Can it get any better?

So this past week was absolutely incredible!! I really haven't done yet what I've been hired to do, but it's been awesome!!
Two other SAMBICA staff members and myself went with 10 high school sophomores to the mountains of Washington for Adventure Camp.
Rock Climbing... for two days.
White Water Rafting.
Inflatable kayaking down a river.
Backpacking hike beginning at 11pm, gave the campers a compass and a map and arrived at a "camp site" at 2am.
Challenge Courses.
And beautiful beautiful time with Jesus!!!!
Seriously one of the best weeks of my entire life- and that is saying a lot.

Campfires, Sunsets, and Jesus

So the view right now is... immaculate!! I can't even begin to describe the blend of colors, reflection on the water, horses grazing in the field, mountains in the distance, the sun gently gliding down behind them... AHH IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!
God has been so so so faithful this past week =). Ya know when he reminded me that he will provide me with what I need and when I needed it? Warm Beach Camp. For this week, I am at Warm Beach Camp a little ways away from SAMBICA with 14 other people from camp working with campers with special needs.
I needed rest... we had saturday, sunday, monday, and all nights off.
I needed girls that I could connect with... 13 girls from SAMBICA came and we have had a beautiful chance to get to know each other, have heart to heart talks, be crazy and real with each other, and establish incredible friendships.
I needed to take time to appreciate more of God's beauty... every sunset is absolutely breathtaking and draws me closer to him.
I needed to live out more of my passions and be reminded of the way God has wired me... I get to hang out with a guy with autism all week and remember that God has put a soft spot in m heart for his children with special needs. I never want to neglect that passion.
Seriously, he has just given me so many opportunities to rest in him!
We've also just had and uber amount of fun singing ridiculous camp songs (such as one about a hot dog man in front of a bunch of people that we didn't know at a family camp- the most ridiculous song EVER) and learning about each others' quirks. Smore's are always a camp plus along with getting really dirty all the time and smelling like campfire. whoop.
I am super excited to get back to SAMBICA to see the rest of staff again and to pour into the kids from that area!! It's like my home in Washington and I'm ready to return =).

mmm hmmm

"I will give you what you need, when you need it"
These are the words the Lord continually spoke over me tonight.
It was a beautiful time with Him! The leadership set up stations for us to go through and get our hearts focused on God for journey ahead of us. As we began, FREEDOM kept coming to my mind. The rest of the time freedom rang so true through the stations- watching the crucifiction on the passion of the christ, surrendering our burdens, and being served by leadership.
It was so beautiful having the opportunity to write our burdens on a rock and throwing it in the lake- freedom. I realized that "insecurity" summed up my burdens I have been carrying and defines the sin I have always struggled with. The moment I let the rock hit the water a huge peace came over me knowing that I don't have to worry about those things anymore and the Lord has taken those- forever- like i can't get them back. Then the leadership washed our feet which is seriously like one of the most powerful thing that exhibits the lords love for us!!! absolutely amazing. It was such a beautiful time of surrender and trust!!!!!
He is going to provide what I need and when I need it. And that my friends, is beautiful.

SAMBICA- whoop!

Sooo I have safely arrived at the beautiful camp of SAMBICA and made it through 4 days =)

First impressions- beautiful, simple, small... and a lot of people i didn't know. They stuck us in a fairly tiny room right after arriving and gave us all sombreros to wear and said "go meet people". overwhelming. I don't know who I met or where they came from or if i even wanted to stay- ahhh. And there are people from absolutely everywhere- which is beautiful b/c they were all called here specifically for different reasons =).
I've been able to run every morning with a group of girls- I am officially sore. These girls are stinkin fast and are sooo dedicated that i look like the laziest person in the entire world.
The majority of this week has been training- boring. But we have had some adventures such as taking our swim test in the coldest water i have ever been in- ever. AAaaand tubing was also a blast =).
Everyone is super nice and surprisingly there's a good handful that have really really thick southern accents which i am picking up so fast that i don't want to talk. So don't be surprised if i come back with a huge southern drawl from ... seattle. weird.

Good ol' Derek says it pretty well...

