Year One Reflections
It’s hard to believe I’ve been here for a full year! Thinking about this milestone, I put together five questions to help me reflect on the things that really define what the Lord has done and where he is leading me next. 1. How have you changed most between day one and today? Comparing day one to today, the biggest change is a deeper sense of security in my identity in Christ. The joys and challenges of this year have matured me, shifting my focus from my own capabilities to resting in Him alone. That spiritual maturity has naturally grown my patience and love for the people I serve… Read more
A Central Asian Galentine's Party
You may remember the “Story of the Knitted Grinch”. That fateful day in December 2023 was a huge reminder to me to not be shy about getting to know my neighbors. I’ve definitely carried that lesson with me, especially during our time in Central Asia. Getting to know my neighbors here hasn’t been easy. The language barrier is very challenging, because most of my neighbors speak “street” instead of “literary,” meaning they use more slang, words borrowed from other languages, and lots of shortcuts you won’t find in a grammar book. In spite of this, slowly slowly I’ve gotten to know my… Read more'Do You Feel Yourself Sufficient?'
'Welcome, Prince,' said Aslan. 'Do you feel yourself sufficient to take up the Kingship of Narnia?''I - I don't think I do, Sir,' said Caspian. 'I am only a kid.'Good,' said Aslan. 'If you had felt yourself sufficient, it would have been proof that you were not.' (Aslan and Prince Caspian, from C. S. Lewis' Prince Caspian) In just over three months I will be packing my bags and headed to the Middle East! Most of my fundraising is done (praise God!), and I have been blessed with a few months to prepare for what is next. There are so many things to learn and so many ways I am not yet ready. So… Read moreContent with my Weaknesses
“9 But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10 I often pray for the Lord to make more out of my language lessons than progress in my understanding of Albanian language. So, why would I be surprised when he answers that prayer with an opportunity to speak truth?… Read moreJanuary Update
Hey Everyone! Ministry Update Big praise of the month is that I got my paperwork back from the State Department! This was a big thing that I have been waiting on for a while in order to move on to the next step in the visa process. I got it mailed out to my team in Eastern Europe for the next step of going through a translation agency and 3 government agencies for approval. I learned that this step takes roughly 6 weeks, which is longer than I originally anticipated, so my departure date will be late March, maybe early April. My trip to the Embassy in DC was a success, and I got the… Read more
Climbing this Mountain with My Hands Wide Open
The other day, I heard Caroline, my roommate (and teammate and friend and fellow language learner), playing a song that immediately took me back to Word Retreat, which is the retreat my home church in Alabama has every January for the youth group. I have so many memories of sweet fellowship during those retreats as a teenager and also so many moments where the Lord met me and filled me with peace. The song is called “Nothing I Hold Onto.” Here are some of the lines: “I lean not on my own understanding My life is in the hands of the Maker of heaven” “I will climb this mountain With… Read more
For to You I Entrust My Life
"I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life.” - Psalm 143:8 This verse is on a card hanging on our fridge, directly across from where I sit for breakfast in the morning. For the first week of looking at it, what I thought most often when looking at this verse was honestly: “Wow, it will take forever for me to learn everything I need to know to translate that.” Look at it. You have the present perfect tense, you have a command with the word “should,” indirect and direct objects, a few vocabulary words I do not know in Albanian yet. And… Read moreAugust Breakthroughs
August Breakthroughs It’s been a long month and this is a long newsletter, but it’s worth the read! I hope you find time to sit down and catch up on what the Lord is doing here in Quito, Ecuador! Take Two: Cuicocha Edition In November of last year, my best friend and coworker, Anastasia, and I attempted to hike Cuicocha. Key word: attempted. The trail is a 12 km (about 7.5 mile) loop around a crater lake. We hiked for about two hours and only made it to kilometer marker three before a storm rolled in. Honestly, I was relieved—it felt like an excuse to stop, because at that point I… Read moreArabic Wins
In addition to wins like initiating increasingly deeper conversations and feeling more comfortable in Arabic, I placed Advanced-Low in an oral exam in July! This basically means I can speak conversationally about a range of topics at paragraph-length and am often catching my mistakes. The test was an encouraging way to quantify how far I’ve come in less than 2 years. While I still feel like there is a mountain of things I don’t know, it’s good to reflect on my accomplishments and perseverance. At this point in my journey, I’m learning more complex vocab and concepts, trying to listen to media… Read more