UPDATE: I made it back to the US safely. I’m quarantining at my sisters house just Incase I picked the virus up while traveling. I can’t wait to see the rest of my family but I’ll have to wait!

I came on the very last Emirates flight to JFK. They were suspended most flights and starting on the 24th no more flight to New York but now all Emirates flights to any country are suspended for the foreseeable future! I literally just made it home in the nick of time. Praise God!!!!

I found it very interesting that when I landed here in the states at JFK they had zero health screenings. No temperatures being taken, nobody taking the health declaration forms, no questions, nothing. At immigration the border agent didn’t even touch my passport. I just had to scan my customs form I had filled out on the mobile passport app. So yeah every other country is checking temps at least, but not the US. 

I’ll be spending my time in quarantine to lean into Christ more, reflect on the past 21 months of travel, and work on the many videos I’ve filmed for ministries! Then after my quarantine I’ll spend lots of time with my awesome family who I so greatly miss! 

As soon as this whole coronavirus thing calms down I’ll be on the first flight out of here to continue this trip around the world! 134 countries visited, 63 more to go! ☺️ If you know me you’d know I’d much rather be traveling now but God told me to come back for the time being. 
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Let me know if you’d be interested in reading a full ufosge on how things have been going these last few days and how God led me to come to the states?
Stay safe y’all and be praying for all those affected with and by the virus! May we use this time to lift His name up!

Hey quick update and prayer request! So I made a post the other day saying that I’d be staying in Africa since the coronavirus wasn’t affecting much here... but things change fast and now borders are closing left and right right around me here in Botswana. After much prayer I decided since borders are closing which means I can’t travel as normal it’s best for me to return to states to wait this virus out with my family who I greatly miss. I just booked some tickets back the states today which leaves tomorrow morning (in 7 hours) but nothing is guaranteed at this point. I have two layovers and it looks like the actual flight to USA might be canceled. Please be praying I can make it home safely without any issue as being stuck here in one place for a long time would not be good on my wallet. Thanks y’all! May God be praised! 🙏

Ok it’s time for another one of my really long Facebook updates. This time about the Coronavirus... Some of y’all have messaged me asking about how traveling the world is going during this time and maybe some of y’all are curious to know the answer and my experience.

I made a post about the coronavirus the other day saying that it’s all I was seeing on Facebook. I took it down because I wrote it after being annoyed by all the posts, memes, and jokes as I scrolled. To be honest I’m not really annoyed by the posts and even the jokes it’s just that for some reason that day I was. 
Anyways I thought I’d make this post about my experience with all that’s going on and some thoughts...

This year I found myself in Asia during CNY (Chinese New Year) which makes it now my 3rd CNY that I’ve spent in Asia. This year I started off in Egypt in North Africa then in Suadi Arabia in the Middle East which is technically Asia! After some time in Suadi I flew over to Thailand in mid January. While I was in Thailand that’s when things in China really started to get crazy and it was the first time I heard about the coronavirus that started in Wuhan. Even though I was just a country away from China nothing seemed to be that crazy in Thailand besides a lot of printed signs everywhere. The train station had signs. Hotels had signs. And even McDonald’s had signs. The signs said how to avoid the virus with hygiene. The one McDonald’s sign was sweet with a saying that they stood with the people of Wuhan! 

At the beginning of February after Thailand I headed to Malaysia via train. At the border of Malaysia they were checking temperatures and asking people if they had been in China in the last 2 weeks while also checking passports for Chinese stamps. They found Chinese stamps in my passport from September and made sure that I didn’t have any from recently. While in Malaysia I saw some more printed signs and some fast food restaurants had hand sanitizer. While in Malaysia my throat got really sore, I had a fever, chills, a headache, and a small cough to top it off. It was definitely the sickest I’ve ever been on this world trip! So of course I got checked out... but I was not tested for the virus or anything. After getting some medicine I felt better and went to Singapore.

