Hallelujah

"Hallelujah, my highest praise to the highest name of Jesus, the king of my heart who deserves every part of me..." "Hallelujah, our God reigns!" 

For the last week and two days I've been back out at N-dub. Why am I here so early when classes don't start until Tuesday? Well, this year I have the wonderful opportunity to be one of the two Summer of Service (SOS) Coordinators here on campus. This position is part of the Campus Ministry Team (CMT). Last weekend we were able to bond as a team at a retreat center near Sioux Falls. It was a great opportunity for learning what it looks like to be a leader on campus and to get to know the people that I will be working with. We enjoyed praising God together, eating international foods, doing a service project, and having many lectures/chats about being a spiritual leader. 

As I am back on campus I can't help but be a little bit emotional as this is my last year here. Yup. Last year. (I'll be studying abroad next year.. place to be determined yet.) Where has the time gone?! This weekend is orientation weekend, and as I see the freshmen wonder around I keep thinking how young they look, and it's hard to believe that was me just a couple of years ago. 

Each year that I've been here has looked so different. Freshmen year I was so eager to come and meet new people. I lived on 3NF and got to know a few great people there, some of whom share my loves of Spanish and/or missions. Sophomore year I was so excited to come back to re-connect with the friends that I had made the year before, and excited/nervous about living in a different part of the dorm with all new people (1SF). This year I got to be a d-group leader with a girl who became a great friend and prayer partner through-out the year. My roommate also became one of my best friends, unlike the year before. I was so thankful to have all these great people in my life. After hearing stories of friends SOS experiences, I decided to apply for on myself. I was accepted into the program and apprehensive about finding an organization to go through and a country to go to. Over Christmas I was able to attend Pioneers Story '08 and fell in love with missions even more, and in love with Pioneers. I ended up going to Bolivia through Pioneers and absolutely LOVED my time there! God taught me so much (read old blog updates for more details...) and blessed me with great relationships. 

One thing of significance is that missions is a lifestyle. God calls us to love the world where we're at. Whether that involves loving the international students on campus, helping at a homeless mission, traveling abroad, or building relationships with the lost, God will and desires to use it all for HIS GLORY. We were made to worship him and to bring glory to his name. This life we live isn't about us. 

As I head into my third and final year en la universidad, I'm excited to see what God has in store for me. This year I am living in an apartment with 5 other girls. Although this year is not looking at all like I had originally planned, God is already showing me that this is part of HIS plan for my life. As excited as I am for living in the apartments, it is so very different from the dorms, and there is a totally different 'stereotype' of dorm people verse apartment people. I need to keep reminding myself that my identity is found in Jesus Christ, not in the things of this world. 

All that to say that God is so good and so faithful. I feel so blessed to be part of such a great community out here, and I am so excited to see and meet the SOS 2010 team that God has picked out =) 

Back at home...

I've been back in the states for almost 2 weeks now, and at home for about 10 days. The travels all went relatively smoothly, praise God. :) It's just 4 days now until I head back out to school for Campus Ministry Team training. I'm caught in that place again of being ready to go but yet not wanting to leave. I'm excited to see God working in this upcoming school year, but I feel like I just got home, unpacked, and settled back in and now I'm packing and saying good-byes again. 

For all of you who want a short answer of how my summer in Bolivia was, my answer to you is: "A blessing from God." This summer truly was a blessing. I'm so blessed to have formed relationships with my host family, host missionaries, teammates, youth group, and camp Kewina staff and campers. Every day I find myself thinking about something that happened this summer, or just about the people I met and the places I saw. God continued to teach me about his love and grace this summer, and about evangelism. Through many instances He showed me the importance of living out my faith so that others can see a difference in me. We should be so totally in love with God that our actions change because of Him. 

Saying goodbye was hard, harder than I was anticipating at the beginning of the summer, and I miss Bolivia so much, but I know that God has a plan for this coming year. He has a reason for bringing me to Bolivia this summer, and for bringing me back to school this year.  

Today I had to wonderful opportunity to witness the professions of faith of my sister, Kristina, and one of my best friends, Laura. What a blessing it is that they are willing to stand up and publicly profess their faith and be fully welcomed into the body of Christ! =)

I will continue to use this blog to process my thoughts and to let you all know about any more traveling adventures that come my way (as in study abroad... and hopefully other missions opportunities). 

Love!

Prayer Requests:

continued adjustment back to American culture

safe travels to school this week

Fellow SOSers