· * Dependence of God! I’ve already written on this
a lot in some of my other posts, but it really has been the underlying theme
for me throughout this whole experience!
· * Just HOW blessed I am to be American.—This seems
obvious, but really, just by the location of my birth I have so many doors
opened to me and enjoy so many freedoms!
· * The beauty of diversity and embracing different
cultures.—These differences are sometimes funny, but sometimes really, really,
REALLY frustrating. It has been a growing experience to learn that sometimes
it’s best to take a mental step back and understand why people do things
differently. It doesn’t always make sense, and many times I’ve had to swallow
my pride and frustration when things aren’t done the “right” or “most efficient”
way in my eyes. But just because I was brought up doing things a certain way,
doesn’t make everyone else’s way wrong. Being able to adapt to these
differences has definitely been a challenge, but I feel that it has taught me a
lot along the way.
· * Humility-not that I’m anywhere near or even
capable of ever actually achieving this—but I’ve been making baby steps in
realizing how “little” I actually am and how great, big and awesome God is! I
am NOT the center of the gospel or even my own salvation, God is. It’s all
about HIS glory (Romans 11:36, John 17:1-5). He is not glorious because he saved
me; He saved me because He is glorious!
Still going with the humility theme, it
seems like the more I learn about God and try to follow Christ and be an
imitator of Him, the more disappointed I am with my complete inability to do
so. It seems as if the more Christ-like I should be, the more aware I am of how
far away from achieving this I actually am. I’m not sure if I’ll be coming back
any “better”, or just more aware of my own depravity.
· * The world NEEDS Christ! –while this might seem
overly obvious, it’s not something that I think about of focus on nearly enough
(and I don’t think I’m alone in this!). There are literally BILLIONS of people
right now who are on their way to HELL! (The world population right now is
about 7.023 Billion people according to the United States Census Bureau. 32% of
the world’s population is considered to be Christian. That means roughly 4.783
Billion don’t even CLAIM to be Christian). Literally BILLIONS of them have
never even HEARD the name of Jesus. (According to JoshuaProject.net 2.85
billion people are considered “unreached” meaning there is no indigenous church
in their area. There are about 685,000 people who are considered “unengaged”
meaning no one is actively trying to reach them with the gospel). While I would
like to cling to a feel-good hope that somehow God will hand them some type of
“get out of hell free” card to make up for my
laziness/unwillingness/apathy/whatever other kind of excuse you can come up
with, it simply is NOT biblical, and quite frankly demeans the work of Christ
on the cross and calls Him a liar in John 14:6 when He says “NO ONE comes to
the Father except through Me”. I could write about this so much more, but with David
Platt’s “Radical” so fresh in my mind, I’d probably just be restating even
more, soooo just read it!! It’s definitely one of/if not the best book I’ve
read!
Honestly, I can’t explain or sum up this year in words; it’s
one of those “you just had to be there” things. I’m heartbroken to leave my
friends (who are more like family) here, but also excited for the future.
Speaking of the future, here are my plans in case you were wondering:
· * When I get back, I’m going to Macon State
College to finish up my Bachelor’s (2 years)
· * I’m going to South Africa in Summer 2013 with the
High School group at my church. I don’t know when exactly, for how long, or
even what we’ll be doing, but I DO know that I’ve been dying to go to Africa
for at least 2 years now and it’s going to cost about $3,000. (So if anyone
wants to help, get in touch with me or Amber--She’s going too!)
That’s about all I have planned for now, which is oddly ok
with me. I can’t wait see what else God brings along the way!
<3