I crossed into Singapore via bus. When we got to the border and I departed the bus I immediately had my temperature taken along with everyone else on the bus. Next we went through the border building and had our temps checked again. At the immigration counter they asked if I had been to China within the past 2 weeks and then let me pass. Right at the border in Singapore they had signs telling people not to use masks unless they were sick. Then during my time in Singapore things got pretty crazy. The country issued a new health warning to Code Orange which is one away form Code Red which is a total emergency! Singapore had signs everywhere wether billboard size signs around the city or printouts in apartments, malls, grocery stores, elevators, and so on. The panic was real and for a reason... Singapore is a very small island nation that is a city nation. Singapore also has a ton of direct flights to and from China. When I was there they started checking temperatures at many public places such as libraries and colleges and even some malls. Grocery stores were packed with so many people it was almost impossible to shop! The stores all made policies to limit masks, hand sanitizer, and wet wipes. Over the loud speakers in the stores they asked people to only buy what the needed and not to stock up. I left Singapore after a few days via plane and flew to Doha, Qatar for a layover on my way to South Africa. The Singapore airport was fine, it just had temperature checks. The Qatar airport also had checks as well. But oh my Qatar Airlines flight from Singapore to Doha had less then 50 people on the 300 seat plane! That could have been due to the virus but I’m not sure. 

I arrived in Joburg, South Africa and nobody was allowed off the plane until health officials came on the plane and checked each passengers temperature. I then crossed into Swaziland and had no checks at the border. The same went for crossing in and out of South African borders and in and out of Lesotho. They had a temperature check at the Namibia border. The Angola border also had someone at a table with a thermometer and hand sanitizer but they weren’t checking everyone. While I was waiting for my visa at the Angola border I heard the officers and each person coming into the office talk about the virus. I told them it was nice it wasn’t in Angola yet and that Africa seems like a great continent to be on during all the craziness! Even at bus stops in the middle of nowhere Angola they had signs about the virus. When entering Botswana I had to fill out health declaration form and have my temp checked before being able to get stamped into the country. And that brings me to now as I’m currently in the lovely country of Botswana with an epic missionary family! 

I’ve personally had no problems traveling since the start of the virus. I know quite a few people personally who have had big time trouble traveling during this time both at the start of the virus and even more now. A few kind people have messaged me and asked how I’m doing and if my travel has been affected. 

When the outbreak first started I had no idea what to think and had mixed thoughts and to be honest I still do. I see two main sides the issue, those who act like it’s no big deal at all and then those who are way overhyping it and fearful. I fall in the middle I guess. I think this virus is NO joke but also I’m not buying into the fear and panic. Instead I’m trusting God and of course taking measures to make sure I’m healthy. The real issue with this virus is the people it has killed, the hate it’s brought to the Asian community, the employees it stopped from working, the relationships it’s broken, and the fear its produced. We just can’t live in fear. There will ALWAYS be something to be afraid of. There will ALWAYS be sickness. There will ALWAYS be death. This doesn’t mean that we don’t use wisdom and concernment during this outbreak. We of course need to be keeping good hygiene, avoid gathering for some time, and appropriate steps to keep the virus form spreading more. Just because we shouldn’t fear doesn’t mean that we don’t use wisdom. Just like I’m very cautious of where I walk because of being robbed multiple times doesn’t mean that I have to live in fear. The same applies for the virus, we use God given wisdom and caution but we really don’t need to panic. 

If there is anything I’ve learned from traveling it’s that being afraid and worry is the biggest waste of time and a complete tactic of the devil to keep us form leaning in Christ! During these days we must find our faith in Christ alone because at the end of the day He is all that matters. 
We must also be praying and helping those affected and at risk during this time. For me that looks like trying to keep in contact with all my friends in countries that the virus has been spreading bad. It also looks like using this time of fear to point people to the God who tells us not to fear. Maybe for you it looks like asking your elderly neighbor if you can get them groceries. Or even sending a kind note and some money to the owner of the Chinese restaurant in town. Another way to love your neighbor is to be a part of this whole social distancing thing even if you think it’s odd, it will help. Those are just some ideas. We can surly use this time to spend more time with God and love our neighbors in practical ways. The church in China has been using the virus as opportunity to help their neighbor share the name of Christ boldly! 

