“I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question.”

It’s almost noon and my husband (yep-have one of those now) and I are finding it nearly impossible to peel our eyelids open long enough to officially announce we are awake for the day. We are in Cape Town settled temporarily at a sweet little B&B while we await the arrival of another outreach team. We are with incredibly kind hosts and a terribly hard bed. We have been here for two days but I must admit the majority of our precious time here as been spent sleeping. And while I have a great temptation to feel bad about it- I am mostly enjoying it. Moments like these don’t come often. No responsibility. No where to be. And no one but ourselves to explain our decision to miss yet another prime tourist activity.

As I sit here in my semi-awake, jetlagged, and somehow still-feeling-sleep-deprived state I can’t help but think about what a year it has been.

November: This time last year I was in Zambia. Single. Well, dating and dreaming of when I might say, “I do,” but definitely lacking any official sign of long-term commitment. I was working at a very busy government maternity hospital and helping to lead a team of student midwives in what it means to be a Godly healthcare worker and a missionary in the developing world. I met a dear friend in the maternity ward and was apart of her miraculous birth to a sweet baby I still think about daily. I grieved when she died and cherished mothering her little girl while I could.

Decemeber: From there I returned to India. Somehow this place I never cared to visit has become my home away from home. I spent a month in my old stomping ground, visiting the many friends I have made there over the years and continuing to serve at one of the hardest hospitals I have ever had the privilege of working in. 

Just before the New Year rang in I made my way back to Australia to celebrate with my soon to be fiancé.  But not before spending the day with some dear friends and fellow midwives in Bangkok. After having the best sleep in 3 months on a lonely, yet inviting couch in the airport, we spent the day exploring the buzzing city. Up and down the winding streets of one of the most exciting markets I have ever been in to catching the train to one of the most posh, pseudo-American malls I have ever seen outside of my homeland. Exhausted, exhilarated, and satisfied with a day well spent, it was easy to sleep my way to Perth from there.

January: After arriving back in January I took a 3-week course called the Orientation to Medical Missions. As if I hadn’t orientated myself in the last few years. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it immensely, learned a lot, and was reminded why I love what I do.  

February: Almost as soon as it finished I was jet-setting again. This time to one of my favorite places in the world: home. And I wasn’t coming home empty handed either-I had a boyfriend. We spent 3 memorable weeks spending time with family, eating delicious food, playing at Disneyland, and finally getting engaged before taking off back to Australia.

March-April: Now with wedding planning on the mind I managed to stay in Perth for two months working with the anti-Human Trafficking and Prostitution ministry, visiting brothels and praying for women enslaved in the industry. One of my most memorable times I had was sharing the Easter story and handing out lemon cookies and church invites to countless brothels across the city.

May: As if I was somehow allergic to spending too much time in the same place, it was now time to leave again. This time to celebrate my fiancés brothers wedding. I had a beautiful time on the East coast of Australia celebrating an incredible couple and getting to know my soon to be family. 

Unfortunately, our time with them was brief as we had plans to go to a large evangelical campaign in South Korea for a month.  So off we went again.  This time stopping over in Hong Kong to somehow make our way to into the city to enjoy a crème brulee latte at a café overlooking the busy streets. (Highly recommend the city by the way-and that latte, if you ever get the chance)

Korea was a different kind of outreach for me. The city and the people are absolutely stunning. The food is unique and sometimes scary but I enjoyed it immensely. We entered the country just months after a tragic event that had the nation stirred up in grief. The church was hurting yet hopeful and so grateful for the company. Chenaniah was dancing with a Polynesian performing arts group that uses cultural dance to draw large crowds and share the gospel. Useless in the dancing department, I instead, helped with schooling for one of the young dancers in between his practices and performances. It was a rich time for me, having an opportunity to be around Chenaniah’s culture and experience the type of mission’s work he’s been doing the last 5 years. During the time I lived with a group of Hawaiians from YWAM Kona and couldn’t have been more blessed by their beautiful hearts. I made a new sort of family there and was definitely sad to say goodbye.

