The day became two weeks...

Seven o'clock tonight marked two weeks since I've said goodbye to my family and hopped on a plain to Brasil by way of Peru.

Holy cow.

While I was in Lima, a group of us were sharing "our stories." I remember saying, in all seriousness, "If you would've told me on August 1st of last year that I would be riding around downtown Lima on a double decker bus, two nights before I left for Brasil for five months, I would've laughed you out of the room."

If someone would've told me while I was in Lima that, after only being in Sao Leopoldo for five and a half days, I'd feel comfortable enough to wander into shops by myself, I would've brushed it off. 

Forgive me, Lord, for doubting You and the work You can do in 

and through me in such a short time.

Since I've been gone, I've been asked MANY questions. Questions of all sorts. 

There were two that really stood out to me...

The first is: Who will they remember you as?

"They" can be anyone. The team training together in Lima. The team here in Sao Leopoldo. Chris and Melody. The strangers I befriend here. The host family I'm living with. 

Will they remember me as the one who laughed a lot? Or the one who kept to herself?

Will they remember me as the one who didn't put effort into learning the language? Or the one who took the time to study and was able to converse in a foreign tongue? 

Will the remember me as the one who never hung out? Or the one who was a kind and loving friend? 

Will they remember me as the one who never disconnected herself from the States? Or the one who was totally engrossed in this culture? 

Or will they remember me as the one who loved Jesus?

The one whose heart broke for the lost?

The one who shared her story with me and answered my countless questions?

The one who prayed over me?

Taylor, the one who...

I was asked what would that "..." be. What do I want it to be? Oh, I pray I learn the language. I pray I develop relationships with the people I come in contact with. I pray my host home grows to love me as their own. 

But more than that, I pray when people remember me, they remember Jesus. I pray they look past me and my flaws and see the Cross. 

The second question is: Why are you a Christian?

No, you can't answer "because Christ died for my sins." 

That doesn't count when you're sharing with unbelievers. 

In no way am I taking away from the fact that Christ DID die for our sins. I am grateful for His great desire to know me that sent Him to the Cross. I'm just saying, how can you explain it in a non-Sunday-School-answer?

Wow. I had to really think about my answer. 

After thinking this through for a while... I came up with a couple different reasons. 

Before I shared them on here, I wanted to share them at our weekly team meeting. When I did... I realized I had to come back to the drawing board.

I have to not water the message of the Gospel down, but break it down to the basics.

How do I do this, I wondered. 

I have to totally change my way of thinking. An unbeliever wouldn't understand this church lingo I throw out. I not only have to make sure it translates clearly from believer to unbeliever, but also English to Portuguese. 

Things I have to ponder: 

What is truth? What is concrete/real?

What does "repent" mean? 

Why would I leave the United States for FIVE months to come to this foreign country?

What is sin?

What made me change? 

Okay, so the answer I had isn't wrong. It's just not right, yet. I have to think things through with a blindness that I haven't had since I was nine years old. I've been molded into this "church girl" with all the "right" answers.

For the first time in my life, I'm going to be challenged on these "right" answers. What I say can make or break a relationship that I've made, that I'm making or that I will make. I have to be as prepared as possible to defend MY Christianity. 

Wow, what a humbling fact. 

So, I challenge you, as I think through my answer, think through yours. Would you be able to tell someone who has NEVER stepped foot into a church, never read or even seen a Bible why you are a Christian? Could you do it without using those "right" answers?? 

Lord, 

Thank you for supervisors who've made me think things through in a way I've never done before. Help me to seek after Your face and the words You'd have me use. Be with those I'll come in contact with. Prepare their hearts for Your message.

Working on my answer,

Taylor Lea

But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect

1 Peter 3:15