to be continued...

The title explains it all, I guess. Even more than the words, the punctuation seems to sum it all up right now. It has been good to be home, but I know that the next step is imminent and it is needed. Bolivia is quickly approaching. I have a countdown on my facebook page...part of the reason it is there is so I can have a reality check daily of the time passing and the tasks that need to be accomplished as the time goes by. And truly, it is a reality check that it is time to go and it really is coming. Bolivia is no longer a conversation, but a reality. The Lord has provided me with an amazing, and I am sure, life-changing adventure and I am ready to embark in to the next chapter of our journey together. I think I year ago I would have used the phrase, "the next chapter of MY life," but if I have learned anything, I know now and live more confidently in the truth that this is a journey that I am not in control of. I am learning relience and dependency. (Something if you know me, I am not good at.) So here's the learning and running the race. I pray that as I go, more and more people might know the truth and grace of Jesus Christ. All I have is my life and somehow I am in a "Here am I, send me" situation. (He snuck up and got me when I wasn't looking) I praise God for it. I know that He will use me, but I know even more over that He is going to teach me.

transition and reflection

What do I take with me? How can I explain to you how important this was in my life and others' lives? I pray that God will provide those words. If you have been checking in with my journey, I sadly tell you today, that this part of the journey is over, which in turn begins another. A friend told me, "All change is loss and loss has to be grieved." This doesn't mean that the loss is bad, but change does mean that something is going away. And for me, I will never forget Chicago or these people who have left footprints on my heart.
The question still stands; as I look at my "loss" what will I take with me?
A: That God is bigger, bigger than all we know, bigger than all battles we fight, than all love we feel. I will take with me the passion I saw in my friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ;Their passion for all to know the Love and Acceptance of Jesus Christ. I sometimes get scared of being "that persecting, pushy Christian" hurting someone's feelings by talking about God--How silly? God loves and provides, he offers himself to us and it is my job to let others make a decision about accepting that offer. I just put it on the table. All people deserve that offer of eternal life here on earth and in heaven. All. I hope that my words can give you even a small drop of the blessing that the Lord has poured out upon me. In doing His work and blesssing His name, He fills us to overflowing with all blessing. Thank you for coming along with me on this journey. Luckily for me, each day is another blessed journey with my God who loves me like a father, walks with me like a friend and has saved me, like only Jesus, the Son of God can.

truth

I know that truth presents itself differently to different people, but the Lord has shown me true fellowship, true love and true faith. It has been amazing being part of something so mighty. It is hard to express how my heart has been touched and my life has been changed by this experience. What intentional living can do to a person...I pray that the Lord will help me incorperate much of what I have learned into my lifestyle in Bolivia. I feel like His time is amazing (I know...of course it is) But it has been very clear as I have been here that He is giving me so much right now, so I can take it and be with Him in Bolivia. I look forward to the growth that will continue to take place as the Lord shows me who I am and what he desires for my life.

For another inside look @ The Real World-Christian Style, you can click on Ben's comment under The Real World- Christian Style on my blog and it will take you to his blog where he too wrote about The Real World- Christian Style. It has been amazing. Praise God for how He works. There is no doubt that our God is big.

update

God continues to blow me away. Interstingly enough, I have found that just by saying hello, you can get some one's entire life story, no questions asked. Sadly, the reason for that seems is possiblily be the lack of real connection and communication in our families and friendships. One thing every person has in common is life, sadly the one things that gets me through life, many people do not have in common with me. I have been almost broken by the number of people that actually have no idea who Jesus is or even what God really is. My generation has no simply heard and denied, but most people I have talked to don't really know who Jesus is, and is really mixed up about God is general. And really want to emphasis that these individuals do not know about Jesus. They have maybe heard his name, but no one has ever told them the gospel or the background or anything. Even more interesting, many people who said they did have a faith did not know really what it was or even why they had it. That is sad. The world is to difficul to not know what you believe, because if you don't know what you believe, I don't think you know who you are....does that make sense...I pray for clarity for people who are confused and lost....for truth. LIfe can be consuming and it doesn't have to be.

Thanks!

I just wanted to take a minute to thank those who are reading for all of your support. God has really opened my eyes to a global world, with global believers. The world is really full of amazing people looking to show the love of God to people who need it. (In many ways, in al areas of life.) I have been blown away. I can't wait to be able to sit down and really talk to people when I arrive home, but know that I am thinking of you all and praying for you as well. I hope this site gives you a better idea of what your support is doing. It really has made a major difference in my life, and I know that it will, if it hasn't yet made a major difference on a large scale too. Crusade is a bunch of very intentional people truly looking to show the love and grace of Jesus Christ to the world. It really is amazing. Thank you for letting me be a part of it.

Campus

so a lot of you are wondering what I am doing on campuses in the Chicagoland area. Well, we are chekcing them out. Seeing where people are, what the campus is all about and looking to see if there is a need or how great of a need for Cru there. A lot of times colleges, ok all the time, everywhere, colleges/universities are full of young men and women tryng to determine what they are going to do with the rest of their lives and they don't even know who they are or what they want to do. Even worse, they are caught in a world of pressure and expectation and they don't even know that there is a God out there that loves them so much and no matter what they do or where they go, He is there, telling them that He loves them. I don't know how I would get through life not knowing that. So We are scouting out campuses to let people know just that. Looking for people that are looking for Christian community and hoping to get something started for them. We are called to be in community and sometimes a college campus can be a hard place to find that. We are trying to make sure that is untrue.

