Saturday, August 16, 2008

I'm Back! What now?

I have been back for 6 days and everything is so surreal! This past week I was up at Forest Home (my second home and place I love so much) helping out at the camp I worked at the past two summers. It has been a nice place of transition- I'm in America, but in a place that is secluded and peaceful. I have been able to process a bit and just simply be. Adjusting back has not seemed so difficult, its more of figuring out how am I different now.
My last week in Venezuela, I worked at a camp there. It was so incredible and I was able to help out with music, sports and other program events. I was sitting in one of the services (which was scheduled for 2 hrs, but may go on for 6- no joke- just to give you an idea) and I was realizing "Wow, I am here. I just spent 2 months in Venezuela. I experienced so much! I did camp! I spoke on the radio... I... I..." And then I remembered my first journal entry on the plane to Venezuela... "God, I have no idea what I am doing. So anything that does happen it's going to be you." <> Talk about a reality check... And as I remember all the moments just before I was to speak in front of a hundred people in a language I didn't know or talk on the radio or play lead music that I just learned that day- I remember so distinctly saying or thinking in my mind "God I have no idea what I am doing- I trust you- I have confidence in you in this moment." And every time it never went as planned- it was better than I could have planned! It was never perfect, but it was beautiful. What do I take from this? Well, I am trying to soak it in deep- that these realizations don't just go by the wayside, rather that they become so profoundly and completely a part of how I approach life. I am loved. God has confidence in me. I have confidence in God (Yo tengo confianza en Dios) God is with me. I am not limited anymore by my thinking/ faults/ inabilities/ fears. I can live fully (Yo tengo vida en abundancia). Gloria a Dios!
I hope that in sharing my experiences you have come to see the reality of God, prayer, and love in the world as I have learned/ am learning. Thank you so much for your encouragement and prayers. I have no doubt they made all the difference! Now I am off on another adventure- what to do with my life this year!?

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