Moving Day

Saturday was moving day, and what a great day it was!

Do not be fooled, I loath moving. I hate packing things up and moving boxes and unpacking things I don't need and often didn't even know I had, and then finding a place for them. However, once moving day has come to a close I have all my things out of storage and with me once again and two amazing roommates to laugh at ridiculous things with. I get the exciting privilege of continuing living with my sweet little sis and now my dearest friend, Amy, who might as well be my sister... I'm excited!!!! I love them dearly, and Amy is quite possibly one of the most hilarious people alive (if you don't know, you should probably go out of your way to meet her). So after moving an obscene number of boxes and pieces of furniture and staring at the large number of broken down EMPTY boxes in our living room (and yes, there has been talk of fort-buidling...) we are in and settling nicely, thanks to A LOT of help from our families and a few close friends.

So that has been my weekend, and I'm glad to say that I'm feeling less stressed because I do not have to move again for at least a year. The dozens of lists I've made on things to remember to pack, to buy, to ask can be thrown out and we'll not pay attention to the mess of things out of boxes in my room and the organization that needs to happen because we are in! How lucky. :)

Work, School, Work, School, Work... this is my life.

School has started and is now in full force, I'm still working part time, and have started an internship at the UNM hospital in their public affairs department... it's going to be a busy semester! It's fantastic to have a routine back, and even more fantastic that this is my last year of school (hopefully!). I can't believe how quickly college is going by, and my life in general. Things have gotten so busy lately. I feel so tired all the time, but am always wanting to add "one more" thing to my schedule... how very practical. I was able to talk with 3 of the amazing girls I went to Namibia with this morning and hear how life back in the states is going for each of them. It reminds me of how much I miss them and how much the Lord worked in our individual hearts and our friendships with one another over the short weeks we were together. I can't wait to hear from them again, and hopefully see them again! To share the precious community that was so cherished while we were in Africa. At the same time though, I feel the Lord reminding me that He is my All in All. No person or group of people at home or across the country could take His place, could satisfy like He does. As life has gotten a little more hectic with being back to school and continuing to help with family things and work as well, it's occurred to me how skewed I allow my priorities to become without even noticing. I'm grateful to have a God who graciously and lovingly takes my hand and pulls me back to Him, especially when I've so carelessly put Him on the back burner of my life as things get busy... a bad habit I've develop over the last few years. BUT He is always faithful to call me back to Him.

"Then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there." Hosea 2:14

What an amazing Savior.

Psalm 34

"I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak His praises. I will boast only in the LORD; let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness; let us exalt His name together. I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces. In my desperation I prayed, and the LORD listened; He saved me from all my troubles. Taste and see that the LORD is good. Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in Him! Fear the LORD, you His godly people, for those who fear Him will have all they need." -Psalm 34:1-9

This passage was my heart's prayer for the time I spent in Namibia and even the time spent back home since I've returned. "Taste and see..." An invitation to the highest joy and satisfaction. I don't know about anyone else, but discontentment and I tend to spend a lot of time together. I have been known to seek it out and spend a lot of energy hanging out there. The conviction this passage brought me through the Word itself and the truth it presented in the lives of the Namibians I interacted with and my own American team was so very clear. "...for those who fear Him will have all they need." Such a sweet promise. The Lord has given me and will continue to give me all I need. Having come home to more struggles and trials and fears than I know what to do with, this passage fills me with the overwhelming peace we're promised in God's Word. My heart and my prayer would be that through all things, Christ would be lifted high. Through all things, I would be content and satisfied with the Lord. Through all things, I would be an encouragement to others and an example of the Lord giving overflowing peace and joy in times of pain and heartache. I miss Namibia. I miss the people. I miss my team. I can't begin to express (although at this point with the number of times I've mentioned this I'm beating a dead horse) the different ways the Lord has and is using them in my life. Taking 12 strangers and turning them into the closest friends. There is no other explanation than Christ Himself, that we could all come together and love each other the way Christ designed us to love. Incredible. The Lord has used them in great ways in my life to challenge and encourage me. What an incredible display of the Lord's soveriegnty... putting 12 sinful people together and creating a brotherly love between each of them.

A lot to digest

(Movie night with the team!) I've been back for exactly one week. The rest of the team came home today, arrived safely in the states and went their separate directions home. It seems like so long ago that I was in Namibia, but it's only been a week. I still miss the precious friends I made, but I'm starting to see now that I've been back for several days that the Lord is going to start helping me to digest everything I learned, saw, and heard while I was there... it's a lot of stuff. Going over journal entries from the last 6 weeks and quiet times, the Lord answered so many prayers and revealed Himself in so many ways. One in particular was in our team, as I've mentioned before, and how the Lord so enabled us to work together in an amazing way. Another was in the response the people had to us. Not every time, but more often than not each of us had a story at the end of the day of one person who we were really able to spend some time with and share the Lord with them. It was so encouraging to be able to see people be receptive to the Gospel. On top of that though, I felt like the Lord was really revealing more of the depth of His sacrifice to me in giving me opportunity to share it's Truth with others. The true relationship He desires with each person really came to light on this trip. It was a sweet time of refinement and refreshment in the Word. Not the easiest 5 weeks I've ever spent, since no one likes to see sin revealed in their lives but such a nice time of hearing from the Lord and being reassured of my life in Christ. (More stories and lessons learned to come :)).

