Reflections over the Last Season.....
I found these questions while I was on Google and ran into this website called www.findingpurposeinthepain.com. I thought it would be neat to reflect on my own journey over the past year...
What was the single best thing that happened this past year?
I left everything and followed Jesus to go to Ethiopia, Africa to be a missionary.
What was the single most challenging thing that happened?
Overseas missions.
What was an unexpected joy this past year?
I got to lead 40 souls to Jesus and tell even more about Him.
What was an unexpected obstacle?
The lack of support I received in going.
Pick three words to describe the last year.
Radical. Life-changing. Anointed.
Pick three words your spouse would use to describe your in the last year
(don’t ask them; guess based on how you think your spouse sees you).
Pick three words your spouse would use to describe their last year (again, without asking).
These questions are N/A in my life right now.
What were the best books you read this year?
Outside of my nose being in the Bible, I'm really enjoying The Color of Grace by Bethany Haley Williams, PhD.
With whom were your most valuable relationships?
My life group girls before I left...
My family...
My kids at the school...
Hiruy, my co-teacher and translator.
Other missionaries serving abroad.
What was your biggest personal change from January to December of this past year?
I quit my job and moved to Ethiopia to be a missionary.
In what way(s) did you grow emotionally?
I became so much more dependent on Jesus for everything.
In what way(s) did you grow spiritually?
The same. Dependence on Jesus and leading people to Jesus by the group.
In what way(s) did you grow physically?
I lost a lot of weight over the last year but I'm having to watch as I'm no longer walking to the school to teach every day...
In what way(s) did you grow in your relationships with others?
This year was hard relationally. I've actually lost friends. I gained friends in Ethiopia, but I lost friends here in the States in the process. I think maybe I got to learn who my real friends were.
What was the most enjoyable part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
Doing hand-claps with African children. Being very creative in our approach to teaching them with limited materials. Street evangelism.
What was the most challenging part of your work (both professionally and at home)?
Feeling alone at times because support was so thin. Being away from people I love here. Watching a child - student of mine - walk away. Hearing stories of what these kids and people have been through.
What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
There was very little time to waste in the process of gearing up to go to Ethiopia. Once I got there, sometimes there was a lax in coordinating schedules in that there would be a free afternoon as there wouldn't be a home visit and sometimes that could feel like time wasted.
What was the best way you used your time this past year?
Getting to invest in the futures of kids in Ethiopia, leading kids to Jesus, street evangelism, time in God's word, I got to slow down and de-stress from American culture a lot...
What was biggest thing you learned this past year?
I learned about trust. I learned even more how to stand up for what I believe in even when I'm the only one standing. I learned deeper ways of forgiveness and His grace. I'm learning more about patience. I'm learning to not be silent. I got to fight for what is right...
Create a phrase or statement that describes the last year for you.
"Come Away with Me" was the theme song for the mission I was on and "Yesus Konjo" also to mind and that means "Jesus is Beautiful." This is what Dawit's mom, Wendishet, told me as she left the Orthodox faith to follow Jesus.
