love like Jesus

Tickets have been purchased. June 9-july 15.

as I was driving home from school tonight, i had a million thoughts running through my mind. it was bittersweet to leave school to come home for the first time in two months. many tears have been shed in the last several weeks, as i have left many cherished friends who have become my support and family during this year. many of them are moving on to the next big things God has in store for them, and i’m so thankful He brought our lives together for this season and to show a picture of what the Body of Christ is supposed to look like.

now that school is over, my mind and heart have been dreaming and thinking more and more about Kenya. the time is quickly approaching, and i am so thankful for time at home, to have time to reflect on this past year and to prepare for this summer. i was talking with a dear friend the other night, who has served on several long trips overseas. i asked her what “words of wisdom” she would give me for my trip, and she responded with something that sounded so simple, but really is profound. she told me to “love boldly”. Love people who are hard to love, love people as much as possible, to give fully, to love like Jesus. my time with the people of mitumba will be short, so it is worth it to love them completely, selflessly, boldly.
the Lord has been constantly reinforcing this idea in my mind through showing the strength of His love. In 2 Corinthians 5, it says “Christ’s love compels us” and then goes on to say “so from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh”. Christ’s love compels us to love, to love the way He does, to see people the way He sees them. if we regard no one according to the flesh, we see them with His eternal perspective and as His beautiful, new creation.
So this is my prayer,
that the love of the Lord would compel me to see others through His eyes and with His heart. To love boldly and set my eyes on what is eternal.

i will be posting more now that i am home and the trip is getting closer and closer. :)

love.LOVE.love.

because He first loved us.

preparation

we are buying tickets soon!
the tentative date for leaving is june 9. mmm, less than two months away.
it is good to see how the Lord continues to remind me of kenya, just enough to excite my heart and to lift the place and people up in prayer. he gives me pieces of excitement, just enough to keep me ready but not too much so i can still live today.

since my last post, the Lord has been really preparing this trip in ways I could not have imagined. i found out that brian, who is filming a project for goya, will now only be in kenya for 3 weeks instead of 6. this changes a lot for me because it was good to know that another person would be there while i was there. but i am trusting the Lord to show me why this is, and to establish strong relationships with the kenyans and to provide a blanket of protection over me while i am there. please lift this up in prayer.

as this semester wraps up, i am amazed at how fast it went. almost a year ago, i was moving to kentucky to live with my sister. i can't believe that a whole year has passed. the Lord has changed so much in me and in others. this year has been hard, full of changes and battles and growing up. in those times, it had been easy to not trust the Lord's plan and direction, but he has continued to provide in unexpected ways.
i have learned to rest in the truth that the Lord knows what i need way more than i do. when all else fails and changes, He remains. He is faithful to keep his promises and strong to provide.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." therefore i will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. for the sake of Christ, then, i am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. for when i am weak, then i am strong."
1 Corinthians 12:9-11