Recap...

I've been home 3 days, so I wanted to do a short recap of what has happened...

Tuesday-My flight got in around 8 a.m...I got home around 1:30-went to sleep around 3. Slept for 15 straight hours.

Wednesday-Woke up and my dad told me about a job in Pea Ridge that was for a 7th grade English teacher and jr. girls bball coach. Now if you've had a conversation with me in the last 3 months, you'll know that I have had little to no interest in finding a job. I just didn't really want to, but something about this really sparked my interest. Before I knew it I was on the phone with the superintendent and they wanted me to come to an interview at 2. I scurried around and went. It went amazingly well! So I was off to wait for a call back. As soon as I got home Tara and Steph came up-it was so good to see them. We spent the night catching up...

Thursday-Somehow my email didn't go through to the lady about my references, so I didn't hear from the lady until after 2. So I re-sent the email. I was frustrated bc they had originally said that they would want me to come back up on Friday, but I didn't think it was possible now since it was so late in calling. But waking up at 5:45 that morning after going to bed at 1:30 proved that my sleeping schedule was still really off, so I slept until Brittney got here!!!! She came to see me for the weekend-so excited! :)

Friday-Today I spent the day shopping with Britt and Katie. It was good to just hang out and spend time with them. Sidenote-it's July. Still summer. There should still be swimsuits out. Around 3, Pea Ridge called and offered me the job! I will be signing the contract early next week. So me, mom, and Britt went to celebrate!

3 days. God is so good. His timing is perfect.

Oh and somewhere in there I got a bad haircut.

I'm almost convinced that most things in life are at least a little bittersweet.

Right now I'm sitting in the airport in Taiwan for the first of two 4 hour layover this in the next 24 hours! But I figured once I get to LA, my time will be spent on the phone that I have neglected for the past 6 weeks :)

The last few days have been filled with goodbyes and promises of keeping in touch on facebook and plans to return someday. It was hard to leave. It's going to be hard to go home. But it would have been hard to stay. As I sit here, I keep thinking of the so many different experiences from the past 6 weeks. It's like my mind has been playing a continuous movie since I got on the plane. I miss my friends.

But at the same time, it will be good to be home. I miss my family...BAD. And I miss my friends.

God is so good. And He is so powerful. And beyond my comprehension. And I think the more I learn about Him and grow in Him, the more of a mystery He becomes. And I think the mystery is good. Bc it makes us have to work in our relationship with Him.We are attracted to things that don't always come easy. We want to be challenged bc then we place importance on the knowledge we do gain bc we worked for it. I think God wants us to search His heart. He wants us to search His will. He wants us to see things and people through His eyes. He didn't lay everything out for us bc then there would be no challenge-therefore, less value. You dig and you dig and you dig...and you keep learning more! It's so exciting!

Tell me your story-I promise to listen

I've been doing a lot of journaling in the last 5 weeks. I've filled up both my prayer journal and my daily journal. I want to remember everything that I've seen and experienced and heard and loved and hated and laughed at and cried over and been confused by and...lived. I don't want to forget. And I find myself thinking over and over,"Oh I wish this person was here, they would love that!" Or "they would think that was hilarious!" Or any number of things. It's helped me realize how much I love the people in my life. I want them with me all the time. I want to experience life with people who make my life.

Quite possibly my favorite thing about being here is the people and the stories of their lives. I find myself sitting and listening and soaking in every word that these people are sharing with me. They're fascinating. I'm desperate to remember, and I have scraps of paper with random words to remind me to write it down everywhere. They open up their hearts so easily to us. I started thinking about why that is because, as Americans, we tend to be more closed off until people "earn" to hear or we trust them or they've proven themselves...and I started thinking about why that might be. I decided that people here just assume you care. How wonderful is that? To live your life assuming everyone cares about it! Sometimes I think we're more closed off because we assume people don't care. And what's sad is that it's true a lot of times. But I've heard stories of how people have fallen in love and fought cancer and broken friendships and 5 year long courtships and stories of redemption and salvation and family problems and financial problems and school problems and missionary stories and the list goes on and on. And it fills my heart up. We need that. It's what life is made of. When you share your stories, you share your life and your heart. And suddenly you're connected. And it's so beautiful.

This past week was hard for me. Kaitlyn left, and it was hard. I had grown used to having someone there to share every experience and moment with, and we had grown really close. I didn't want her to leave. And to be perfectly honest, I was homesick. If she was leaving, I would have almost just rather gone with her. I was aching for familiarity. I was weak. But I realized something, that's ok. I'm not supposed to be strong. And God provided me with verse after verse of perseverance and encouragement that He is the one who provides the strength and the comfort. My job is to rely on Him for that and persevere. And oh my gosh, is He faithful to His promises?? I had a great week! God brought so many students into the YLSC that I got to share Christ with and play with and talk to and get to know. I'm here to pour into them, and I won't stop until I leave. And it's going to be hard to leave them. They already have a piece of my heart.

I have just over a week left. I can't wait to be home, but I don't want to leave. I'm ready for my life to not be one large paradox.



This is Erica, Eunice, and Lindsey. They're regulars at the center. They're sweet..and crazy! And yes, I know. I'm super tall here. I've been told that I need to get married soon bc I'm so tall haha. whatever that means!



And good ole Darleen. She's still as precious as ever!