Childlike Joy

Alright Peoples! I leave tomorrow for Orientation in Atlanta. I am nervous, excited, and so ready for my heart to be filled with the love and knowledge of God. I have been so busy checking off all of my different to-do lists that I am just now getting to where I am able to fully sit down and say to myself “you are going to South Korea, you are going to South Korea… AHHHHHHHHH” Granted I don’t leave for Korea until the 5th, but I really do feel that the IMB orientation is as much a part of my trip as the actually trip itself!

I’m going to FINALLY get to meet the rest of my teammates!! I’m so excited to meet all of them and my little human self hopes so much that they like me because I already love all of them so much! I love how when you start praying for someone or something that God completely changes your heart or gives you a heart toward that thing or person. Ever since I got the list of names of my teammates (and a mental image thanks to Facebook creeping:) ) I’ve been praying for them. Its weird to think that I love them so much but I haven’t even met them yet! I can’t wait to have little conversations with them and learn about their families, favorite foods, what music they like, and really just listen to their stories! I Love that my holy daddy hand picked each one of us to work together for his kingdom. Each of us may be completely different or the same, but either way at our core we all have the same yearning and passion for our creator. That alone is absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!!!

I know that I am not leaving for Korea tomorrow morning… Aka 6 hours from now. But, I may not get to post before I leave and I want y’all to know my feelings and thoughts about Korea before I actually get there and crazy incredible things start to happen! Ok so… My heart has always been so broken for people who are hurting and have been through extreme pain and torture. I don’t know if it was a calling or a gift God gave me, but my desire I hear their stories is so great and every time I hear one I never look at them with pity or sympathy but with empathy. I feel their hurt so deep in my core that I want to do whatever I can to the greatest extent that I can. Working with refugees and victims of torture I’ve seen that a lot of people are looking at them with pity and sympathy, but that’s not what they need. Having sympathy for someone is saying “I am so sorry that you loss your husband” being empathetic is above that. Meet the person where they are… Be their shoulder to cry on, listen to their stories, and help in the tangible ways as well as the intangible. The refugees that my teammates and I will be teaching English to will have stories that will absolutely blow our minds and we have been given this absolutely amazing opportunity to love on them. God has already started to prepare me a little bit, but I know based off of how I learn that being there in the thick of everything my heart will be utterly an completely broken over and over again for the people there. My prayer is that I would not be overwhelmed and that the spirit would speak through me and that the refugees would find the ultimate source of healing, a relationship with Jesus. Even as I’m writing this I’m crying and smiling because I know without doubt that I will witness miracles this summer.

“Look at the Nations and watch. Be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told!” -Habakkuk 1:5

I know you can see time in a blog… But I just had to take a 20 minute break… So now I’m back and if you haven’t notice my blog style yet… It’s word and feeling vomit everywhere :) and I absolutely love it! I know that my post will be sporadic and random tangents here and there but I want to thank you or reading! I hope and pray you will continue to read all throughout the summer and pray for myself, my team, and the wonderful people I’ll be encountering. So before I leave, I want to thank you for reading and through that supporting me and my team. I am so very thankful!