Happy New Year!!! It's 2018...hard to believe that 2017 is already over and that just a few days ago I celebrated my 4th year as a missionary! How my life has changed over the past 4 years!! Incredibly is an understatement!! This past January 4, 2018, I returned to the Philippines for my 4th mission with the Poor Household of God mission and the Oikos Sisters. It's great how "easy" traveling half way around the world has become...how commonplace. Me, who hardly ever ventured outside of my own community is becoming a confident world traveler!! Pretty funny!
So, 4 years isn't exactly a milestone, but to me it is pretty significant. My whole way of living, thinking, even just being has changed. The way I see the world has altered irrevocably...sometimes for the worse as I can be judgmental, although I really try not to be. I have learned over the past 4 years to live in both the first world and the third world, a balancing act that has taken some time to level out. Sometimes I still struggle with the vast differences between the two worlds, but it is getting easier. I have broken out of my shell more and become more outgoing. Overall, I would say the that the changes that have taken place in me have been pretty positive.
I remember my reasons for not wanting to go on a mission trip... the heat, the bugs, the loss of conveniences, being away from my family and friends...everything familiar. Looking back, I see most of those were excuses not really reasons. But I've learned I can take the heat...in fact I can't tell you how many times people in the US tell me how nice my skin is, which is due to the humid climate in the Philippines and the loss of skin toxins due to sweating! Bugs...well, what can you really say about that... whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Shaking out the ants in my clothes before I put them on and becoming friends with the lizards in my room has become commonplace for me. I'm not saying you won't hear me screaming when I see a spider that is bigger than my hand, but I've even come to not panic when there's a huge cockroach in my bedroom at night. As for conveniences, at times I admit to a certain amount of frustration in that department, but I have become a much more patient person as a result of not having everything the moment I want it, having to do without or come up with creative substitutions. Thanks to the electronic age, talking with my family is really easy. Computers, the internet and wifi make communication a snap. Of course, here in the Philippines the signals are not always strong and the routine brown-outs and not-so routine surprise brown-outs can disrupt the regularity of our communication, but all in all, messenger, Whats App, facebook and email make communicating a breeze.
So, Happy Anniversary to me!! My anniversary pales in comparison, however to the anniversary we will be celebrating in May... May 3rd is the 20th anniversary of the Oikos Community! Already we are gearing up for it...it is sure to be quite a party!
It's good to look back every once in a while, to see where you've been, where the road has taken you and how you've changed since the beginning of your journey. Just don't get caught there, stuck looking back lest you suffer the fate of Lot's wife...she turned into a pillar of salt!! I am happy to have this time of reflection...now, back to looking forward (no pun intended!) Upwards and onwards to continue my journey as a missionary and as a daughter of God. xxoo