It’s crazy out there right now. I have friends in many of the affected countries and as the virus has spread I’ve seen them trust God even from the beginning. I even have fiends in China and they sure know what it’s like to be in full lockdown so for my fiends in states don’t worry, don’t panic, just bring all of it to the Lord. Stay safe and make sure that those around you more at risk are being loved and cared for! 

As for me I’ll be staying here in Africa traveling around for as long as I can. It’s much calmer here and the cases are less. Like for real it’s safer here since many countries here don’t have the virus! Africa and the over billion people who call this incredible continent their home know their fare share of hardship and illnesses. I’ve gone out to villages where children die from a simple cold. I’ve seen children who look like they are about to die from lack of food. I’ve heard dozens of stories of elderly and children passing away form preventable diseases. In the past month I’ve visited the two top most HIV affected countries in the world. I’ve seen and heard a lot during my limited time in Western and Southren Africa. So with that to say I’m not too inclined on going back to the USA right now to hear people complaining about toilet paper. 🙂
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Let’s definitely not under react because this thing is real but let’s not buy into fear. Because we are no longer slaves to fear, we are children of God!!!! Let’s trust and lean on Him all the way!

Today was one of those super awesome kind of days! It was the kind of day that reminds me of why I travel! I woke up this morning during the last few hours of my 16 hour bus ride to a man tapping my shoulder. He had my phone in his hand and motioned that it had fallen on the floor. Despite me literally putting my phone in between my pants and leg while on buses somehow it got on the floor and this kind and honest man made sure I got it back immediately. So praise God for a great start to the day, things could have taken a turn for the worse! 

Next I got back to the Angola/Namibia border and my new friends I met a few days before at the border came to hang with me again. They came to hang out but also ended up blessing me a ton. They helped me exchange my money, carry my bags, find where I needed to get my next bus ticket, and just blessed me with their fellowship! After a few hours of getting my onward travel sorted we sat down for some delicious lunch at a regional fast food chain called Hungry Lion which serves awesome fried chicken! After our meal we hung out and fellowshipped which turned into saying how we should go out on the street and share the name of Christ! We prayed then went out on the street and ended up talking to a bunch of women who were selling fruits and veggies! The gospel was shared in 3 languages... English, Portuguese, and Oshiwambo!!! How cool is that! 
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To finish off the day I boarded my next bus and met fellow believer from Angola who was super missions minded! We had a great discussion and he shared with me an awesome ministry he is part of. The ministry gives out free high tech tablets that has the Bible, sermons, and other Christian material on it! Then as I got on yet another bus a few hours later I chatted to a super friendly Namibian man who told me all about his beautiful country! ☺️ This is why I travel. God is sooooooooooooooooooo good!!!!!!

Do you love your “illegal” neighbor? Do you love your Muslim neighbor? Do you love your homeless neighbor? Do you love your prostitute neighbor? Do you love your Buddhist neighbor? Do you love your Latin American neighbor? Do you love your gay neighbor? Do you love your African American neighbor? Do you love your pre-born neighbor? Do love your mentally ill neighbor? Do you love your orphan neighbor? Do you love your Asian neighbor? Do you love your unreached neighbor? Love your poor neighbor? Do you love your _______ neighbor? 

Do we actually love all our neighbors? Or have we told ourself that it’s ok to ignore or even hate certain “types” of neighbors? No like for real... some people who call themselves Christians actually hate some of the neighbors I mentioned above. 