"poverty is so hard to see
when it’s only on your tv and twenty miles across town
where we’re all living so good
that we moved out of Jesus’ neighborhood
where he’s hungry and not feeling so good
from going through our trash
he says, more than just your cash and coin
i want your time, i want your voice
i want the things you just can’t give me


so what must we do
here in the west we want to follow you
we speak the language and we keep all the rules
even a few we made up
come on and follow me
but sell your house, sell your suv
sell your stocks, sell your security
and give it to the poor
what is this, hey what’s the deal
i don’t sleep around and i don’t steal
i want the things you just can’t give me

because what you do to the least of these
my brother’s, you have done it to me
because i want the things you just can’t give me"


Let's not be neutral. Let's not skid by with the occasional charity here and there and check it off our morality card. He wants all of us.

Wrestle with it, it's more difficult than we think

So I sat down with the parentals when they were watching some TV show where a lady had a solemn look on her face speaking slowly into a radio microphone...
"Sometimes the words just don't come... and we are left with silence."

Sometimes that is exactly what we need. Silence.

Oh Summer...

There is a sweet and beautiful freedom that comes with summer for those of us still in the official education stage of life. Even if we have to work or take classes, the pressure and craziness tends to decrease and the wonderful sun graces us with its rays. Talking to a friend on the phone about her summer, I ended up rambling on and on about endless opportunities to tackle life in the next couple months that really cause us to dig deeper and be proactive to find what we are passionate about. I realized that last summer was probably the best summer of my life.
Interestingly enough it was one of the very few summers that the Lord called me to stay home. I was begging Him to show me where to go abroad and pleading for the call to leave America for some crazy out of the blue adventure. The Lord does not work that way. Often those who want to stay He calls to go... and sure enough sometimes those who long to go He calls to stay.
Not gonna lie, I was pretty frustrated with the typical go home do take summer school and work kind of thing. I constantly long for adventure, new people, new culture, crazy challenges, and a deeper level of loving people; God gave me these exact things... but at home.
So I came into the summer knowing that I wanted more- that I wanted to experience transformation in a brand new way, and was ready to reach a brand new level with God. *Oh my goodness, the Lord does not kid around when He was when we ask, we will receive!* I began my journey on the most transformational season of my life yet. I'm sure I will touch on this transformation in the future, but more than that I want to recognize that God answers prayers.
He is so faithful to respond to the cries of our hearts!!
So as I think about the summer in front of me, I am forced to examine the desires and cries of my heart for camp... I am longing for authentic community among the staff at SAMBICA. Yes I hope that we get along and friendships are built, but more than that I desire for us all to take one step closer to Christ through selflessness and truly surrender our own wants for someone else's. We will experience fatigue, possibly homesickness, and be emotionally drained at times- this is when we HAVE to be intentional. We need to take care of one another and function as the body of Christ. We need to go that extra mile to help someone else on staff finish their duty, or spend more time on our knees in prayer for someone who is struggling, or be willing to give up that favorite hoodie for a co-worker to wear because they haven't done their laundry. It's the daily choice of surrender that creates unity and community.
I am also longing for supernatural rest. The Lord knows that my body cannot take much more, and every ounce of me cries out for a break. However, I also know that God specifically called me to SAMBICA and I truly feel like He wants to bless me in this manner (ironic because it is a camp). I feel like I am going to be poured into in beautiful new ways and with this will come more challenges and opportunities to process more of His character. Going to the west coast, I know that I will be a baby in my faith compared to some who don't have the support of a church on every corner of their city. This is so exciting!!!!!! I desire to be taught what it means to truly walk against the current of this world in confidence and knowledge of God. The Lord has blessed me with the ability to love all day long, but has definitely given me room to grow in the area of knowledge. I need to be challenged in what I believe and why I believe it. I need to be challenged to have God's word truly written on my heart. I need to be challenged by interacting with kids who flat out don't want to know the Lord because they are content with their lives and have everything that they need to survive. We can all survive this world without the Lord. But we cannot truly live. I want to bring life this summer.
*whew* this is a lot... but there is more. I want to change lives and have my heart changed outside of camp. Being so close to Seattle, I really really really want to go there at least 3/4 of the Saturdays that we have off. I feel like the spirit is drawing me there and there is someone specific I am supposed to meet. I have no idea if this will be a regular customer at a coffee shop or a man who currently does not have a home and is seeking shelter in the new center- either way I want to have a soft heart that is willing to listen and discern the spirit. I just feel like the Lord is going to pour into me during camp, and squeeze it out on the weekends. It's just beautiful how the Lord allows us to interact with him!!!! So pretty much I have no idea what is going to happen =). All I know is that I have a God who is ever-present, powerful, and intimate all at the same time... and that is enough for me to know right now.