Before leaving on my trip, I thought I was going to go see the world. Going to eat crazy foods. Learn little bits of different languages. Get really cool stamps in my passport. Witness miraculous healings. Take cramped and packed bus rides. Sleep in random and uncomfortable places. Lose weight due to a lack of nutritious food. Make great friends all around the world. See and get bitten by crazy bugs. Learn from disciplers.

Instead, I just lived life. That is what I have done for 9 months. Yes, I have gotten lots of cool stamps in my passport, made great friends, taken crazy bus rides, etc. But I really just lived life. After answering millions of questions of what it is like back in America ranging from – ‘What is your mother-tongue?’, ‘Do you have chickens in America?’, ‘What time does the sun set in America?’, I realize life and people are not much different. Yes, there are definitely major differences in development between these countries. However, the same things that people want in America are the same things that people want in Nicaragua, Thailand, and Kenya. They want security, peace, comfort, happiness, safety, and love. I thought before this trip that I was going to be living in very different places than America, but honestly they are not that different as people make the place.

I have met wonderful and amazing people. They have taught me so much. They have shaped and transformed me as “iron sharpens iron as one man sharpens another” (Prov 27:17). All the little kids in Kenya chanting, “How are you? How are you? How are you?” taught me to not get agitated at repetitive things. My squad has shown me how to love and care for the most random conglomeration of people. J My African Momma has taught me about sacrifice. The IGC church in Bungomma has shown me how to persevere in prayer. Patrice has taught and encouraged me to listen to the Lord. The churches in Pua, Thailand and Jinotepe, Nicaragua have shown me how to love with a language barrier. Saman in Pua showed me how a father should love his children. Momma Faith taught me how to cook everything with love and patience. Carlos showed me how to be strong in faith, and Amanda showed me how to encourage and pursue people. My family has taught me how to let people in and how to lose control. Little Griffin taught me how to laugh at myself.

So yes, I thought I was going to see and experience amazing things around the world, and that did happen. But that wasn’t the best thing. It was all the people. It was the people that made the trip. They will be the ones that I will talk about in stories when I get home in a few days. They will be the ones that I hang up in pictures on my wall. They will be the ones that I will continue to pray for. They are the ones that have impacted and shaped my heart forever.

So thanks Papa for taking my preconceived thoughts and instead giving me so much better.