21 days.....and then what?

May 13th. 

3 weeks.

21 days.

21 days... and then what?

Come home and fall into old routines? 

Will people see I've changed? 

Will I be able to hear God while going back to a busy life? 

Did I put enough effort into my relationships back home while being down here?

How am I going to support myself/pay for school without a job? 

Did I make an impact here?

Have I fulfilled God's purpose for me here?

Was I receptive to everything God was trying to teach me?

I will never see home the same, how will I cope with that?

...the questions go on and on. 

I have not written a blog post in about two months, I am sorry for the delay. Since I have had my flight back booked (May 13th by the way) I have been soaking up every moment I can. Although the excitement about coming home sometimes becomes overwhelming, it is going to be hard to leave. 

This place and these people have become my home. My family. 

There was recently an article circulating about missionaries and  how "coming home" actually feels for them. The author articulated my fears and trepidation about coming home perfectly. Even though I am coming back to a place and people I have known all my life, everything has changed. I have changed and grown, the people back home have continued living their lives, and the people back home (as much as they would like to) can never understand or share in the experiences that I have had here.  

Eight months is a long time.The better part of a year. Oh, the things I have seen and done.

In eight months of living in the Dominican Republic I have: jumped off waterfalls, rode a horse on the beach, made friends with sea life (just kidding they don't like me), hiked the tallest peak in the Caribbean in 3 days, jumped off a mountain (paragliding), been given the opportunity to backpack across Israel and Jordan, seen God work in the lives of troubled teens, been seen as a mentor by some of the girls (never thought that would happen), deepened my relationship with Christ, and learned (a little better) how to trust God and His perfect planning. 

How do I prepare to come home? 

Honestly, I don't know. Because how can someone prepare for counterculture-shock? To go from Dominican culture to American culture to Middle Eastern culture and then back again to American? 

Talk about confusing. 

I am going to take it in baby steps. Focus on keeping the good habits I have built here and creating new ones to accommodate coming home. Most of my energy will be focused on training for Israel (and then a sprint triathlon after that). 

I know that the transition process will take time, so I want to thank everyone for the support they have shown me throughout my time being here. I have been really overwhelmed by the support shown to me and for all the prayers and the little notes or messages that I have gotten. They have meant more than I can express. 

So thank you. 

I cannot wait to thank everyone in person in 3 weeks. 

21 days.

Here is the article I mentioned above: http://www.dahlfred.com/index.php/blogs/gleanings-from-the-field/747-why-missionaries-can-never-go-home-again

Redirected Energy

Since my first post was so long, I am gonna keep this one pretty short. :)

This last week has been hard for me. Not because of anything with school or my internship, but because I have been having some pretty intense homesickness. I was planning on writing a whole post about it. But then I thought "Why should I wallow in this and make it worse for me?" So that is exactly what I am NOT doing. I am redirecting my energy.

Before I talk about how I am redirecting my energy, I want to try and articulate how homesickness feels (at least how it feels for me). When I talk about being homesick many people will ask me “How can you be homesick? Isn’t most of your family there with you?” or (more likely from the students) “It is not the same kind of homesickness because you CHOSE to be here.” Which I guess, in a sense, that is correct. I did choose to be here, but that doesn’t make being away from the people, places, and frankly, a culture that I understand and know, any easier. For me, homesickness is something that hangs over me the moment it hits. During that time it makes everything less exciting. Even though I am presented with this incredible opportunity to see God working here, I get bogged down with how much I miss home and the things I know and am comfortable with. 

But what was bothering me more than the actual homesickness was the fact that I could not articulate how it felt. So I sat down and really thought about it. What was I feeling? What was really my biggest fear about being here? I was afraid of being forgotten. Which is ridiculous, I know that, but making myself believe it is something entirely different. I was tired of feeling like this so I decided to stop and take the energy I was using to feel sorry for myself and put it to another use. 

So how am I redirecting my energy?


Hiking. 

Now, anyone who knows me pretty well can tell you I am not the most outdoorsy person you will ever meet. Not at all really. Before I moved to the DR my idea of camping was a hotel room....it's changed slightly. 

That is the main way I have been redirecting my energy. Although hiking is not something I enjoy...at all really...it is something I learning to like and appreciate. For one, I am hiking Pico Duarte which is the highest mountain in the Caribbean in two weeks, but beyond that, I am learning about God through it. 

With the continuous hiking I have been doing I have come to appreciate God's creation more. The landscape I am blessed with seeing every day of living in the DR has not gotten common place. It still holds awe and wonder in it.

When I was accepted for the scholarship to hike across Israel/Jordan one of my first thoughts was, "I better start to like hiking now." I have been working out and hiking more and more. But as I am training for this trip trying to relieve the homesickness, God is showing me how much I have come to rely on the other people/relationships in my life to fulfill me. I am taking this time (both being here in the DR and training for Israel) to really start relying more on God and taking the focus off myself. I am praying for an open heart and a willingness to receive what God has to teach me while being here. Excited to see what God has for me!

Check back later for an update with how I am progressing!