Maybe you don’t think that you hate your neighbors but your thoughts, words, and actions say otherwise...
Maybe you think refugees should return to their countries only to live in danger or be murdered. Maybe you’ve thought all Muslims are terrorist and we should wage war against them. Maybe you haven’t helped that homeless man because he could use the money for drugs. Maybe you see a prostitute and the first thing that comes to mind is how much God must hate her. Maybe you have have come across a Buddhist person and acted as if they are nothing more then someone to stare at. Maybe you ok with Latin American’s being locked up in cages for seeking asylum. Maybe you only see gay people as hell bound sickos instead of human beings who don’t know Christ yet. Maybe you are ok with cops stopping people with darker skin color because they are “more likely to be criminals.” Maybe you don’t act like the 3000 preborn children being murdered everyday is a full on Holocaust. Maybe you think mental illness can only be because of sin. Maybe you couldn’t care less about children who are without families. Maybe you avoid eating at Chinese restaurants now because of the coronavirus. Maybe you think the unreached people groups are too difficult to care about. Maybe you have make your poor neighbor into nothing more then a project. 

Maybe ____________.

What does it look like to love your neighbor? Maybe it’s welcoming in the refugees fleeing from their country trying find a hope and future. Maybe it’s seeing the prostitute as someone who is broken, abused, and likely trafficked in someway. Maybe it’s treating that gay person as any other stranger and showing them freedom found only in Christ. Maybe it’s listening to what African American’s are saying and then changing your view, thoughts, and actions. Maybe it’s acting like the smallest and most helpless humans are actually being murdered by the thousands each day. Maybe it’s learning about the 2 billion people who have never had the opportunity to hear the name of Christ and then finding away you can take part in reaching them. 
It’s really not that hard. Let’s tear down the walls of hate we’ve built up and start loving people with real love that only comes from the God who first loved us!!!! 

I could say so much more but I’ll end with what the Bible says... 

“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.” - 1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:1-8‬

What if we stopped and cared for people? Today I saw a poor man asking a much wealthier man for some food and the wealthy man didn’t even look at the poor guy asking. To be honest I’ve done the same, I’ve past people on the streets who are hungry, tired, hopeless, longing for love. It can be so easy to just walk on by instead of stopping and actually caring for people. When I saw that poor man being treated like he didn’t even exist, I stopped. I asked if he like something to eat and took him into the nearby store. If I hadn’t seen the poor man be turned down I likely wouldn’t have stopped, it’s interesting how God gets my attention. I want to stop every time, for every person. I want to care. I want to love. I want to be poured out. Let’s tear down our walls and pop our bubbles. It’s time to stop. Stop for the one. Listen to them, care for them, love them, and show them Christ!

Slavery still exists. 

Slavery exists in many forms around the world. One of the most far reaching forms of slavery is sex slavery. There are millions of girls, boys, ladies, and men who are completely enslaved today. I’ve had the opportunity of traveling to many countries and the little I’ve seen has broken my heart in pieces. 3 year olds being touched by strangers. 11 year olds being brought from their villages into cities to have men do things you couldn’t imagine. 17 year olds who have been raped hundreds or even thousands of times. 23 year olds who are forced to sell their bodies. That’s not even scratching the surface. Do you understand? Maybe I need to be a bit more graphic... human beings, girls, and boys who are being treated as objects for wicked, sinister, disgusting sex acts by men!!!! They are molested, abused, raped!!!! This should make us sick to our stomach. Here’s the HUGE problem though, there are millions of men that call themselves Christians that are right now involved in human trafficking! Christian fathers, sons, pastors, businessmen, teachers, couches, doctors, and on and on are taking part in the objectification, molestation, abuse, and rape of precious girls and boys EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!

Yes really, men who claim the name of Christ are fueling the slave trade today! They are taking part in the buying and selling of human beings who are violently sexually exploited! Christian men blaming their lust and sexual sin on sex slaves! 

There are men who show up to church on Sunday who are directly taking part in not only the wicked sin of pornography but who are directly enabling slavery. Human trafficking is slavery. Porn is 100% part of human trafficking in every single aspect!!! You want to know why this type of slavery exists? It’s because the men who should be standing on the Word of God rising up fighting against this evil are the ones who are taking part in it! This is an epidemic that isn’t just scary but actually straight up sinister! 

