The first time I recorded a journal-specific event was around October, 2019 when I went on a short term mission trip to Cuba. Its purpose was to bring back my experiences, (spiritual, educational, funny, and eye-opening) to my family and friends who selflessly gave money and prayer to support our team on the trip. We worked with local Cuban Christian churches of the Christian Missionary Alliance (CMA) doing construction and vacation bible school outreach to kids. There was no cell reception down there, so the only thing my phone was good for was to type out notes and take pictures.
I figured this mission trip would be a once in a lifetime experience and it would be worth diving deeper to journal the experience. It absolutely was! I started to learn and experience profound spiritual truths making words I recently read in the Bible during that very week come to life for me in a whole new way. I wasn’t expecting that to happen, it just did.
My kidney donation journal entries was the second time I decided to intentionally record my life changing and emotional experiences. My intent, however, was for these entries to be for me, maybe my family. I really wanted to lean-in to see how God was working through this process. I wanted to record my personal experience along the way. What was God’s will for my part? Would I see God’s providence in any of this? Will I be seeking answers and hearing nothing? I share some vulnerable thoughts and emotions, which was not easy for me to evaluate and write down in the first place. Why is this being shared now? As you read on, you’ll likely come across the short and simple answer!
90% of the following entries were typed into the Note App on my phone, laying in bed before I went to sleep. I mostly edited the entries for grammar and punctuation (Cell phone spell checking and typos were prevalent). I’ve included links to some videos or YouTube songs that came up during specific times or thoughts. I hope you can listen to the words of these songs, put yourself in my shoes and relate to my story. I hope your spirit is moved, like mine was.