June-September: But the time had come to be back in Perth. Only a month away from the next quarter of schools starting. This is when I usually work with the beginning phase of the Birth Attendant School, where they have 3 months of introductory lectures in Perth. However, this year I felt led to serve in a different way. While I madly tried to prepare for my upcoming nuptials I also took on the role of staffing the entry-level school into Youth With a Mission called a DTS (discipleship training school) Whew, how’s that for wordy? This DTS had a focus on Human-Trafficking and Prostitution.  For nearly three months I spent everyday helping to disciple an incredibly eager group of students who had come from many different nations to grow in their relationship with God and learn how to make God known in the nations.

Somehow, in some miraculous way, I managed to have a wedding near the end of the school. I took two weeks off. One was spent with my amazing parents and friends who flew all the way from America and Denmark to be help me in my mini-bridezilla moments leading up to the big day. The day of the wedding couldn’t have gone any better. It was a dream. As full time missionaries we had to trust God and fundraise for every single detail of the wedding. Honestly, I give it 5 stars. God is good. He is so generous and faithful and I was absolutely blown away at the way our community in YWAM came around and served us for our wedding. These people are absolutely amazingly gifted and should be making millions in the “real world” but instead have completely submitted their gifting to God and they are changing the world because of it.

We had a mini-honeymoon in the beautiful Margaret River just a few hours away from Perth before heading back to finish the last week of the schools we worked with.

October: Now finally it was time to take a break. We spent 6 weeks in America and it was an absolutely marvelous time. We ate what I consider to be the best food in the world and relentlessly tried to counteract it in the gym as much as possible. I got to see my baby sister with her impeding pregnant belly and then watched my niece enter the world and take over the heart of everyone in the room. Chenaniah and I liver together for the first time, and have worked out what it looks like to share a bed and a life with each other. Being married is the best and most challenging thing I have ever done (but I'll save that for another blog) We were filled up and refreshed with our time spent with family, friends, and our church.

The majority of our time, once again, was spent fundraising.

In order to return to Australia I needed quite a hefty costing visa that set us behind a few thousand dollars. And we somehow needed to get enough money to fly ourselves to Africa and then back to Australia. Seemed daunting and overwhelming in the beginning but I had to remind myself that the battle wasn’t mine to fight. Everything we were raising for was the word of the Lord to us. God called us and while it seemed impossible to see so much come in immediately after raising so much for our wedding, I could not doubt his faithfulness to us and I know His provision would come.  And that it did. It may have come with doubts, fears and tears, and what seemed like sacrifice (I had high hopes of revisiting my dear friends in Disneyland) but to be honest its no real cost serving God. It’s not a sacrifice; it’s a privilege to have to trust God with every part of our life. We are completely dependent on Him. Sometimes I forget that and try to take things into my own hands and put my trust in myself or other people. But God always reminds me its not others that ultimately provide for me- it’s Him. It’s always going to be Him.

So there it is. One year. 9 countries. Countless cities and stops. From dating to being engaged to being married. To delivering babies and handing out cookies to prostitutes. To Mickey Mouse. To family. To weddings. To outreaches.

November: So maybe that’s why it the middle of the day, I’m in a new city and instead of seizing the day we’re still sleeping. It makes sense. It’s good to rest. While it may not seem like it, I am learning a lot the power and importance of slowing down. I’m also learning what it looks like to sink into a sea of Grace knowing that when I can’t possibly go on – He can.  And that’s exactly where I need to be.  In a few days Chenaniah’s Music DTS will arrive and we will therefore commence our time here to serve in this nation.  I can’t wait.

There's been a lot going on. And while I know our long term calling is to missions, I also know that this exact lifestyle is just a season. It's on both of our hearts to eventually settle into a country that we can call home. But until then we're unsettled and okay with it. We'll continue to enjoy the airports, random places to sleep, making new friends in new nations, and this crazy adventure of following God around the world.