Blessed

It is hard to believe that this amazing journey I am on is already half way over. It seems like just a week ago we were boarding the MV Explorer to begin our trip around the world. Time has flown by! At the beginning of all this, I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew that I would see many amazing places and have a great time, but I had no idea all of the other things I would feel and experience.

This trip is so much more than just getting to go to a handful of fun foreign places. It has become a life lesson that I have already learned so much from. I have learned that traveling is not just about sightseeing, but about learning and experiencing the culture of the people in each country we visit. I have learned that when in doubt, try something new, whether it be eating something I never thought I would like or jumping off the balcony of a boat 20 feet above the water.

I have also been made very aware of how truly blessed I am to live in the United States. We really take our freedom and rights for granted in the U.S. and this trip has made me very aware of how lucky I truly am. There are people all over the world who are deprived of their basic freedoms, don’t have money to put food on their table, or have no roof over their heads when they sleep at night. In Greece, as well as several other places we have been, I saw children, very young children, standing on streets alone trying to sell seashells they collected along the beach, toys, or other small trinkets. Imagine people in the U.S. sending their 6-year-old out to a busy street corner in Los Angeles, and expecting them to sell things to tourists. People would be appalled at this. These are children who are expected to act like adults, and help bring in an income for the family. What kind of childhood is that? Surely, it is not one I would ever want for my own children, and thankfully, I will never have to put my children through that. I have spoken with a young woman from Pakistan, who described the fear she feels every single time she walks outside her front door in her country: fear of being raped, fear of being shot, fear of being mocked, fear of being killed, fear of never having the right to her own decisions regarding her marriage. Its hard to even imagine what it would be like to have to worry about such things. Her basic fears are things we take for granted in the United States, but things I will now have a new appreciation for because I met her.

Where I am really going with all this, is just to say that I have become blatantly aware of what a wonderful life I have been blessed with. This journey has already made me grow in my faith, as I have realized the beauty of this world God created, as well as the hope that he can give people all over this world who are suffering and living in fear. When I was in Croatia, all I could think every time I stepped outside was how in awe of God I truly was, and am. I couldn’t help but wonder how a person could not believe in a God, when such beauty is everywhere around us. Just starting at the ocean from the cliffs in Dubrovnik, it is so obvious to me that nobody other than our amazing Father could have created such a thing. I know that I came on this trip not only to experience the world, but to grow in my faith. I have been blessed beyond measure, and I will always be grateful for this opportunity.