MIDWAY THOUGHTS

5 and a 1/2 months in, 5 and a 1/2 to go. Officially halfway. More days behind than ahead. On the downward slide.

Gosh. Its hard to believe we’re already here. The midway point. God has been soo good. It has been soo good and hard, exhausting and amazing, grueling and miraculous. Some days it feels like this journey just started, other days it feels like I’ve been gone for years. 

Countless hours spent on buses, in an airport, on planes, and borders crossed with more to come. Lived out of my tent for two months on the side of a mountain, slept in my hammock under the stars for a month, hiked volcanoes(and slid down one!), swam in waterfalls and the most beautiful clear blue water. Ive played with kids, Prayed over the hurting and the sick, shared the gospel and told my testimony. Walked the streets and prayed. Studied scripture together with my teammates.  Ive cried tears of overwhelming joy, and tears of sadness and hurt. Watched the lost get found, took communion  and worshiped the Lord  together with past drug addicts.  Had my face buried in the word of God and at the feet of Jesus for hours.   

Some Ministries and countries I found myself not wanting to leave, others I was counting down the days until we left. Some places the goodbyes where harder than the others. Some teams were easier to part from than others. In the hard ones trusting that God was up to something far better than I could have ever imagined. And let me tell ya. Community is hard. Like real hard but also soo sweet and good and life giving.

No, not every day has been enjoyable. Some days I was wishing to be elsewhere, others times not wanting the day to end.  At times(especially recently) longing to hear voices and see faces  from home, wanting to hug my people, wondering what i’m missing out on back home. If you’re reading this and you’re family or a friend send me a message or a picture of you/your family/ your kids! Those kind of things make me feel a little closer to home 🙂 !

Coming out of month 5 and into month 6 I felt like I had hit a wall of complete exhaustion. Physically, mentally, and emotionally. I felt like I couldn’t go on any longer. I had been going what had felt like non stop from January to May, I needed a break. No not a break from living on mission. But a space to just rest and be, to  be refreshed to be able to continue moving forward. And month 6 has been just that. Thanks God!! A  good balance between rest and ministry and adventure.

Though some days have been hard and difficult  and I miss home often and  I say “What the heck am I doing out here?!” The journey has been worth it all thus far. God has opened my eyes to see so many things and people through his eyes,  He’s broken my heart for what breaks his, Ive learned and grown alongside many amazing people and ministries, My trust and dependance on Him has grown incredibly. Staying steadfast in the race that He has set before me.

I’ll leave you with this encounter that got me thinking.

In a recent conversation with a local woman she shared her testimony with us as she cook up some Arepas for us, one thing that really stuck out to me that she said was this,

“I don’t want a husband if it’s going to pull me away from Christ. I don’t want a house or a car if it’s going to pull me away from Christ. I Don’t want________ if it’s going to pull me away from Christ.”

Dang! That hit me right away. How many times do we desire and work for all these worldly things, not necessarily bad though, that intern pull us away from our relationship with Christ?? I know I have. What about you? Are we counting everything as loss(yes even the good things) for the sake of Christ as Paul talks about in Philippians 3?

A few prayer Requests:

• For rest even in the midst of the busy days
• For steadfastness
• For open doors and hearts as we share the love of Christ and the gospel in an indigenous tribe this week.
• For continued safety and protection over our squad