I only have two weeks left.. And that’s incredibly sad.

One thing about being here is how hard it is to explain to people who aren’t here.. I don’t know if that makes any sense, but I feel like it’s just something you have to experience first-hand. You have these really strangely strong relationships with people who are here for a week, and you’ll probably never see them again. And then you have even stronger relationships with the local people, spend a ton of time with them, and then you’re expected to go back home and not see them for an indefinite amount of time. It’s kinda hard, I’m not gonna lie.

The more I think about going home and how soon that is, the more bummed I get. Don’t get me wrong, it will be nice to see my friends and family and sleep in my own bed again, but I am so not ready to go. Some people keep texting me and are counting down the days until I get home, which I totally appreciate but it’s making it very surreal how quickly my time is fading.

I hope it’s clear that the reason I feel this way is because I’m having such a great time here. I love getting to see this ministry from a different perspective: the ups AND the downs. Some days are hard, yeah, but I appreciate missions so much more seeing it all from this aspect instead of a one-week glimpse of the highlights of everything.

Anyway, this past week was definitely one of the best. The team that was here was a high school group from Wichita Falls, Texas, and they were great. Definitely one of my favorites. I did a lot of concrete work with them during the week, along with some painting. I’m pretttty sure I inhaled about half a bag of cement after dropping it on myself, so that was fun. (It actually wasn’t fun and I had a stuffy/concrete-filled nose for a day or two).

Usually when a team comes that I really like, I don’t have time to miss them because a new team shows up the same day that they leave. But because we don’t have a team this week, it’s a little different. Wow, what a weird feeling. Saying bye to people knowing that you’ll probably never see them again. I guess that helped me learn another thing about missions: lots of hellos and lots of goodbyes (or see you laters!)

Ultimately, God is still good and I am so blessed. It’s pretty neat to look back at the past two months and see how much The Lord has changed my perspective and my heart. Mmmm I love this place.

– Katelyn Kleinhans