I'm loving life right now & the opportunities God gives. I've been playing a lot of guitar & leading a lot of worship. Yesterday morning, I got to lead worship with my friend Cam at a homeless/biker church in the city. It was so cool!
Last week, our lecture was on the Holy Spirit. It was a challenging week, but a good one. On Friday morning, after a week of learning about the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we had a morning of worship & we invited God into the parts of our heart that we hold back from. We submitted our will to His. I think God really loves it when we do that, it gives Him room to work in our lives. Boy, He showed up that morning. We all prayed for each other, & I saw God move in a way that I've only seen in my dreams... The coolest thing was to see everyone's individual response to the Holy Spirit. For me, my only response at the time was to sing, to worship God for all He's done. But some people sat silently. Some bowed down and prayed. Some cried. Some stood. Some danced. There was freedom, & it was beautiful! It was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever experienced.
While we were gone on our mini outreach to Seattle, the winter discipleship training school (WDTS, i'm doing the SDTS: spring DTS) returned from all of their outreach trips. They stayed on our floor for the last 2 weeks... at first, us as the spring school, we were irritated by it, not really sure why, but the second week we got to know them. I'm so glad we did! Man, so many fun nights! It's been so encouraging to hear stories of outreach & to be around people that can answer our questions & encourage us as we keep going in our school... It made me so excited about India. They graduated on Friday & all left, which was super sad & gave me a small taste of what graduation will be like. I'm beginning to grasp that following Jesus isn't always an easy thing, it's bittersweet, because it is SUCH an adventure. He takes people so many different places & gives people so many different dreams, goals & futures. It's sad to know that many people I will never see after this school, BUT we do have an eternity together. That makes me excited. I'm beginning to also value friendship more & more & more. Jesus was about making friends...
The other day, our speaker was praying and asked God to bless all of us for giving Him this time of our lives... & I immediately thought, "No, God... you gave ME this time..." Seriously. It is such a HUGE blessing to be here. It's a perfect example of how DYING to yourself truly brings LIFE. I have found life in death, in a small, but really good way. :) Thank you to anyone that donated or prayed. You have a great part in me being here. I'm so incredibly thankful.
We leave for India in TWO WEEKS. I really can't believe it. I'm so excited. It's so crazy, because God has given me such a heart for that country, a year ago, I never would have guessed I'd be going to India & that'd I'd be so ready & excited about it... wow! God is cool. I have been researching the cities we will be in... We will be going to Varanasi, where they have the Ganges River. People think that the river is a way to be cleansed from sin & a way to attain salvation, so they bathe there, offer sacrifices, throw "illegitimate" babies, and dead animals in there, as well as dead people. I've also learned a bit of the caste system they have over there... my heart breaks for these people. I'm reminded of the gift of my salvation & the peace & hope I have found for this life in Christ. I can't wait to be able to look at an "untouchable" person & tell them that God deeply deeply loves them & created them in His image. I can't wait to hold the kids hands & snuggle them in my arms. I can't wait to talk to the women. I can't wait to walk those streets & look in the eyes of those lovely, beautiful people. I can't wait to see God there.
There's a song by a woman named Kristene Mueller called St. Francis. I heard it from a girl here that had just been to Taiwan. This song was her prayer for Taiwan, & it has now become my prayer for India. I put a video of it below... have a listen. I bet you'll like it.
i'll leave you with a few pics:
little Yuni. :)
"prom night" ... all decked out.
we walked a mile in the rain just to get some delicious food on Saturday.
worth it.
this is good for my soul.
one of our many dance parties. :)
xoxo
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