Hey there passport families! My name is Lauren, i’ll be leading your girls in Nicaragua the next three months. This blog explains how I got to be here with these lovely ladies!
Disclaimer: I am going to ask you to support me at the end of all this, because this is one of THOSE blogs. But please! Keep reading to find out why you should (:
“We are not of this world,” “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ” -Philippians 3:20
How has adjusting to America been?
What if you woke up one morning, and everything was the same, but you felt oddly out of place? You resort to your daily routine to gain some ground, but you can’t help but feel completely different about everything you come across. Things you used to take interest in don’t seem to hold your attention. The music you used to love doesn’t pump you up like it used to. You can’t find a place in conversation, but you don’t care to find one. It seems you’ve become somewhat alien overnight. It’s like you’re in outer space, and no one can bring you down again. But then again, maybe you’ve grown acquainted to the sky. You like where you are and don’t want to be brought down.
“Re-entry,” as they call it, is real. The truth is, the rest of the world is not like America. In the midst of “reverse culture shock,” (readjusting to what used to be my own culture), I have started to feel somewhat out of place, or what I’ve come to describe as feeling like an “alien.” On the race, I would catch myself trying to find familiarity, but most of the time I found more things comparable to previous countries we had been in; never comparable to America. America is different. So yes, after 11 months, re-entry into America has been difficult.
Now that the race is over, what do you plan on doing?
Four weeks after being home from the race, I set off for Project Searchlight in Georgia (PSL). PSL is a conference targeted towards putting pavement to the many things you’ve learned on the race. The week was great. It was really comforting to be reunited with my other alien friends. We enjoyed many sessions; topics ranging from how to formulate the race into a resume, job opportunities with Adventures in Missions (AIM), and how to communicate experiences on the race to others. In one of the sessions we were coached in writing a personal missions statement to help direct us to our next occupation. My mission statement came out to be:
“My purpose is to search and restore the hearts of all people by revealing the depth of God’s love through discipleship and writing.”
At some point during the week Bill Swan announced at the mic that they were still in need of a female willing to lead a passport trip of ten 18-22 year old girls to Nicaragua January 17th- April 25th. Having been asked to lead the trip back in November, I instantly felt a shift in my spirit, and my heart raced at the thought that that female leader was me. I dismissed the thought and went on to enjoy the week. However, as the PSL came to an end, I couldn’t get the idea of leading the passport out of my mind. I figured leading the trip coincided with the missions statement I had just made for myself, and decided to sign up to lead the trip the next day. I was interviewed, packed, and back on a plane to Georgia 6 days later. Now, a week after that, I am writing you from my bunk in Nicaragua!
It has brought me nothing but peace to be back on the field. While I regretted to tell my friends and family that I would not see them for an additional 3 months, my heart is in joy overflow. In these next three months I hope to disciple these girls the best I can. I pray that they begin to see the depth of love God has for them, and the capability that they each have to live out their God given dreams. I pray that they will feel just as “alien” when they get back home. Not only to America, but to this world.
“For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our city in heaven, which is yet to come.” Hebrews 13:14
“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11-12
So yes! This is one of THOSE blogs. Because I left home so abruptly, I did not have the chance to raise support for this trip; let alone tell people I was leaving at all! If you are looking for someone to tithe to, or know of anyone looking to support an organization/missionary tell them about this 3 month trip I am taking. I need to raise $1800, spread the word! I love you all!
You can support me, by clicking the “support me” tab on the upper left of this page!
