An Empty Summer?

As many of you may or may not know, last summer I went to Bring Me Hope.
It was an amazing trip, and I came home with part of my heart left there with four (if not more) precious children. I met so many great people, gaining close friends, with those who I may have never met otherwise.

At the beginning of this year, I was excited to start support raising and planning for going once again to camp this summer. However, no matter how many people encouraged me to do it, or how much I prayed, I had this gut feeling I shouldn't go.

At first I tried desperately to ignore this feeling, I truly wanted to go. I love working and serving orphans, I love using my gifts and experiences, and I didn't fear not being able to raise enough support (which was my main struggle last year). It didn't seem to matter that everything pointed to me going this year, with last year feeling the complete opposite of this one, but in the end I made the decision not to go.

I decided this when I asked myself, "What would be trusting God more this summer; going, or staying?" And after lots of prayer, and practically begging God for it to be his will for me to go back this summer, my stubborn spirit finally decided to willingly follow God's plan for my summer.

Almost as soon as I made this decision, four different weddings were scheduled, various work opportunities, etc. Since being out of school, I've been almost just as busy as I was while in school.
I also got an invitation, an invitation to go to China.

A family that are good friends of my own are adopting a little boy from China, they have one daughter, and have never been to China, and they asked me to go with them.

If I had been devoted to Bring Me Hope, I wouldn't have been able to go.

Our God works in magnificent and surprising ways. And though I don't know all the reasons for why I'm not supposed to do BMH this summer, I do know that He is working it for good, and helping me trust His will.

Psalm 40:8 - "I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

Back in the Swing of Things

Life has been crazy.
Not only did I start PSEO at the University of Minnesota...

I also helped lead a summer camp I attended as a teen, went to China and worked with Bring Me Hope (a summer camp for orphans), switched Churches, gained a sibling, and have continued living with health issues and growing in faith.

Through these events I've not only gained whole new friend/support groups, but I've also grown both spiritually and as a person. However, as you may have noticed, blogging was swept to the side. Over a year without blogging once.

So I want to get back into the swing of things! I would just give you a thousand updates right now, but as not to overwhelm you, I'll spread it out over these next few weeks.

For now I'll leave you with a verse that has been encouraging me recently:

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him." - 1 John 5:14-15