I don’t know when Jesus and I created my bucket list, but when I find it in my journals, I will let you know.
One “checked off” bucket list item was paragliding.
This was me in 2015 in Bolivia paragliding for the first time.
I was on the World Race and in La Paz, Bolivia. Here is a post about it.
TT’s current bucket list consists of 4 things.
Sure, I have a ton of ideas and dreams, but “bucket list” items are ones I have prayed about and sense God wants for my life.
Here they are:
1. Go scuba diving.
2. Go to Bora Bora.
3. Go sky diving.
4. Take ALL of my family on a mission’s trip.
Why scuba diving? There is a lesson in life I have gained: The experiences in life we tend to enjoy the most are ones that require risk. When I think of scuba diving, I think I will see what I would never get to see if I don’t take a risk.
Learning to trust God more and more as I grow up in Christ has been my M.O. There is something about putting an oxygen tank on your back, learning how to breathe under water and going deep that freaks me out and exhilarates me all at the same time.
I imagine the colors I will see. The peace and quiet of my breath in the deep. The “Wow GOD” moments OVER and OVER and OVER again.
Why Bora Bora? This is where I will have my honeymoon. I saw Bora Bora in a magazine in 2005. It looked something like this:
Bungalows on see through water and I thought, I have to go there one day. It is so expensive and far away, but I know I will get there. I love the water. Those tiny homes were ON the water, so even better.
Why in the world would you want to jump out of an airplane and go sky diving? In heaven, I hope we can fly like eagles and swim under water and be able to breathe under water like fish. Jumping out of an airplane would feel like I am an eagle for a moment.
Eagles are my favorite animal. Maybe they are tied with a lion actually, but I hardly ever see lions…I get to admire eagles more. The way they soar. They way they face storms. That’s a whole nuther blog.
Why take all your family on a mission trip? Some people can take their children to work for a day. This is TT’s version. I want my family to experience what I experience year after year….country after country. I want them to experience God in ways they haven’t and also the body of Christ.
In order of their appearance on the mission field with TT SO far:
1. Sarah, my sister, came to Iraq in 2011. It was her first trip overseas. She was 25. My church helped with her plane ticket as a gift to bring me my sister since we were grieving hard after our dad committed suicide. It was a blessing.
2. Sarah came to Israel in 2012. This was her second trip overseas. We went everywhere. She got to see my life there as I lived there that year.
This was us on the Sea of Galilee.
And in the Dead Sea.
And enjoying our favorite juice in the West Bank.
3. Joseph, my nephew, came to Cambodia for three weeks in 2014. He went almost everywhere with me. First stop was my favorite hole in the wall restaurant, Star Rise, where the first day he got chicken curry and loved it! He said he heard the gospel more in that visit than he had in his whole life. He immersed himself in the culture. This was right before he would go into the Marines and I am so thankful we had that time together.
Took him to one of the villages we ministered in.
We went to Angkor Wat.
And he rode on an elephant there:
4. My mom and I are both nurses and in 2016, we went on a medical mission trip with Vets with a Mission to Vietnam. There we had so many deep conversations, enjoyed the culture and ministered to many Vietnamese.
5. Nikki, (Jospeh’s sister) my niece, hiked the Camino with me in 2017 on an alumni trip with Adventures in Missions. There she rededicated her life back to Jesus. Here is the day it happened.
We had the best time, taking a Racer a day, and hearing all their vastly different stories. This was us on our last day. We literally hiked a marathon that day into Santiago.
So, I have a ton of family…so still a lot more to go. But this is a good start.
I hope you make a bucket list with Jesus.
I’ve heard there are three regrets people have before they die:
1. More time with family and friends. (We could spend days talking about all my dear friends who have ALSO come on the mission field with me.)
2. More risks.
3. More times of reflection.
I wanna make sure when TT kicks the bucket at 120…that she goes out with no regrets.
