I Smile

Hello old friend!

Yes, I'm back.

Oooh don't look at me like that. I'm staying this time around! Promise! It's going to be 6 MORE months of Paradise :) But first, let me rehash the last 3 months of outreach...

The first five weeks of outreach were in Orange Country, California. The first five weeks of outreach were spent ministering to the people of Huntington Beach and surrounding areas. I enjoyed this time because it was a time of being a family for the 7 of us on outreach. We did meals together, hung out together, did ministry together, basically did everything together. At times my need for solidarity tried to sneak in, but I truly enjoyed being around the group 24/7. I also enjoyed seeing my brother and sister-in-law on the weekends. I really looked forward to Saturdays because I loved being around my actual family. It was so nice to be with Allan and Nicole and Nicole's parents, I felt most comfortable on the weekends with them. It took me a while to really get comfortable with my outreach group, but by the time the 3 months were over, I was SUPER comfortable with my group. I'm writing this post and just thinking about how much I miss them. But anyways, back to outreach...

We went to New York City for the last part of outreach. I fell in LOVE with New York City. It was super hard for me to leave that beautiful place. I loved the subways, I loved Central Park, I loved the big buildings, and I loved people watching every where I went. Really, there are crazies everywhere that are just waiting to be watched! But in all seriousness, New York was a great time of ministering to the homeless, the fashion industry, and the people of New York. We worked often with an organization called Here's Life Inner City and another organization called The Relief Bus. On our self-initiative days, I worked with a woman, who's daughter is a YWAMer, who is starting a company to market Central Park and, hopefully, parks around the world. Meeting her was truly the highlight of my outreach. God really is the ultimate event planner and coordinator of our lives. He puts people in our lives that we can learn from and watch, and who can be impacted by us. I loved seeing God's creativity in Darcy. She was so creative and so talented at everything she did. Then I helped with administrative things for her company. I really loved seeing how a woman can be successful in the corporate world and be completely led by the Holy Spirit. I needed to see that! I will miss her, but I know I'll be back in New York someday to hang out with her!

Overall, outreach was a great time learning how to apply what we learned in lecture phase. The Lord really worked on my heart on being more gentle with those around me, on concentrating on MY path and not other people's paths, and being in constant communication with Him. You know that song by Stephen Curtis Chapman that goes "Let us pray, let us pray, everywhere in every way, Every moment of the day, it is the right time, Let us pray without end and when we finish start again, Like breathing out and breathing in, let us pray" I didn't think that was possible! I thought praying was only at assigned times in the day, like when you wake up and when you eat and when you go to bed.. NO!! So wrong! Prayer and speaking to the Lord is CONSTANT! He wants to answer your questions, He wants to guide you through your "to-do list," He wants to help you decide what kind of cereal to get, and what to say to that not-so-nice co-worker. Saying little prayers, four words prayers, asking for comfort, asking for peace, asking for help, saying "Thank you!" those are prayers and those are how you communicate with the Lord. That's how you rely on Him, that's how you put your trust in Him time and time again, that's how you make it through the day. I really learned that being in constant communication with the Lord makes the day 100 times better than relying on my own knowledge. I can't tell you how many times I said, "Lord, I need help" or "Lord, I trust you," and instantly felt a calming spirit come over me. I'm not alone anymore, God is with me wherever I am, and He's there waiting for me to reach out to Him and let Him be apart of everything. I learned more about my Identity in Him, being confident in what I'm doing, who I am, and knowing that the Creator of the Universe loves me more than I can imagine. I'm secure in His love, I'm safe in His will, and I'm satisfied with His plan for me. We're all on different paths, be thankful for where you are, don't compare your point in life to others, it'll take your eyes off the Lord. Be thankful, that's His will for us. 


I'm so very grateful for this opportunity that I had. DTS helped me grow, helped me become a new person, and it allowed me to learn what being a Christ-follower really looks like. Now, I just have to keep living what I've learned and growing more in love with my God, my Creator, my Daddy.