “What Are They Doing?” – This is the common response to most music videos we have seen in other countries. India is probably the worst. It’s hilariously scary how people interpret things over seas. I guess we will give them a few points for creativity…that’s for sure!
8. Wait For It – Time frames in other countries are quite different than ours. Like them saying, “You will get picked up before 9am” and the really come at 2:30pm. I have learned a lot of patience while being on the field.
9. Just Go With It – Along with being patient, being flexible is even MORE vital on the mission field. Things change constantly. Nothing is sure or 100% set in stone. You have to be ready for whatever comes and let things just happen as they will. This can be difficult at times, but the more you choose to just go with the flow, the better your race will be.
10. The Top Bun – Being in this non-dating environment that we live it, it can be a challenge to maintain a safe distance – since we all look amazing all the time on the field and all. So, I have come up with a foolproof, “firewall”, if you will, called the “top bun”. This perfectly round ball on the top of my head is a guarantee that no one will be trying to “month 12” it up around here. I’m doing this for you boys.
11. Find Him In The Small – I left on the race looking for the BIG things to be happening all the time. Welp, He continues to remind me that He is in the small things as well. Sometimes I am so busy searching for the dead bodies to come back to life that I miss the woman who is barren and needs prayer. He has been showing me over and over again to see Him in EVERYTHING, whether great or small, and when you live like this it truly makes you come alive.
