I remember lying on the public bathroom floor at a hostel my squad was staying at in Kampala, Uganda researching flights home on kayak.com because my leaders were questioning if I had malaria. I remember waking up throughout the night, my body fighting a fever, chills, diarrhea, puking, a migraine and trying my hardest not to cry. I went through random periods of sleeping for an hour, to being in the bathroom stall for an hour, to showering, and the cycle repeating itself. It was my first time being sick, really sick, in a foreign country and I felt so alone. That was five months ago.
I remember walking dirt roads and hiking up big hills in Gisenye to visit many poor families and mothers who are supporting their families with small businesses. I would hold their babies in my lap and play with them while talking to the moms using a translator to hear how we could pray for them. And while surrounded by all that poverty, feeling so alive in God’s beautiful creation in Rwanda. That was four months ago.
I remember being in Bahir Dar and walking half a mile every morning to the Grace Center. I loved doing Bible studies with the locals there and answering their questions about Jesus. I remember painting big murals on the walls where the abandoned babies would sleep and the staff making us delicious coffee every afternoon. No matter how busy, the people of Ethiopia always made sure to have their coffee three times a day. That was three months ago.
I remember the Lord giving my team a vision of traveling a lot and moving six times in one month while in Malaysia. I remember going back to a hostel we had stayed at previously and spending time with two sweet staff members. They took us to dinner one night and we laughed throughout the entire meal as we shared all the new foods we were introduced too. I also had my first coconut that I truly enjoyed. That was two months ago.
I remember joining a new team and praying together for the first time. At the Khao Sok National Park in Thailand, we all decided to hike together and it turned into one of the hardest days for all of us. I for sure thought I was going to lose my mind pulling 50 leeches off myself, trying to cover all our phones and food with one measly rain cover and getting frustrated for a waterfall that ended up being three hours away instead of one hour. But I learned so much about my teammates and myself that I would definitely do it again. That was one month ago.
And now, five and half months later since leaving New York, my squad is in Cambodia. My team and I are teaching English to monks and students in a small town called Kratie. I prayed for the opportunity to teach English before this journey even started, and now the Lord has answered my prayer. When I was sick in Uganda, I never thought I would make it this far. Yet, here we are. We have traveled to six countries, and our journey is halfway done.
HALFWAY.
I have already learned so much about the world, different cultures, traveling, myself, God, and community that it’s strange to realize my trip is only halfway finished. And I think this part of the race, the second half, is hard for me. The first half was a lot of newness to traveling, intentional community, cultures and more. But after a while, you just get tired. Really tired. And it can be difficult to stay excited and energized about what the day holds for you. However, I know there is more the Lord has for my team and I here on the field.
The exciting part is that there is SO MUCH MORE God wants me to experience and people to encounter with His Love for the remaining five and a half months. I am in between the beginning and the end, and the Lord has just as much He wants to do through me and in me in the next five and a half months as He has done in the previous months.
And the same goes for you. Where ever you are right now in life, God has a plan for you. He has so many good things prepared that He wants you to step into. When I am feeling exhausted and losing hope, Galatians 6:9 reminds me:
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we do not give up.”
