Hard

Life here is not easy or convenient.

I don't have a car and I can't go places anytime I want to. I have to pay for a taxi or bodaboda or walk.

I'm never clean even right after I step out of the shower.

Mail and packages are not delivered to your door. You have to take a 2 or 3 or sometimes even 4 hour trip into town to the post office and frequently what you went to get isn't there.

There are no "quick meals". Everything has to be made from scratch.

Most of the things I eat at home are not available here and if they are, they're very expensive.

I see things here every day that would be considered abuse in the States. I see people live in poverty unlike anything else I've ever seen. I see people work and work and work and barely make any money.

Most things here operate in such a backwards way, it astounds me.

Life here isn't easy, but it's totally worth it.

Because of the lack of convenience and ease, I am forced to rely on God. I have to put my trust in Him, because I know there's no other way to get through it.

I have to trust that He is taking care of the things that I cannot see. This is a place of total dependence on Him. And as much as I love the easy life I live in the US, I love relying on Him more. One of my biggest fears is getting comfortable and forgetting that I need Him. Because I do. Every day. Every hour. I need Him whether I think I do or not.

Until all have heard,

lauren michelle gross