| finally. the last week of school, with finals and graduations and last min hangouts, is drawing to a close. a chance to sit down and start packing since i'll be off in less than 24 hours. jetting off to obtain yet another two stamps on my passport. i recall the words of my HK teammate from last year Funni, how she loves her passport because there are stamps from all these different places that she's visited, and she is quite the well traveled girl. but somehow, this trip seems just as surreal as those stamps, something that exists only in the knowledge that i'm going and not in the actual realization that i am physically going on my first medical mission trip and coming back with more than just two stamps. it doesn't seem more real than that, and the fact that i have done absolutely no preparation for it whatsoever does not help. even though it is a secular trip, i do want to bring God with me, or rather, continue to encounter Him even when i'm not surrounded by the comfort zone of HOC brothers and sisters, or the knowledge that i'll have those awesome HK teammates who are always so edifying to meet and work with for some common goal. so this time, even though the cause is still a common goal, it's so different going for a different focus. i don't even know if my heart's in the right place, if i'm quote going for the right reason. i feel like... i know that after bangladesh last year, i really wanted to do something in the health field, maybe something medical missions-y. and that's sorta what this trip is about, to get a feel for the overseas medical missions part, to see if that's something that God is calling me to do. but i also don't knowwww...haha. so i guess, a few prayer requests: 1. i remember arianna's prayer request before she went to panama, and mine's similar: that i'd be able to work with my teammates, that i'd be able to build those friendships and bonds with those outside my comfort zone. because even though i know a few people going, i don't know any of them really well. 2. to rely on God. to rely on him to open my eyes, to be willing to learn (i originally wrote to not mess up but that's the point right? and i don't think i'd be able to do much damage even if i did haha), to help me with my spanish, to not be overly anxious but just to trust, to not make this a bigger deal than it really is. haha 3. that i don't get malaria since i didn't take my malaria pills. or any of those other nasty travelling diseases for that matter. but in all practicality, i know that i need to come back with that willingness to serve and love those around me. so this is a random, un-honduras related statement, but i've been realizing that i need to love more genuinely. i really dispise the smell of cigarette smoke and usually judge those who hold those cigarettes but i've been realizing who am i to judge those around me who have quote made a poor decision while simultaneously claiming to love those out there who live in dirt poverty who don't know that smoking is detrimental to there health. no difference really and i need to learn to live this out here in good ol' southern ca as well as quote overseas. so prayer for this would be greatly appreciated as well :) |
