What up people in America?
Coffee is delicious here and they don’t add sugar into it (like they did in Thailand and Cambodia).
So storms… They can last a long while and a small one can foreshadow (literally) another one that is yet to come. And well I learned just this very thing, this past week after a bigger storm hit my team and I.
Quite a lot has happened… This was probably the most difficult period for me on the race so far. My actions and the actions of others and the lack there of, have affected my team and I. Please understand it was a very testing, tiring, trying time and I want to put it in the past once and for all. Thus in doing that and wanting to respect the integrity of my team, I will not be going into the nitty gritty details of what transpired.
That is all to say the storm has been coming to an end and cracks of sunlight are finally shining through the clouds.
As for reflecting on that time, here’s a list of things I have learned from it and what I am working through because of it:
While it was quite the learning experience, I’ve noticed that the culmination of what I’ve been learning on the race so far has bore fruit in these ways:
- it’s easier to forgive others because I recognize that He did that very thing for us and still continues to forgive us for our daily sins
- I’m reminded to go back to my roots as a servant-hearted person, that this is also a way I can love my teammates, especially those who do not feel loved the same way others do (i.e. quality time, physical touch like hugs and snuggles, etc.)
What I’m still learning:
- to die to myself DAILY for the sake of others; to be less selfish
- to simply go to a person with a listening ear and heart– to give them a chance even when everything else in my mind and flesh tell me not to
- to give others humility, especially at the heat of the moment
Life is not easy, even on the race… I’m here, traveling the world to change myself because He lives inside me because I’m choosing to live for Him. I’m here to learn, to be challenged and to rely on Him completely.
Well, here you goes–a short and sweet (well at least I think it was) blog for you. Until next week, stay warm. Hopefully I’m ready for the snow that is supposed to fall upon us soon, burrrrrr.
