Here is a text I sent my mom today: 

“I am having the worst day. For no reason at all my computer won’t turn on- I did not drop it or spill anything on it- one hour it was perfect and now it is dead and won’t charge or turn on. So the computer (which I need for my job here) won’t work and I am in a foreign country four hours from the nearest Apple support store. But even then my credit cards still don’t work over here yet. I am supposed to be uploading a blog today but don’t have a computer for that, and I am so hungry but I just can’t borrow any more money from my team to supplement the meals we are getting as I wait for the credit card issues to be worked out. I have been crying all day and I am so stressed out. Also pretty sure I have salmonella because I am starting to feel sick and several other people in my squad are getting it from the chicken here or some stomach bug.”

My mom's response was “well that sounds like a great blog post to me!”  

Sharing this with all of you is a major stretch for me because I am not one to be vulnerable about the hard stuff, and I do not make it a habit to boast about my weaknesses. But today has been hard and I am sharing in an attempt to follow Paul’s example when he says is 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ then I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak then I am strong.” 

I needed this reminder that HIS grace is indeed sufficient even on the days nothing has gone right. Even when I am missing home, stressed, hungry, sick, weary, and feeling ineffective. It is in these exact times that His power is made perfect in my struggles and weaknesses.

Thanks, Mom- even though this is not exactly the blog post I would have chosen to post, it is all I have to offer today. Here is a sneak peek into some of the not-so-glamorous parts of my journey overseas, but I still wouldn't trade it for the world. 

And thank you all for your continued love, support, and prayers on both my good days and my bad days. 

(P.S I don’t actually know if it is Salmonella)