Home for the Holidays!

I’m back in Texas.

And it’s strange. Reverse culture shock, coping, processing. All that looks different than I imagined, you would think I would have learned that along the way lol

When we left Amman, Jordan to head for America there was contained excitement. For what exactly, I’m not sure. Many things I imagine!

We landed in New York and said our second round of goodbyes to our squad mates. It was easier than you would imagine but mostly because a promise to see one another in January was still lingering.

Something amazing happened when we were in New York; my heart of stone was made of flesh again and I finally realized it.

A group of us decided to hang around NYC for a little bit in an Airbnb in a pretty far off part of Brooklyn. It seemed a little more Jewish than the other suburb-like areas I had been in NY previously, so there was Hebrew printed everywhere.

We settle in and nearly all of our group heads to dinner. We decide on what we thought was a bakery that had caught my attention on our walk in from the metro. 

As we walk in, it actually is a little restaurant. We notice a familiar mausoleum printed on two large posters on either side of this cafe with ”Samarkand“ written above the photo. The tv is playing a foreign singing competition and we notice the  other customers are also not speaking English. 

The 3 men from our squad light up wit’s excitement as the owners bring us menus “We love Samarkand! We were in Uzbekistan earlier this year.“ The men of our squad spent a month known as MANistry month in Uzbekistan while the women spent the month in Kyrgyzstan. A special moment.

Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia all have USSR influenced cultures so Soviet Culture was more than half of our race. The menus handed to us had both Russian and English and were fitted with our favorite dishes over the year. The baked goods in the storefront were some of our favorite savory pastries along the way. 

We all take time to laugh and revel in God leading us to this little Uzbek cafe as the first food we eat in America. What a sweet soft landing and promise that our year ACTUALLY happened and MEANT something. 

To to off the night, we were gifted Georgian Lemonade (as in the country not the state) and observed two Mongolian/Kazakh men walk into the very same restaurant to dine. 

The next morning I was walking to meet a friend for breakfast and as I was making my way to Times Square, I recognized languages, cultures, faces from the year and the joy of the Lord overcame me. I wasn’t overflowing and beaming with the understanding that I cared so much about God’s people. TRULY cared. The knots were kneaded from my heart and everything touched me as I looked around. There seemed to be every nation represented on that morning and I couldnt help but cry.

Im not sure what this testimony means to you, but to me it was another tear-inducing moment of sweet sweet love from God.

1 Corinthians 4:1 says 

“So then you must perceive us— not as leaders of factions, but as servants of the Anointed One, those who have been entrusted with God’s mysteries.”
??

The word “mysteries” is used in some translations in place of “testimony.” 

What a way to view our testimonies. They are just the mysteries that God has revealed to us making us stewards of God’s mysteries no matter how big or how small.

As I’m home for the holidays, this an important reminder that I am still on mission. These stories are about God, not me. These testimonies are of God’s glory, not my experience of adventure. But it could be framed as my adventures with God I suppose. 

I have Other thoughts for other blogs but what you need to know is this year felt like I lived a hundred years in the blink of an eye. 

UPDATE my new squad, E Squad, is amazing. They are full of life and my new team is named Botanical Pandas. I finally got to meet them over facetime and my heart is leaping for joy at the thought of this next season with them. 

Please keep all of us in your prayers as God is preparing our hearts in the waiting season. Please pray for our funds to pour in and prayerfully consider partnering with me or any of them to provide for our journey for the Kingdom.

if you’re in the DFW area I will be having a Kate Spade raffle and a fundraising dinner on December 20th! 

I love you guys, I can’t wait to update you with many more stories so so soon!!! ??