The Real World - Christian style

Yes, that is the title, The Real World, Christian style. This is amazing. the people, the place, the experience, the God that is present. I know that God is always present, it is we who are not. Christian community is a blessing. To be surrounded by other young believers in a community open to asking and seeking is awesome. If the world could look like this. We are from all over the country and we have the common ground of God. It is interesting to hear people's stories and for people to really want to hear yours and intentionally are trying to improve themselves and those around them. Like is hard, we are imperfect and we only have so much time to make it better. Why not take advantage of it. And to be in a community that wants the best. For all to be loved and valued. How can I create this in other places, a caring, honest community with people seeking truth. It's beautiful. There is less anger and less negativity, because we are all looking to God for the better. Can it continue? Can this grow? And I feel like this is such a small part of what God really has for us. I am so little and have so much to learn. I pray that God continues to blow my mind and that he can do the same for everyone else, that he would just reveal himself so that people could realize (including me) how big our God is and how much He really has for us and desires for us. It's like when you know something and you are passionate about it and just want everyone to understand and they just aren't getting it, or aren't understanding. I can only think how frustrated God must be when we aren't getting it or even more we are are then we turn and do something completely different simply because we are selfish. I only hope that I can take pieces of this with me home and to Bolivia...that God continues to widen my perspective and surround me with believers and people wanting more so that I can continue to live in such a growing and seeking community. If this sounds good to you, I encourage you to pray for this in your life. It is really amazing.

day 4 and 5

wow....i am exhausted. there is so much to say, yet it is really hard to put it all into words. The days are packed and I am learning so much. It has been awesome to spend some quality time with Matt and one of his friends from BG, Amber. One highlight I have to mention was that I was able to pray in a group with some Korean students and it was amazing....In Korean culture you all pray aloud and all at the same time. This can get kinda crazy, especially in a place of 20,000! Koreans are very passionate and have beautitful hearts. It really is moving and inspiring. SO....I was able to pray in a group with them, and worship alongside them. The whole time, the language should have been such a barrier, yet the truth of their hearts and the love of Christ was unbelievably universal. Heaven is going to be beautiful. Throughtout all this, we heard from multiple people from closed countries that are very dangerous and where it is illegal to own a bible and/or worship God. They were speaking the truth of what God has done in their lives and on their campuses and in their countries. Some of them who professed did so only through their voices. They were miced and were off stage and unseen because of possible danger. everytime these people come to the stage we are reminded that there are no photos to be taken. (Does this not show you the power of the gospel, that countries and leaders fear a book's power? It's just a book, right?) If this is not powerful enough to you, I sat and listened to a free heart standing courageously with the strength of God, while I, completely free and independent politically, sat quietly on my independence day. When the Lord is for you who can be against you? I face no real harm in sharing the gospel, yet I hesitate. These people are risking their lives, and they speak truth. Inspiring. There is word that one of these countries have sent govenmental agents to take pictures and investigate. scary. the Lord is big. pray for these people.

day 3- the koreans arrived!

wow...yesterday the Koreans came...yes, the first two days were to get us settled nad last night there was a parade of nations and 127 countries were represented and more...the more being countries that are not allowed to have photos of the them taken or have directly labels from their country because they will face harsh persecution upon there arrival in there home country. To flag after flag pass by brought tears to my eyes. I was surrounded by 18000 people from different coutries and wewere all in one place, peacefully worshipping a god that is so big. What a history lesson. amazing. There are 41 staff people in inodensia that are currenly imprisioned and their trial starts today. 41 people, jailed because os standing up for what they believe in, standing up for a god that loves. The Lorean people have been through so much historically as a country nad as individuals...and their faith and prayer is breathtaking. through prayer and faith, every college campus in south korea has a campus crusade. every one. It started in 1954, whe the country was still in destruction. If you could see it now. the people are so nice. the city is so accomodating. I listened to a korean man tell about god, his faith, his life and what he has seen...all in korean, with a translator, to hear such truth in a completely different language, and to watch as people of all countries reacted as they got the translation....there is no mistake, the gospel is true. i am really astonished. wow.

Day 2

Today I have to say was kind of a rough start. my body was tired. Really, things are good, but still getting used to things. After I had my Starbucks, (yes they do have Starbucks!) and got to worship, thigns started to come together. athe first speaker was great and it continued to get better and better! Ty on the high side, I totally got to hang out with Nick today and we heard two unbelievable speakers. I made sure to give the Bobcats a shout-out for you! One of the sessions was on postmodernism and the other on the heart and roles of a leader. The first was a UK staffer....very cool and the other was from Nigeria. WOW! They both really blew my mind. The heart and role of the leader really got my attention. He kept repeating himself...the heat of leadership is the state of the heart of the leader. Is your heart aligned with God's? It is not what is seen or done that makes a good leader, but where the heart of the leader is...and his/her heart will be seen through the relationships that he/she has with those who "follow." By the way, if this at all sparks your attention, you can get the nitty-gritty at www.cm20007.net There ARE PODCASTS! You can check all of this out. SWEET! Hey can someone make sure tat my mom is reading all this, I haven't gottne an email back from her. I love you guys.

OH! And Matt Cable and I totally went swimming in teh Sea of Japan tonight at like 10:00 pm....it might have been raining and we may have gotten whistled out, but it was completely safe, mom, I swear.... :) As Matt put it, you only get these opportuities once. ANd by the way, it was WAY warmer than Lake Erie!