More Pictures!

I'm terrible at updating this when I say I will, but I've got some more pictures today! My team should be on there way out of Johanesburg at this point, headed for DC. Pray for a safe trip for each of them! It's been a week since I left Africa and I miss my team so much. I can't wait to get to talk with some of them once they are back in the states. They've been so sweet sending me e-mails and messages telling me they are thinking of me and praying for my mom. And on that note, she's home! Hooray! :) She's recovering really well from her surgery with no complications and the incision is healing well. Praise God for that! Anyway, on to pictures! :D Our fantastic van that literally could take us ANYWHERE. We were able to take 14 people with all there luggage to Katima with this little speed racer. We stayed one night at Ngepi camp on our way to Katima... in a literal treehouse... hilarious! I was always on the lookout for these :D Once we got to Katima, we decorated the children's ward of the hospital there. Our contact there was the pediatrican. The Cheshire Home in Katima that doubled as a home for disabled children and a hostel (Our home in Katima). That's all for now, but I'll get more up as I can! :D

Change in Plans

The last 3 or 4 days have been CRAZY. I've ended up back in the State a week early because my mom got crazy sick and the doctors ended up doing surgery to remove a pretty hefty sized tumor they'd found from her intestines/colon. Once I found out what was going on my amazing team leaders stuck me on a plane and sent me back to be with my family. The surgery went well and they were able to remove the tumor. We still have a ways to go, so please continue to pray for healing and a speedy recovery from the surgery. With that said though, I had such a great time in Namibia and was sorry to cut it short. I loved everyday spent with the team and had so much fun while I was there. I'm going to keep this blog short so that I can FINALLY post some pictures! :D I'm going to post a few at a time because I have a lot! This is Fumane, a girl in Johanesburg who let the 5 of us stay the night at her apartment until we could fly to Windhoek the next morning. The guest house in Windhoek we stayed at. Our first shopping adventure... This is from a meat market we went to our first week in Windhoek, Namibia called Single Quarters. They slaughtered, butchered and cooked the animals right there. Parliment Park in Windhoek More to be posted in the next couple of days, with stories and the like! :D

Hope Village

Yesterday we continued our campus ministry at Poly Tech. After spending the morning there we left for Hope Village. It's a small orphanage in Katatura (a very poor part of Windhoek). I have to say never before has my heart been captured quite like it was with a sweet little 2 year old girl named Sta. She woke up from her nap, stuck her bottom lip out, walked over to me, and with big brown eyes insisted that I hold her for the next two hours or so. She is precious. There are about 30 children at this orphanage right now. Not all of there parents have died but all of them that haven't are unwilling to take care of them. They were so precious and so trusting. We will go back tomorrow to spend the day with them. The Lord has really used the children here to bring humility to us in different ways. They have so little but have so much joy. Truly an amazing time (again, pictures to come but probably not until I'm back in the States). I can't believe that we've got less than two weeks left here. It's gone by so fast, but at the same time seems like we've been here for much longer. I've been so blessed by the community God has given me here with my team. I think I mentioned it before but the girls here have been so great. He's really developing friendships here totally based on our faith and strengthened by Him. I'm so so grateful for each of the people on the team and the time we've gotten to spend with each other. My internet cafe time is running low but I'll try to post more stories/happenings this weekend! :D

Half Way!

We are back in Windhoek and all together again! Two of our team spent the last week and a half in Otjiwarango while the rest of us were in Katima. It was so great to see both of them again. We’ve been able to take yesterday and today and just recover from travelling and being so busy. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until we were given time to rest. It’s been so great spending time with the team, but some down time and less than 13 people time was so needed and enjoyed. We’ve all spent some really good quality alone time with the Lord and been able to refocus and get ready to do campus ministry on Monday. We took two days to travel back from Katima, and on the second travel day we went through Etosha Game Park and saw a TON of animals. Giraffes, kudo, wildebeests, zebras, and ELEPHANTS!!!! (my personal favorite, obviously) :D It was such a great time and so much fun to see all of those animals so close to our car. Loads and loads of fun!  Another great thing about the time we’ve had here has been getting to know the team. It’s truly an answer to prayer to see the people that the Lord has put on this team and how we all are able to work together without any drama or arguments. It’s amazing to see how all our different strengths are able to work together so fluidly. It has been a testament to Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 “Two people can accomplish more than twice as much as one; they get a better return for their labor. If one person falls the other can reach out and help. But people are alone when they fall are in real danger.” It’s been great to spend time with all of the team, especially the other girls, and know that with each of our different struggles the first place the other takes us is to the Lord through scripture or prayer. It’s an incredible community that the Lord has given me for this six weeks. I can’t believe I’m already a little more than half way through the trip. It’s unreal how quickly it’s going by. At the same time though, as time goes on it is easier to miss people at home. I do know, however, that the Lord orchestrated this trip and brought me here and is going to use every minute of it for His glory and to refine me. I’m excited to see how He’s going to use the next three weeks on campus and among us as a team. Again, I thank you for your prayers while I’m here and I’m so excited for all the stories I’ll be able to tell once I get back! :D (*Still have picture issues, but I promise I’m working on it!)