I have a plea for men of all ages... I don’t care if your 13 or if your 103... if you are viewing pornography get on your knees and seek God in repentance now! What you are taking part in isn’t something that just effects you and your family in terrible ways but it effects innocent children and adults who have been trafficked and forced to preform for your rotten lustful eyes! Porn isn’t some joke. Porn isn’t a natural problem men have. Porn isn’t something we can speak lightly about. Porn isn’t something that you just try to quite. Porn is a serious I mean SERIOUS sin that you must kill completely! Porn is stealing little girls and boys from their families to be used and abused. Porn is brothels lined up with teen girls for sale. Porn is young ladies being raped dozens of times a day. Porn is creating slaves. 

We can’t be soft spoken about pornography but rather completely outspoken about it. It’s a key part in human trafficking and that’s just one aspect! We must be publicly against porn!

I’ve been on the streets of Amsterdam where women are put in windows for sale. I have hundreds of faces of young boys in my mind from the sidewalks of West Africa that are used to collect money for their master who abuses sexually them at the end of the day. I past by the brothels in Cambodia where teens are sold and raped by the hour. I’ve looked into the empty eyes of orphans in Eastern Europe who are being molested. I have spend time in villages in Thailand where girls likely have been trafficked into big cities. I’ve seen a lot and I wish I could show the millions of young men my age what pornography fuels! 

HUMANS are NOT commodities! WOMEN are NOT objects! It’s time that Christian men flee lust and start being outraged over the fact that millions of people are enslaved! The time to repent is NOW! The time to FIGHT against objectification, abuse, rape, and slavery is NOW!!!

2 years I was a 17 year old who joined a random trip to Thailand. I had no idea where the trip would be taking me or where we would be going. A few days after landing I found myself in a small tribal village in the mountains of northern Thailand. Dozens of little kids surrounded me. Kids who didn’t have parents in their life. Kids who were forgotten. Kids who didn’t have a place to call home. Kids who sleep in a different house each night. Kids who have been hurt and abused. Kids who just wanted love and attention. My heart broke for these kids and when I left a peace of my heart was left behind. The next year I was able to see those kids again and they remembered me. 

Now again this year 2020 I got to spend a whole week with them. When I arrived in their village and hopped out of the car they immediately recognized me and put out their arms! They did this because they remembered how I would spin them around and wanted me to do it again. I held back the tears but my heart broke for them a little bit more! May I never forget what Jesus said about children... 

but Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭19:14‬ ‭
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As I travel around the world my heart is constantly burdened for the many many many broken and hurting kids in every corner of the world. Way too many of them have been abandoned, abused, forgotten, and so much more. May we care and love the fatherless!!!

HAPPY 2020! 2019 was awesome!!! In 2019 I visited 68 countries that I haven’t been to before along with revisit some that had been to before! I took 81 flights totaling 269 hours in the air! I spent far more time in buses, taxis, cars, and trains! I’ve had the opportunity to see God at work in HUGE ways around the world and in my personal life!!! Really I’m pumped to see what 2020 will bring!

Some days really are so tiring and long and today was one of them! I took the slowest vehicles and met some people who really ripped me off and lied too me as well. 😕 Now I’m at “bus station” in new country I’ve never been to before in West Africa in the gross sticky heat for all night instead of being on an overnight bus heading in the right direction. So yeah today was one of those days that kept getting worse and worse as it went on. But God is worthy and He provides a way and protects! So to anyone out there having a good for nothing day keep your eyes on Christ. Actually today I found myself in prayer a lot more then just a normal travel day because I had to lean fully on Him as everything was out of my control well maybe besides being ripped off haha. It seems He is always teaching me how to lean on Him more and more, and sometimes that means having a terrible day! 😬

