The Last 3 and The Next 3

I am currently sitting in a random coffee shop with the best oat milk latte I have ever had! As I sit here I am reflecting on the past 3 months of my life and wonder what the next 3 will bring…

The last 3 months were incredible in so many ways! I spent the summer at Hume New England, mostly as a camp counselor but also as a camp nurse at times. I saw God move mountains, softened hearts, change minds, reveal himself, and speak the truth over so many. Each week I would have 6-9 new campers that I spent the week with and got to pour everything I had into them. We would dive deep into the scriptures to find out who God is, untwist the lies they believe, and I spoke truth over them. These were some of the most challenging and exhausting weeks of my life. However, I would do it 1000 times over again! I kept thinking to myself, what a privilege it is to be such a part of someone’s journey and to be a vessel for the kingdom. 

During the third week of camp, I had a cabin of 6 high school girls. One was very quiet, had a lot of walls up, and said “I don’t talk in group/cabin discussions.” After the first two chapels and cabin discussions of her not talking, the Lord worked on her, and she unloaded so many burdens that she had been carrying. She ended up accepting Christ that week! In the last cabin discussion, she had to stand up because she couldn’t stop dancing for joy and was a completely different girl! It was just a picture of the redemption and joy the Lord brings. 

At the beginning of summer, the Lord gave me 3 words to live out while at camp. They were to live boldy, humbly, and authentically. The Lord gave me a safe community to grow in all these areas of my life. Boldly – I learned what it looks like to boldly walk in Christ without fear and to live confidently in my calling. Humbly – there were a few weeks where I did the most random jobs at camp and I asked myself  “what the heck am I doing?” I saw that I might only be the connection to the greater purpose of the Lord and I might not ever see it. Authentically – this was me uncovering who I am and the purpose the Lord has for me. Living the life of a “yes gal” for God and not conforming to others’ ideas of me. I genuinely lived in my original design and my got to explore what that looks like. 

That was camp in a nutshell! I tried to sum it up in a few sentences but it was just one of the best summers ever! I would be lying if I didn’t say it was also the hardest too but I saw firsthand that the Lord shows up the most in the hardships. It was my camp family that helped me get through it. I wasn’t expecting to meet any of them or know how much they would change my life. There were days I wouldn’t have made it without them. Lifelong friendships and some of the biggest supporters of my life. Thanks guys, I love you all! 

The next 3 months… well there are 14ish days until I launch! LIKE WHAT?!?! The Lord launches my squad into one of the craziest journeys a lot of us have ever embarked on. Please be in prayer for us. We are all so excited and ready. However, the Lord is further stripping us of a lot of comforts (physical and emotional) and that is hard. I personally am so ready but also a little sad to say goodbye to my people. I had to say my first round of goodbyes when I left camp this week, some of which were extremely hard. In that though, I understand that the Lord is there and feels it too. I know that this is my purpose and my calling. That is what I rest in during the goodbyes, the questions, and the fears.

Race Update…                                                                                                                                                                              There are only 14 days until I launch into training camp and then to the first country which is Guatemala! They added another country…TURKEY!!! Now I will be traveling to 7 different countries in the span of 11 months. 

Fundraising Update…                                                                                                                                                                      In my mind, before I left for camp this summer, I thought I was going to have to fundraise $3,000 during summer camp to be able to leave. I knew it would be a super busy time and I wasn’t sure how that was going to work out. It was week 2 that I found out that I didn’t have to raise the $3,000 and I had enough to launch in August! The Lord didn’t stop at that. The last night before I left camp, I looked at my donations and saw that I had raised $3,000 over this summer! Whoot Whoot! However, I still need $5,581 to be fully funded and have to have this amount by November. Would you prayerfully consider donating and help me reach my final goal? Also, I am trying to sell out of t-shirts so go get one!

You can catch me the next 2 weeks packing, wrapping up small details, and giving lots of hugs!