My, my, what an incredible summer it has been. Nine weeks ago, I couldn't have told you what to expect out of this summer, but thankfully, the Lord is sovereign and knew what he had in store for me. I am officially "back" from Charleston, although it will be a few more weeks before I am officially settled anywhere. I am currently in Charlotte, but between here and Chapel Hill I will also be making stops in Hilton Head, Morehead City and Wrightsville Beach.
Coming back from project has been a lot harder than expected. I was really stoked to be coming home, and (no offense to my wonderful roomies whom I love dearly) to be sleeping in my own bed again. I did not think ahead to how hard it would be going from constantly being surrounded by community, to having almost no community at all for three weeks. It has not been an easy transition, and I definitely need lots of prayer through this transition. The Lord has been good to reveal that in the midst of sadness and missing friends, he is still not done with me, or even with this summer of mine. Please continue to pray for God and his will to be revealed in these last few weeks of summer bliss. I am so thankful for what the Lord revealed to me these past nine weeks and how he will use lessons learned this summer for his glory back in Chapel Hill. As hard as it is to believe that I am about to start my senior year, I am excited to see what he has in store for me as I close out my time at the greatest school in the world. I have already started to feel nostalgic about my time there, and I definitely get a little teary every time I hear the James Taylor classic, Carolina in my Mind. Thank you to everyone of you who supported me through prayer and other means. I am so appreciative to all of you and hope to have the chance to share more of what God has been doing in my life. If you're interested in keeping up with me throughout the school year, then I will try to post on this blog a couple of times per semester. Knowing me, that may not happen so I won't make any promises, but I will do my best. Peace and Blessings, and prayers over the next year of adventures that are to come!
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So, the fact still remains that I am TERRIBLE at keeping up with a blog. Sorry for failing y'all. But as we say on project, "we're all in process." I fear that this may just be one of those things that I am never good at doing. God has been at work in amazing ways over the past month here in Charleston. Through the process of staff leaving and leadership transitioning over to the students, there has been a lot of "roll with the punches" moments to keep us on our toes. I am still so thankful for God bringing me here for the summer, and for the friendships and solid community that He has provided through this experience. Working at McDonald's would not have been nearly as easy without my 46 closest friends for the summer doing it along side of me. Here are some praise reports from the past month: Friendships with co-workers. This is a huge answer to prayer from before and during this summer. We've been blessed with co-workers who care to get to know us, and who allow us to also get to know them. Please continue to pray that we would be able to work in impactful ways throughout these last two weeks of project. Pray that it would be an impression of the Lord and not ourselves that is left with our co-workers. The existence of Skype. God bless technology which allows me to talk to people I love from hundreds of miles away. I got to speak to two of my favorites, one of who recently returned from summer project in East Asia. Thankful for her safe return home and for the chance to hear her voice. The fact that Charlotte is only three hours away. I was so so so blessed to have my parents come and visit for one glorious weekend, along with ol' Snowball in tow. We had a weekend filled with great food, fun, and family bonding time. Visits from sweet friends like this one. My sweet and beautiful Morgie to visit and I couldn't have been more thrilled to see her. ...and this one. My newly married best friend stopped by on the way back from her honeymoon with her sweet new hubs, Gabe. Having missed their wedding the weekend before, this was such a sweet reminder from Jesus that I am where I belong for the summer. Glorious 7 a.m. sunrises. We get to experience this view just about every morning on our way to work at McDonald's. This certainly helps to focus our hearts and minds on our work here and the Lord that we are serving. Not much else wakes us up well at 6:30. Eno dates with Big Momma. Brianna (aka Big Momma) is one of my roommates and best friends on project. The Lord has really blessed me through her this summer, and I am so thankful to know her. These three beauties. These are my lovely roommates for the summer. They've seen me through the ups and downs, the beautiful and the gruesome. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Without Walls. This Saturday was one of my favorite days on project so far, and it was majorly due to my interactions with these sweet faces. Our group was blessed to get to serve with a local ministry, Without Walls, which goes out to local neighborhoods to serve and interact with the people of Charleston. It was so exciting to get to be a part of the Lord's ongoing work in this city. These girls showed me how to dance, and also told me how they love to sing "God Songs." Melt my heart!! And Finally. Continued growth and daily affirmations of grace from my heavenly father. I am learning so much about his character and it is so sweet to experience his love in new ways! (Also for dirty chai lattes from my new favorite coffee shop, Kudu!!) That's all I've got for now. Thanks again to everyone who has been praying for me and supporting me this summer. It is so evident that God had me here this summer for a specific purpose, and I am grateful to those who joined in with my journey along the way. I hope that through my experiences here, I will be able to bless my friends and the new people I meet this year in Chapel Hill. A few final prayer requests as we close project out and as the new school year begins (woah! where did the time go?) 1. Unity with my fellow projecteers: As things begin to wind down, please be praying that we would continue to remember our purpose in being here this summer, and that we wouldn't be complacent as our time dwindles. 2. Incoming freshmen at UNC: My role with CRU this year will be in leading freshman bible study leaders. Please pray that everyone's hearts would be prepared for the Lord to work mightily in their lives this school year. 3. Decisions about the future: I am about to start my SENIOR YEAR!! WHAT?! which means that a lot of big life decisions will be coming my way soon. Pray that the Lord would provide clarity through these life transitions, and that I would be persistently praying about where God wants me to be. Thankful for the blessed assurance that Jesus is mine, and I am his. Peace and blessings, y'all. So then, since we have a High Priest who has entered Heaven, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come BOLDLY to the throne of our Gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16 |
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April 2016
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