A few days ago was Black Friday. I found myself over 4000 miles away from my home standing in a ‘small” refugee camp in a large city in West Africa. I was surrounded by poverty, brokenness, pain, and suffering. As I walked the dusty dirt roads of this community I saw hundreds of humans just trying to survive. I saw mothers scraping together the little food they had to feed their children. I saw a few men lurking through the hill of garbage to find some plastics and cans to recycle. I saw children wondering around trying to find something to keep them busy. This wasn’t my first time seeing poverty or even at a refugee camp but somehow God broke my heart again. 
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The entire time that I spent in this camp It’s like my mind kept flashing images of people in the states lining up at stores, scrolling through Amazon surfing for deals, filling shopping carts full of gifts, and buying seemingly an endless amount of stuff. But then my mind would quickly snapback into the reality surrounding around me. A place full of people far far far away from their home land. A place full of tragic stories. A place full of children without fathers. A place full of pain so thick I could feel it. A place full of wives who lost their husbands. A place lacking the most basic of needs. A place where children are dying from fevers. A place that is broken. A place full of strangers trying to live in a city that doesn’t speak their language. A place full of my neighbors seeking shelter, refuge, hope, and a future. The contrast the in my mind was tearing me apart. 

Everywhere around me were precious people carrying burdens so heavy that I should see it in their eyes. Amidst all the poverty and brokenness there was one little boy that literally shattered my heart. Some others and I were standing in a gated facility unpacking and shorting through aid to give out as a mother walked in with her son. This boy was maybe 3 or 4 but his sickness made him so weak to the point he couldn’t walk. He was sick because he was incredibly malnourished. He could hardly keep his eyes open. The little I saw of his mom I just noticed her face was in djmuncertainty. I was told that just in the past few week there had been two children who have died from sickness or lack of nutrition just in this community of 2000 people! 
To think that this time of year parents all around the States are buying hundreds if not thousands of dollars of stuff for their children... yet here was a mother not even able to feed her son enough food. That right there made me mad. I was surrounded by people hardly surviving yet 4,000 miles away there were people rushing into stores to buy the latest TV. What if we started living children around the world as much as ours? What if we started loving our neighbors around the world as much as ourselves?

We don’t need that new crockpot, TV, shirt, gaming counsel, toaster oven, iPad, and on and on! Even us Christians have become materialistic! Our treasure should never be the things of this world! Our treasure is in heaven! We need to start taking our eyes off of our own little lives and look at this world who are in desperate need of the most basic nescities but most of all the Good News of Jesus!!! How are we spending our money, time, and lives? Are we living the Bible or some basic American dream with some Jesus sprinkled on for good measure? 

Look, I don’t have all the answers I’m typing this on my iPhone in the front seat of a 12+ hour taxi ride across another country in West Africa. All I know is what I saw at the refugee camp is not ok. It’s not right or just that we have been so blessed yet so reluctant to live our lives in full obedience to the God we claim to worship, while there is a world full of broken people not just physically but spiritually! This camp I visited was full of people who have never, not even ONCE heard the Good News of Jesus!! The thing is that just until recently there were only unbelievers helping this community... That right there should break our hearts... that people who don’t claim the name of Christ are trying to reach out yet so many of us are fine not doing anything. This was just one place, in one city, in one country, in one region, in one continent!!! There are still billions yes BILLIONS that haven’t been reached with the gospel at all! May we take the Good News and our love to those who need it the most!!! 

It’s NOT time to be focused on living some comfortable life but rather time to take up our cross and live the most epic lives we can serving the KING of kings!!! Let’s go tell and show the world of His GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Live broken. Love unconditionally. Serve radically.

Ever wonder what a day in the life of Conner might look like? 😄 Well here is glimpses of just today....

