Did you miss Part One of Ellie’s interview? Click here to check it out!
Q: What did you appreciate the most about the culture you were living in?
A: The hospitality for sure. The people there are so quick to invite you to your home. This woman that lived on our street would always walk up and down it with a baby over her shoulder. She spoke no English, but by the end of our time there, she figured out what "come" meant after trying to talk to us for the past two months. She invited us into her home to make us dinner and then invited us over the next day. Three generations were living in the house, and the adults could speak English, so they talked to us for such a long time, ended up inviting us to their village and saying they wanted us to meet their people and to cook for us, but unfortunately, we didn't have time to go. People were so willing to engage and have conversations. It was so beautiful, I'm looking at pictures now and thinking man, I miss this.
Q: What surprised you most about the culture?
A: One thing that surprised me was how hot it was, I was prepared for it to be hot, but it was honestly just so hot. I think that was a cool thing because I was physically uncomfortable and had to rely on the Lord for little things like that because nothing was secondhand nature. Everything required me to depend on the Lord. Nothing was on my own, like bartering for a ride to class and not going straight in my car and going. In America, you don’t invite God to do those things with you.
Q: Tell me about any relationships you created with locals.
A: My closet local friends were twins, my roommate and I met them at an ice cream shop. They were just so fun, L and L Whatsapp me pretty frequently to this day. But they are really wonderful. They wanted to hang out every day and showed us all around the city and the best spots. We also engaged in a lot of cultural activities together like Henna and eating their regional dish. One day we went to their house and were able to meet their whole family. We went on a hike to their temple with their mom’s entire yoga group. We went to two weddings, and it was a dream! Definitely one of my favorite things we were able to do. We were able to have honest conversations and read John 1 with them. Till the very last day, they were with us and even watched us get on the bus, it was so sad, but they were just wonderful friends.
Q: Did this experience give you more clarity and confidence in your calling? How?
A: Yes! For sure! My time overseas made me realize that I could thrive overseas. I am very much a visual person, so I feel like living there gave me an idea of what it would look like for me. What would be difficult but also the things that I loved. It made me realize I just wanted to be in God’s will and that there is no sweeter place than He has called us to be. When we say “Yes” to Him, it is just so good, and it may be painful at the moment, but He is just so faithful. I do feel like He has asked me to go, but just not yet. Right now, I realize what I can bring to a team. Especially in these closed countries, it is important to have a trade or a skill to enter that country. I feel like I am learning a lot about what that looks like. It definitely gave me clarity and confidence to where going overseas means, “I can’t wait to do that one day” rather than something daunting.
Q: Would you recommend Cafe 1040’s program to others/friends? Why?
A: Certainly, definitely, yes. The program gives you a “get your hands dirty” life experience. When else will you have the space to be alone with God with no other responsibilities? It is such a unique opportunity. Something about the South Asia staff was that they wanted us to receive from God, not commit to moving overseas. Obviously, they had been praying for us to have that desire, but ultimately, they just wanted us to hear from God and abide and say yes to where He was leading. To be in a program where the staff is completely selfless, and all they want to do is strengthen you and help you grow in your relationship with God, more in love with who He is and what He is doing all around the world. Having adults walk you through an entire process is an incredible privilege.
Q: Almost a full year since you came back, what have you carried with you since returning state-side?
A: I have this desire to keep learning and growing. I felt like the teaching we received as a part of the program was incredible, I just want to stay away from “the drift,” which is something that we learned when we come back to America and could potentially just go back to the way that we were living before we went on the program. I am just so afraid of going that way, and so learning more about God’s heart for the nations is what I am doing here right now. Being intentional about the things God started in me while I was overseas. Another thing would be just feeling more aware of the importance of prayer and how much prayer can change things. Realizing my” prayerlessness” and thinking how much I need to be rooted in prayer. It cannot happen unless we bring these requests to God.
