One aspect of living in another country is the excitement and emotion of “firsts”…
meaning that you do or experience something for the “first” time.
Honestly, “first” can be both exhilarating, as well as straight up terrifying, right?
I feel like “firsts” are gifts from God.
I think they help us retain a child-like wonder to life.
If we get too caught up in routine and monotony, we lose the awe and wonder that Abba has instilled in us!
I think the disciples had their fair share of firsts! Think about it…first time seeing water turn into wine…first time walking on water (Peter)…first time seeing a man be raised from the dead…and on and on and on!
Living with Jesus is a crazy adventure because when we pray boldly, INSANE things happen that awe us!
“Firsts” don’t have to just be reserved for people who move to another country!
You too can experience “firsts” when you
try a new restaurant,
or google a new place to hike in your area,
or even invite a stranger to your home for dinner.
Kevin and I used to try out a new ethnic food restaurant each month, and invite neighbors we didn’t know very well over for dinner!
Life never has to get boring if you choose “firsts”!
Here are a list of some firsts I’ve been having in Nepal…
- Regularly eating Dahl Baht Tarkari (the nepali staple of lentils, rice and vegetables)
- washing and iodining all my vegetables to get the parasites off! (sooo time consuming! Makes me a bit lazy to eat my fruits and veggies…wahhh!)
- wearing a shalwar kurta and a sari (so so much fun!)
- meeting and making best friends from England, Australia and South Africa!
- Attempting to converse in nepali, and learning nepali dances and worship songs!
- Trying to dodge cows when I’m walking down the street
- Carrying a load of grass on my head
- Spending 24/7 with my husband which I adore
- Taking microvans and tuk tuk’s to get around the city, and ox carts in the country
- Learning how to play carom
- Preaching god’s word to hundreds of village believers
- Eating with my hands
- Doing ministry with my in-laws (seriously a HUGE blessing!)
- Pumping water out of a pump
- Doing counseling training for the aftercare home staff
- Being loved on and building relationships with the incredibly precious girls in the aftercare home
There really are so many more, but those were on the top of my head!
But honestly, some of the best “firsts” have some come from watching the girls in the home! A few of the girls come from very rural villages, so things we often take for granted are “firsts” for them.
Here are a few firsts I’ve had the excitement of observing with the girls:
- riding an escalator (her face was priceless, how exhiliarating!)
- trying clothes on in a dressing room
- watching Peter Pan and Beauty and the Beast (which they loved!)
- eating tacos and quesadillas that Kev and I made for them
- going to a mall
- seeing a movie at a theatre! (the girls are so used to bollywood films on tv, that after we took them to see a Disney cartoon, they asked us…”where was the singing and dancing?” hahaha….if you’ve seen bollywood you will get this!)
- going to a water park (OMG…I cannot describe in words how hilarious this experience was! Kevin and I were literally laughing the entire time! The girls had never even been in a swimming pool so watching their faces was they went down the big slides was so priceless…they were scared stiff, but then loved it!)
and soooo man others could be added to this list!
I think it is important to document the “firsts” we have….
how we felt in those moments,
and how much joy came from trying something new!
I believe that Christ delights when we step out and risk and try new things…afterall, he’s the most adventurous of us all, right?
Have you tried any new things lately? Had any “firsts”? I’d love to hear!!
Happy Thursday Friends,
love Katie
ps- i'm extending the give-away entry until Monday, I'll post the winner on Tuesday!!