I wake up in Guinea-Bissau at 4:30am, I head out the door around 5:00am. A taxi pickes me up at 5:10am and drives me to the Main Street where he flags down a bus heading to Senegal. I hop in the bus and sleep off and on for the next 3 hours as we drive the dusty and pothole ridden roads up to the border of Senegal. When we arrive at the border I hop out of the bus and get stamped out of Guinea-Bissau then hop back in the bus then head down the road to get stamped into Senegal. The bus then heads into the nearest town and drops me off at the hectic shared taxi and minibus station around 9:30am. I get out of the bus with greetings from some guys who want to help me for a tip so I tell them I want to go to Dakar. He guides me to the minibus (well more like a van) that’s heading there. He shows me where to buy the ticket so I pay and since there only seems to be one or two passengers I know it’s going to be a good long wait. The buses don’t leave until they are completely crammed full of people. Thankfully since I was one of the first passengers and the driver wanted to get some extra money from me I got the front seat. He was trying to charge me too high of a rate for my baggage so I haggle with him and settle with a decent price that would also be locking my spot in the front seat for sure. The man issuing tickets doesn’t have any change right way so he tells me to come back in a bit... while I was waiting for that I grab a sandwich with the help of the man guiding me through the station. I give him the change from my sandwich and he heads off find someone else to assist. I then wait around for my change for the bus ticket a bit longer and once I receive it I grab a few snacks and water for the day then keep waiting and waiting for the bus to fill up. After awhile I meet a Muslim man who speaks pretty good English so I chat with him for awhile and give him a Gospel tract in his local language. I keep on waiting until at last around 12pm the bus is packed full of travelers and we take off. It’s about 3 hours to the border of The Gambia. The passengers in bus and I get stamped out of Senegal then drive 10 minutes down the road to The Gambia immigration where I show a guard my passport he looks at it, finds my visa, and hands it back. A few others in the bus head across the street to the immigration office so I follow them and ask the officer to stamp my passport but she said that I’m good since it’s already stamped. I hop back in the van and we cross the entire country of The Gambia via the new bridge over The Gambian River in just 45 minutes. As we drive I see some monkeys on the side of the road. We arrive at the immigration office heading back into Senegal and I go to get my passport stamped out of The Gambia but the officer said that since they didn’t stamp it entering that it would be useless to stamp it now haha. So I head over to the Senegal office and get stamped in, then buy a water before hopping back in the bus. Now it’s past 6pm and the sun is setting on this long day... it’s been a bit more then 12 hours and I’ve been in 3 countries and passed through too many borders to count, but it’s been good because God is good!!! 

So yeah there you go that’s just a very simple example of what a day for me looks like. Most days are a blast but super tiring at the same time. There hasn’t been a single day of my life in the past year and half of traveling that’s even closely repeats itself! Each day I see God at work, I see His powerful providing hand, I see His massive heart for the broken, I see His insane creation, I see His never ending mercy, I see His out of this world creativity, I see His beautiful sons and daughters, I see His masterpiece in each face I look at! Each day I have the opportunity to live for Him, some days that looks like working alongside believers building His kingdom and other days it looks like traveling all day just allowing Him to guide my steps! Serving Christ should be the most epic awesome adventure of our lives! There shouldn’t ever be anything boring about being a follower of Him!!!

I want to go back to the carefree days. The days of wonder and adventure. The days of endless dreams and hopes. The days when life was so simple. I long for that wonder again. I long for those bigger then life dreams. I long for that simplistic childish faith. I long for those fresh eyes so full of questions about life. I long for those prayers that turned into miracles. I long for those days of opening the Word and being blown away by God’s grace. I long for that shock and brokenness I felt seeing poverty and suffering for the first time. Sometime I feel so numb. I want to dream again. I want to trust God more again. I want to have that same sense of wonder and adventure again. It’s so easy to get caught up in the cycle of everyday life. It’s so easy to put our dreams aside and be comfortable where we are. I guess all I’m saying is in many regards I’d like to have that fresh childlike outlook on life. I don’t want to ever stop and settle for a mundane everyday life. Sure, I’m traveling the world but even then I can get stuck and overwhelmed trying to figure everything out that I forget to actually live life. I don’t even know if any of this makes sense but basically I long to see God and this world through those childish eyes again. I want to never stop dreaming big. I want to never settle for less. I want to live a life full of wonder, excitement, and joy for my Father’s glory!