It's hard to believe it was just over a year ago that I graduated from college and set off to Champaign to begin training as a new missionary. I was scared. Excited. Tentative. Eager to learn all that I could, to soak up knowledge and wisdom from the older, experienced missionaries. I recall at my interview weekend being told that your first year will transform you. No, all FOCUS missionaries are not saints, apologists, or evangelists from the cradle. It's during that year of hardship, trials, and suffering that you learn trust and dependence on Jesus. "Praise the Lord" isn't necessarily a catchphrase for all of us, at least not from the moment we step onto campus. But in time you realize that all praise truly is due to Him and that nothing in this life would be possible without Him.
It's glorious to think about returning to Champaign this summer. Everything about me has changed. It will be so, so good to see friends again and to share stories of this past year -- how God has worked in our lives; how we have grown in His image.
The funny thing is how quickly the time goes. Many potential missionaries worry about the two-year commitment. My advice for them is simple: don't even consider it. Yes, there were days that seemed to drag on forever, weeks when I felt like it was all I could do to keep pushing forward. But all of a sudden, it is over, and I wouldn't take it back. Not for a six-digit salary. Not for a year of romance. Not for anything.
"I am His and His only. The rest has no hold on me. I can do without all the rest if I have Him." ~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta
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