To the Dominican Republic and Beyond!

Dear family and friends,

 Many people have been asking me how I have been doing and are curious as to what turns my life has taken since I moved to the Dominican Republic 4 1/2 months ago. Truthfully, a lot. 

Let me start from the beginning. 

Most people know that I have a thirst for adventure and a passion for interacting with different cultures and people. I was finding it difficult to experience those things in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  It really was a lack of trying to find these adventures and filling up my time so I did not feel stuck in my current situation (a full-time student and working almost full-time….. to pay to be a full-time student...vicious cycle). Over the course of the last year, many of my friends and family had exciting opportunities to travel abroad and have adventures I longed for. I became quite discontent and complacent towards God because the direction my life was taking. My future looked quite bleak for me (poor, sad me) and I was not happy with how God was handling this situation.  

Looking back, I can see how God was trying to tell me, "Olivia, hold on, I have something beyond your dreams planned for you. Trust me." 

When my parents told me that they planned on moving to a different country, the Dominican Republic, I was floored!  They didn't have a great desire to move.... I did. Why couldn't it be me!.........Sadly, I did throw a little temper tantrum. I did NOT want to be left at home while my family was off having a grand adventure without me. 

Gathering courage, I asked the CEO of the organization that my dad worked for (Lifeline Child and Family Services) and asked for an internship in marketing (my major). While Lifeline was contemplating whether an internship was feasible or not, out of the blue I was offered a full-time position as a nanny (a reliable job for the next couple years). I heard back from Lifeline, that they could use me as an intern at the CMA (Caribbean Mountain Academy) campus; I now had to make a decision. I seriously struggled with the decision. I couldn't decide what to do. I was relying on myself. After my mom saw me struggling like this for a couple of days, she told me to take a walk. Quite literally. She told me to not come home until I had actually prayed, asked God for guidance, and… listened.  What was GOD's will for my life.  I needed to take time to search what God wanted/planned for me to do. So, I took a walk for an hour. God gave me a peace about coming to the DR. One hour. After days of struggling about what would be the best decision...one hour was all it took. I never actually took my concern to Him. 

Silly me. God always knows best.

The most prominent prayer I had after I decided to come down to the Dominican Republic, was that I would set aside time to specifically learn about God; that I would be able to experience Him from a whole different perspective. I wanted to take advantage of the laid back pace of life in the DR and to learn about Him. I never took that time back home.... the busier I could be, the better. 

God has been showing me a great deal her in the Dominican Republic. Something that has been impacting me a lot more than I thought is how much the little things in life mean to others and myself.  I know it sounds simple, but here a few examples. 

While being here I have had the opportunity to be a part of the worship team for church every Sunday. I will have students come up to me and ask me to sing a specific praise song next Sunday and they always seem surprised when I do.  But that surprise can go both ways. For me, spending time with the students or taking time to talk to them does not seem like a huge sacrifice, but when they take a moment to write me a little note or tell me how much my investment in them means to them, I am amazed. 

There have been those moments in my own life, when I have told someone who has mentored me how much taking time for me, means to me.  I never thought I would be the one that other people go to. I came to a different country to step away from my busy life and learn about God, and He has given me more opportunities than I ever imagined.  

OK, now the reason I wanted to start this blog…. :)

One of these opportunities is one I have never dreamed of having. God has given me a chance to learn about Him through a rigorous 17-day backpacking trip across Israel and Jordan in mid-June. We will be visiting places like the Wilderness of Zin, Northern Galilee, Valley of Jezreel, and Old Jerusalem. In order to go on this trip I have to memorize Matthew 5, 6, and 7. The Sermon on the Mount is something I have heard dozens of times, but I personally have never studied it. 

No matter how many times I recite these verses, something is always convicting me to do more for Jesus and study these verses beyond just memorizing them. I have started to listen to the series of sermons John Piper gave on the Sermon on the Mount; I do not just want to memorize these verses, I want to know them. One thing that is always standing out to me while memorizing chapter 5 is the wording Jesus uses. Whenever He is addressing how "those of old" perceived the Law, He describes how they saw it, and then tells us, "but I say unto you." He was saying here is what the old law says, but this is what I want you to do. 

I am asking that you please pray that I will be open to receiving what God has to teach me, and how I can better understand Him.  We have been asked to find at least 4 people to pray for us leading up to and during the trip, but you can never have too much prayer.  

Although the trip is fairly inexpensive due to a scholarship I have received, I will still need to purchase hiking attire that is appropriate for the climate and the culture. I am asking for 55 people to donate $20. Unfortunately, this is not tax deductible so donate however the spirit leads. :)  The best way to donate is to send a check to my house in the states and I will receive it there. If you would like to know my address just let me know.

This trip is very extensive and includes many things, if you would like to know more about trip, ask me questions, or need my home address you can email me at olivia.j.schu@gmail.com or inbox me on Facebook. I will be continually posting to my blog about the preparations for the trip and about the trip in June. Thank you all for the continued support you have shown to my family over this huge transition in our lives.

With lots of love,

-Olivia