Something that I've always been passionate about is hospitality. In the south, hospitality is something we're known for. But living overseas has completed redefined what it looks like to be hospitable and generous! My mom always asked me to turn on all the lamps before we ever had anyone over. This is something I will always cherish. I thought I knew before what it looked like to serve others, to welcome them in, and to give with a generous heart. Southern hospitality looks like having people over for dinner, but knowing about in advance so we can clean our houses and plan the menu. It looks like pretending like we have it all together. It looks like secretly wishing our guests would leave so we can go to bed.

The foreign hospitable spirit that I want to instill in my life is a lot more about spontaneity, inviting others to come as they are, giving up your portion for someone else, celebrating the little things, and being honest about how you are.

In Guatemala, we were quickly invited into the previously formed plans of others. Without even a thought!

Another team showed us hospitality by welcoming us to their city and showing us around during the most chaotic festival of the year!

Abigail and I got to experience radical hospitality this day! A family we had the pleasure of doing ministry alongside left town and allowed us to stay in their home for a night. They have a rule that changed my heart towards hospitality. They always keep an open bedroom in whatever house they live in so that anyone who needs it can stay as long as they need to. They have the coolest stories of how the Lord has provided for them through this and they've hosted numerous missionaries, strangers, and friends over the years! Even down to the furniture in the room, God has provided for it all.

On one of our last nights in San Antonio, we invited all of our ministry friends over for pizza and a movie. We gave up our air mattresses, pillows, and blankets to create a makeshift movie theater. We gathered cups and pooled money together to make a few more memories with friends who became family.

In Romania, Biblical hospitality looked like serving our squadmates and loving them well. This was Thanksgiving Day! What an honor it was to sit back and be served by the holiday committee. It wasn't quite like home, but I was more thankful on this day than any Thanksgiving I've ever experienced in America.

When we walked the freezing cold streets of Craiova having gospel conversations with strangers, so many local business owners made us feel seen and cared for. This day was particularly cold. A family that owned a street food stand saw us and gave all of us bread, sausage with mustard, and hot tea. It meant so much to me. They could've said, "Sure is a cold day out," and went on their merry way, but instead they provided free food and drinks for us.

During our time of ATL in Romania, we stayed in a total of 4 different locations, and we never paid full price for even one of them! Even more than easing our burden of housing costs, our hosts often welcomed us in with home-cooked meals. We were given leftover Christmas food that I'm sure would've been eaten by others, but was given to us. We were driven to and from bus stops and train stations at all hours of the day and night. So many people said yes to us, without any hesitation.

In Albania, our church friends Brajan and Franci drove us to the beach on the coldest, rainiest, windiest day! And they did it with smiles. It wasn't the beach day we had planned, but the boys showed us the fruits of patience and joy.

Our pastor Kejdis made space in the service on Sundays at church for one of us to share a testimony each week. He was so generous to allow us this space to share our hearts with the church family. This picture is of me sharing and his wife Rudina translating my story into Albanian, even though she was sick this day!

On this day in Albania, we invited so many people to a picnic in the park. I learned a hard lesson this day: that a big part of hospitality is laying down your own expectations and doing everything for his glory. Although only two people came to our picnic, we created a space for fun and enjoyed each other's company so much. Heart posture is so much more important than results.

Kejdis and Rudina also welcomed us into their home. They made enough food for an army, made us laugh and cry, and shared the story of how they met. The love we experienced in this house, eating supper in the living room felt like Heaven to me.

The ironic thing about this blog post is that Turkey is the most hospitable country I've experienced so far! Writing about what I've learned here would take its own blog post. Maybe I'll write that one later.

I challenge you to look at how you practice hospitality in your own life. Keep making more pots of coffee, invite someone to eat lunch with you after church on Sunday, write your coworker a card to celebrate them. You might be entertaining angels unawares.

All my love,

Caroline.