Shoes of Peace

"and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace."

As I walked through some anxiety this past week, I clung to the prayer of Charles, one of my missionary dads--"Help Caitlin to walk in the gospel of peace."

There are so many things that I cannot control. I'm learning to live with caution in a way that I have not needed to while living in the utopia which is Winona Lake. But I am also learning to walk in peace--to recognize that I have peace, because I am in Christ.

Each step that I take, I take in the peace of knowing that I'm following Christ--in my dusty, dirty, shoes of peace.

Welcome to the family...(Mongolia week 9)

I knew going into this that my inability to speak Mongolian would make life a bit more challenging. However, until I lived here for a while, I had no idea how isolating and at times intimidating a lack of language knowledge could feel.

Riding the bus, purchasing groceries, everyday interactions, classroom management--all become more confusing due to my small knowledge of Mongolian.

The one place where I feel at home, despite my lack of Mongolian, is the church. While in other places I feel like a foreign target, in church I feel like I'm just the blonde member of a dark haired family. The odd one out for sure, but still a part of the family.

When I meet with my church family, I feel at ease. The tension that I carry around with me disappears.

Welcome to the family, Caitlin. Worship, learn, fellowship with us. Sit down, drink tea, share life with us.

Welcome home.

This is what it means to be the body of Christ--the family of God.

Love breaks through the language barrier.

Shout out for Grandma

This post is mainly for my AWESOME Grandma, who has sent me a card and coffee money every semester since the beginning of college. This semester was no exception!

I am so thankful for her--for her courage, faithfulness and love.
I hope I'm just like her when I grow up. :)

“One can always spot a foreigner by the dirt on their shoes.”

I try. I try so hard to keep clean. To brush off every speck of dusty, fine, Ulaanbaatar dirt.

It’s a losing battle. By the time I reach my destination, all my efforts are for naught.

No good Mongolian would be caught dead in these shoes.

But, try as hard as I might, I will never be a good Mongolian.

I will always struggle to keep these shoes clean.

I will misread the bus signs, and end up on the edge of town

Hopelessly lost.

I will always be the odd one on the bus.

Which one of these is not like the other? The foreigner, who, unable to maintain balance just crashed into you as the bus made a sudden stop.

I will wait hesitantly to cross the street—hoping for someone more aggressive than I to lead the way.

I will often forget that coffee-to-go is a Western concept, and I will forget to sit down and enjoy rest from the busyness of life.

I will make laughable efforts at pronouncing your name correctly, but I won't give up trying to learn your name.

And, I will pray that you’ll forgive my mistakes...all of them.

Hello, October. (I've been here for a month now?!)

This week nothing really went as planned. And as much as I would like to say that flexibility and adaptability are my top strengths, to be honest, I really struggled this week. I’m glad it’s over.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him…

Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life…

Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

(2 Corinthians 2 and 3)

These truths are becoming more real to me each day, as I prepare my lessons, as I open the door and begin a class, as I lie in bed wondering if I have what it takes for the next day of classes.

I'm clinging to these truths...and these smiles

For those of you who were praying for my classes on Friday, thank you! We actually were not able to continue the conversation from earlier in the week, because all of the students just finished English placement tests and have been placed in different groups based on language skills.

So I’m starting fresh this month--starting fresh with new groups, new materials, and hopefully a new confidence.

Here we go, OCTOBER! :)