nameste!
well friends, my trip is coming to a close.
i leave in three days! this is crazy!
i've seen so much, thought so much, learned SO MUCH... and i'm still looking for more.
the longer i'm here, the more i want to travel and see more.
the more i learn at the hospital, the more i want to finish this dream of becoming a doctor and work in a third world country.
the more i read my bible and pray, the more i want to know and experience...
there's so much to say, and i don't know how i can say it all, but here goes.
this week i learned a lot about humility.
this volunteer experience has been difficult for me, mostly because i don't feel like i'm volunteering. i feel like i'm only taking from people - taking knowledge and time and friendship, and the only thing i can give back is a smile and questions. i've been encouraged by more than one person, then, to use my opportunities to talk to others about Christ. so i've been praying a lot, because the whole idea scares me a lot... and i realized something.
i could plan and think and write out what i want to say to people; beautiful, eloquent words that move them to believe in Jesus... or it could fail. i could give money to the beggars or buy them food and give them a kind smile on the street... and tomorrow, what would it change? i could give away all the money in the world...
and without God's work in it and through it, they are just dirty rags.
what's going through my mind is a casting crowns song... "it's amazing to know you don't need me".
it's also a very humbling thought!
here i am, sitting in nepal. i came to volunteer... i'm willing to talk to others about Jesus... i'm doing good things, right?! but honestly, i'm not the point of it all. God is... and while it takes me down a notch to think that i'm inconsequential compared to the bigger picture. i heard an analogy once that i really appreciated. all we can see is the back of the tapestry that God is weaving. it's knotted and the colors are crazy and it seems like complete chaos. nothing beautiful at all... just a mess. but when you can flip it over once it's finished... the masterpiece is breathtaking.
so isn't that the point of it all?
point to the maker who is weaving all of our stories into an amazing piece of artwork that amplifies anything we could ever say or do?
God is good.
ps... i'm hopefully going to church tomorrow. this should be awesome!
i can't wait to catch up with everyone... it seems like a lot of people have some awesome things to share :)
miss you all!