Update from Abroad

It's hard to believe that I'm somehow already halfway through my time in east Asia. (And yet this is my first post!) I will probably be processing this trip for a very long time to come. I guess that's been part of my hesitancy in posting. I'm not sure where to begin. I don't think I really have begun, yet somehow half of my time here has already passed. For now, here's what I can comprehend. I'm in love with every single thing I've experienced thus far on this trip. Bold statement right, especially coming from someone so hesitant and scared a little over a week ago. I've met people who are larger than life, or least larger than this life, in terms of their faith. Men and women who pursue God's calling and purpose so passionately that it makes me want to just sit at their feet and learn. In addition, I have enjoyed the unbelievable honor and joy of seeing 9 little lives doing more for God than I can even comprehend. It is humbling to see the Creator of the universe and all that is in it use truly "the least of these" to have a greater impact for the Kingdom of Heaven than whole churches do. I'm learning a new way to love, a way that cannot begin to be described in a brief posting. I'm learning to love with my entire heart and be fully present and in the moment, knowing that I will soon leave and a good portion of my heart will never be mine again. Yet somehow I'll grow and love more. Like Christ says we must give up our lives to find life, I'm learning that I must sacrifice a part of my heart in order for it to grow. And there's so much more. I will try to post more as I process all that I'm experiencing but just know that my words will never do it justice. For now, rest assured that I'm overwhelmingly happy and well all the way across the globe. And as I serve in a place that I before labeled "the forgotten orphans for east Asia," I now know that they were never forgotten, nor were they ever unloved. There is hope and joy and love because we have a perfect Heavenly Father who never leaves or forsakes us. 

Even if your father and mother forsake you, the Lord never will. Psalm 27:10, Isaiah 49:15