What a month October was! I’m in the middle of writing another post about last month and the trips I took, but in the meantime, here are just a couple pictures from my trip to France:
Oh, France. Je t’aime.
I’m currently sitting in the Chicago airport, 2 hours into a 5 hour layover, waiting for my flight to Paris. This is my final trip of this year, and I began to think about what this past year has taught me. Here are some quick and unedited thoughts on the past year of travel.
Travel makes me feel small.
To see the world from an airplane window and see how small our homes, cars, and roads look, I realize how tiny I really am. Travel forces me to think about other people; it forces me to remember that there is so much more happening in the world than what is happening in my world. It reminds me that for as different people can be, at our core we all long for the same things. I remember that I can love people well no matter where I am, to not be afraid to ask people about their stories. People are worth knowing, and don’t care if I’m good at conversation if I’m taking the time to listen to their story. Travel reminds me to not get too comfortable focusing on myself. I’m forced to trust people in unfamiliar places, sometimes with things as simple as directions. I have to learn about new cultures and I have to embarrass myself when I say a French or Italian or Chichewa word wrong. Traveling reminds me that perfectionism is the enemy of contentment, of learning, and of adventure.
Until the desire for relationship outweighs the fear of discomfort, I can never truly know someone.
These are some things that traveling has taught me so far.
Africa. Finally getting around to this post, one of many. I’ve been thinking about it ever since I’ve been back, and still I find myself struggling to know what to say. Before anything else, I want to tell you about some of the COTN Malawi staff, Davey, Steven, and Pike (and there are so many more).
Davey knows every single child in the Village Partnership Program (which consists of hundreds of children throughout three villages.) by name and face. To find anything out about a child, all you would have to do is either show Davey a picture or say the child’s name, and not only will he respond with, “oh yes, I know her!” he will go on to tell you about her parents, how old she is, her favorite subject in school, and how many siblings she has. Among other ways, he loves the children well simply by knowing them. Steven also works with the Village Partnership Program, specifically in the village of Chilombo. Of all the villages we went to, this one was the most rural, and the farthest away from almost any resources. A large part of Steven’s job is to visit families, go to their homes, get to know them and find out their needs. By knowing the people and being friends with them, he serves them with love and dignity. And then there’s Pike, who is the Venture Team Coordinator. He puts together the teams that come through COTN Malawi, and he is awesome. The whole time the team was there, everything was organized, clean, safe and fun. We had so much fun together as a team, and with the Malawians there, and that is largely because of Pike and his efforts to create such a welcoming environment.
Tomorrow it will be three weeks since I’ve been home from Africa. It’s a strange thought, because there are days I feel as if I was just there yesterday, and there are days when it feels like such a distant memory, almost like a dream. I remember the beautiful children I met, and the incredible COTN staff I talked about that are making profound changes in the lives of the people, and consequently making changes throughout the whole country. I miss it, and I think about it everyday. Since I’ve been back, my life has been hanging in the tension what’s happening here and now in my life, and what’s happening with my friends in Malawi, and trying to find the value in both. How do I do what I’m supposed to do here when I know what I could be, want to be doing there? How can I find the same urgency in my mundane tasks, that, before I went, seemed to matter so greatly? How can I be here, and actually be here?
I don’t know the answer to any of those questions just yet. I didn’t think 8 days could have changed my heart as much as it did. But the bottom line is that the people of Malawi – their joy, strength, and compassion – they changed me. Jesus is showing me something, and I know that my story with Malawi isn’t over yet. I don’t know exactly what that looks like for me yet, but I’m excited to see this part of my story unfold.
—
mikaela
One week from today, I will be on the way to Malawi, Africa! My team and I are going to put on an educational seminar for the Malawian teachers. I am absolutely beside myself with excitement and anticipation! [Fun fact: I love long flights. 21 hours of flight time, one way? JOY.] When I think about all of the amazing people I will be meeting.. the widows, the children… My heart can hardly contain the delight!
But completely honestly, my excitement is matched with a large amount of uncertainty, insecurity, and fear. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I have never been to Africa, or any third world country, and I simply don’t know what to expect, but most of it stems from something deeper.
My whole life I have been a perfectionist. It can be downright crippling sometimes. If I know that I won’t be good at something, chances are I won’t do it, or I’ll just laugh my way through it, because if I’m not really trying, then I can’t actually mess it up, right? Basically, I’m a pro at living inside of my comfort zone.
And let me tell you – going to Africa to speak in front of 30 teachers and present a lesson to them is so far out of my comfort zone.
That’s why this trip scares me. (I’m not a teacher! I’m barely out of school myself. How on earth will I be able to present a lesson that is helpful, entertaining, informational, and relevant AND so that the Malawian teachers actually kind of like me?)
That’s also why this trip is exactly what I need. Jesus has been at work preparing me for this trip from the second I applied, and way before that. He knows what He’s doing by having me go on this trip, at this time. He knew that I would feel nervous, unprepared, and unsure. I believe He still wanted me to go on this trip because this is a way that He is reminding me that all I can do (ever) is bring my meager best, lay it at His feet and let Him do the rest.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for 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.
2 Corinthians 12:9
I absolutely cannot WAIT to experience the ways Jesus works in Africa next week.
—
mikaela
Today, I’m missing Mexico + the other Central American countries I was able to explore briefly on the cruise. I cannot wait for the day I can go back.
Here are a couple I pictures I snapped while I was there.
A market in Cozumel, Mexico.
Men doing an archeological dig at the Altun-Ha Mayan ruin site in Belize.
[Both photos were taken with my iPhone 5 and edited with VSCOcam.]
“I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.”
–Robert Louis Stevenson
This is my year of travel. After much careful thought, I have decided to take one year off of school to continue to work part time, and to travel as much as my schedule and wallet will allow. I have recently returned from a 7-day cruise, and have trips to Malawi, Africa (July) and Montpellier, France (October) planned.
I have a curious heart for this year. I know that travel is something that i am passionate about, so what I’m hoping for is either that I get the travel bug “out of my system,” (which i believe is highly unlikely) or i confirm for myself that I need a job that allows me to travel. I am trying my best to dive in head first, try new things, and have few expectations. I want to remain open to new passions and ideas, and to not be afraid to explore and learn new things within myself.
And so, I travel for travel’s sake. Because I am not content to sit still while the world is bustling around me. I travel because there are too many sights to see, foods to taste, and people to know to stay in the same place.
Here is where I will document my travels and the things that I learn through them. Thanks for joining me for the adventure.
—
mikaela
with all my heart. 