I’m writing this blog on my last day in Antipolo, Sunday the 22nd. Over a month and a half ago I dropped my phone out of a train window. It was a 20 hour sleeper train from Da Nang, Vietnam to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The train ride was great, my cab was small and had six small beds that I couldn’t fit on. However I got eight restful hours of sleep that night. Sometime throughout the day, we must of passed a very pretty part of the Vietnam countryside, so I took out my phone to take some pictures and record a video to send back to family. Well the window was open and my arms might have been a bit to far out of the window, and there happen to be a tree in the way of my video. And off went my phone.

I had always thought that I did a good job not being on my phone. Especially in Vietnam when we had a lot of free time. But I still probably spent more time on it than I should have. My honest reaction in that moment was “oh well”. Some people might not like that, but I just didn’t really care that much. Immediately, this hand held distraction device had been ripped away from me. I went back to playing card games in my cabin after that. Only a few things have been inconvenient after losing my phone, music, and communication. Inconvenient but not impossible. I have an iPad with limited downloaded music, and I have been able to use a friend’s phone to talk to family.

The biggest difference in my life after this happened, is the amount of time I’ve spent with God, like giving him my first fruits every morning. Back home in America I would make my coffee every morning and drink it while playing or scrolling on my phone. Terrible. I would probably go on my phone before bed as well. With my phone gone, it was a distraction removed. When the race started I began spending more time in my bible, but never as much as I liked. It was always so easy to put it off. However here in the Philippines I have given my first fruits to the Lord every morning. More than I have my entire life before hand. This season of my life has been amazing for me and my faith. It feels weird to address the cause of something so big be losing something so small, but that is my testimony and experience. My mom comes for a parent vision trip tomorrow with all the parents, and she is bringing me a new phone. A small part of me has thought about not taking that phone after spending so much time without it, but God has been great and I have the desire to continue living with God first.

Thank you all for reading! I encourage losing your phone at least once in your life.

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