If You Would Have Told Me

If you would have told me I’d be traveling to 11 countries and out the states for five months, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But here I am, two months in.

If you would have told me I’d eat turtle, snail, clams, and lamb penis all for one dinner, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But I did, and I was only a little sick after. 

If you would have told me I’d walk the streets of Beijing and learn how to use their subway system to go see places like the Olympic Park that I dreamed about as a child, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But I could now tell you which lines and stops you need to take.

If you would have told me I’d go to Mongolia. Period. I wouldn’t have believed you,

But Mongolia is actually beautiful and a wonderful country.

If you would have told me, I’d collect rocks from a dirt alley in the streets of Mongolia for pouring cement, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But, actually, I still am shook by the realization of that moment. It was just one of those ‘wow, this is really where I am at in life’ kind of moments. 

If you would have told me I’d…oh wait, never mind I wouldn’t have wanted to hear about that night or have anyone outside know,

But wow what bonding time. 

If you would have told me I’d do homework in a bar or be the friend who actually bought the coffee in a coffee shop, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But now I actually like drinks other than just water.

If you would have told me I’d spend time on a fancy ship in a bay with my best friends, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But you know how cool that is? So awesome!

If you would have told me I’d swim out into the open sea, swim from the beach to a cove and out. to. the. ship. and be where there are fish, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But I faced my fear and splashed about, and there were no fish, at least I pretended there weren’t.

If you would have told me I’d crash dance party in Nepal for my first party crash, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But we were invited in for a short time and met some cool people.

If you would have told me I’d decide to go paragliding on a whim and then just send it, and later willingly go into a cave to explore and crawl though small crevices, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But I will now spend the rest of my life as an extreme sport enthusiast…to an extent.

If you would have told me I’d become so close with missions in Nepal, I actually might have believed you,

But I’ve always had a heart for missions, it’s just the awesome people I wasn’t ready for.

If you would have told me that I would walk through roads so flooded from monsoon season that it was like a shallow river full of so many things that I didn’t want to know what they were, I wouldn’t have believed you or wanted to believe you,

But I rolled my pants up and sloshed through. 

If you would have told me that I’d be helping elderly Indian ladies walk to the bathroom and stand and wait for them, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But I actually lived those moments, and I’m working to complete each task with joy and lovingly serve.

If you would have told me I’d already be halfway through this trip so soon, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But now here I am.

If you would have told me any of these things or about these experiences I’d have, I wouldn’t have believed you,

But that was then.

That was sometime ago, 

Before I started dreaming about this trip,

Before I started thinking about these places,

Before I made this team and met all these people,

Before I got to each moment.

Now if you were to tell me I’d end up living in another country after school, I wouldn’t be surprised about it.

Now if you were to tell me I should go do something crazy or go somewhere new, I’d probably look for flights. 

Now if you were to tell me I would end up lost in a Cambodian jungle with just a new friend from Turkmenistan who only knew five words in English and the elephant that we adopted after fighting off a tiger with a pair of gift-shop nunchucks all because we jumped out a propellor plane, I might look at you like you were crazy, but I honestly wouldn’t doubt the possibility of it.