Here’s my team going home from a Malaysian feast after a long day of painting and cleaning the church. I pop in my headphones and listen to some worship music while my eyes are scanning the outside world of Malaysia quickly passing by. “I’m in Malaysia”, or whatever the country it may be at the time seems to be a reoccurring thought throughout the different countries we go to every month on the World Race. My mind starts to go into shock as if I’m realizing for the first time that I have in fact not been in America for six and a half months. I smile at God with tears in my eyes thanking him for keeping me going so long and sending me on this amazing adventure. I arrive home and snuggle into my cozy sleeping bag and blow up sleeping pad on the floor that I like to call “bed” and drift off to sleep.
The morning arrives much too quickly. My team and I grab a bite to eat while listening to a teammate give this morning’s devotional. “Great, two more days and it’ll be my turn to somehow think up this great devotional. The day the pigs will fly, is within 48 hours” I think to myself. We sit around waiting for our ride who is two hours late, trying to not to get frustrated. We jump in the rickety old van in which dies when we stop at red lights and arrive at the church. Paint, paint, paint…. Oh, it’s eight hours later? Yup, were still painting! My shirt is disgustingly drenched in sweat, I am dizzy and in need of a serious attitude check. I keep working though and try my best to keep the front of having a positive attitude. “I am blessing these people. I am working for the Lord!” I have to remind myself.
I receive the unwanted news of waking up the next day to begin painting at seven the next morning. I put on a smile and say “Okay!” excitedly. We finally get in the rickety red van and head home from an extremely long day and I’m exhausted. My teammate sees me picking my lip which is my nervous habit and the only thing that holds me together most of the time. She gets my attention and silently words the normal “Stopppp.” I lose the only thing holding my exhaustion together and I begin to silently cry in the back seat without anybody noticing. “God, please mulitiply my sleep and hydration tonight.” Sometimes it’s funny how one day’s tears of joy can be the next day’s tears of mental and physical exhaustion.
Of course we get back and my team leader’s first words when arriving home are “FEEEEEEEDBAAAAAACK”, so the whole team (and all of Malaysia…. Just kidding) will know to join together for that special time every night we get to tell each other our day’s thoughts and feelings. “Oh, you mean five minute, speed feedback?” I half way jokingly blurted out. Luckily my teammates felt the same way and agreed, half way jokingly as well.
God has proved to me that he is all I need. The World Race has changed me. God has changed me. I am now a Kingdom worker. I am now a woman who will work as hard as possible even if at the end of the night I have to have my moment, and I will still thank God for sending me here. I am here for a purpose and if that purpose is to paint for eight hours straight, then that’s what I will do. God He gives me peace in nights where I don’t know how I’ll get up in the morning- still, not in America, in a nice warm bed, and with my friends and family. When it gets frustrating, he’s here. When I am happy, he’s here. When I get tired, he’s here. When I get called to travel the world for a year in his name, he’s here. There’s no place I’d rather be, then here in his love.
