One Week In!!

It's been 10 days since I got down here. Orientation was AMAZING! We were at a retreat ranch in Bluffton until Tuesday, when we moved into the Elisha house by The Baptist Church of Beaufort. During orientation, I grew so close to my teammates. I'm on the Community Ministry Team 1 (CMT!) but I also have built strong relationships with others on the LCM team- everybody. I love them so so much! God has already used them to teach me incredible things. Susan is an amazing friend and advisor; her heart is so full of the Word! Kimberly is probably one of my closest friends. Logan is a sweetheart. Krystal is hilarious and so encouraging. Mandy is the most gentle and sweet-spirited person I've ever met. Reid is a handful; Diedre is so friendly and warm; Mary Lauren has such a strong faith and is a blessing to be around; Omie has the best laugh; Kevin always challenges me to be better; Floyd can break any silence; Lindsay is a role model to me; Scott can make anyone laugh and feel like a part of the group; Bekah is so observant; Dustin, haha, is just like me; Sam, who was here last summer, is so sweet and is very organized. God has brought us all together on purpose and is working in us already!!

We each had to fill out personal covenants between ourselves, God, and Larry, saying what our expectations and goals are. By last night, almost everything I'd written down, God has done or helped me to do. I have truly gotten into Scripture and have intimate times of prayer with God, beyond a simple quiet time. I wrote that I want to hear God and actually listen to Him, and I've heard Him! We have also started a book study as a group with the book In A Pit With A Lion on A Snowy Day. It's incredible. It's about facing our fears or failures and taking risks in order to use God-given opportunities. So just last night, I was sitting on a swing at the waterfront, singing and praying to my awesome God. Then a man on a swing near me looked over to tell me that he'd enjoyed my singing. His name is Charles- please keep him in your prayers! We talked about where we attend church, and I told him about my mission trip. Then I walked away because I got nervous. I looked around to make sure that there were others from my group still out there with me, and there were. As I walked, God told me that I at least needed to do something productive, so I began to prayer walk. Immediately God reminded me that I'd committed to write down the names of each person that I speak with so that I can pray specifically for this county. But I'd forgotten the man's name! So in a matter of about 2 minutes, I fought with God. I didn't want to go back over there because it could be potentially not safe and because it would be really awkward. God brought to mind what I'd read in my devotion that day about locking eyes with my lion and taking a risk so that God could be glorified through the opportunities that He gives me. I knew that there were others from my group around, so I yielded to God and made my way back to the swing I'd first been sitting in. There was the man, and I walked up to him: "I know this is kinda strange, but may I ask your name again?" And from there, I spent about 20 minutes talking to Charles. He told me his testimony, which was amazing. He'd become a Christian about 2 years ago when his father became a Christian. He saw the change in his parents' relationship and saw the difference that Christ can make. Right now, his biggest challenge is forgiving his dad for all the years of pain that he'd caused his family. I told him about the book that I'm now reading, and he brought up Jonah. He was so focused on the bitterness that Jonah held toward the Ninevites and even the plant that God had provided. I was so excited because God had sent me to that book just a few days before, so I reminded Charles that God pointed out to Jonah that he really had no right to be unforgiving. Charles also talked about learning to listen to God, which is exactly what I'd had to do walking over there. It was just an amazing time talking with him. I kept an eye on the time, and it was getting late. It was also getting dark, so I decided I needed to leave. I said goodbye and looked around. I couldn't find anyone from my group. It's amazing now how quickly I went from trusting in God's voice to panicking because I couldn't find people. I started to walk quicker when I noticed a guy in a red shirt sitting near by. Dustin had been wearing a red shirt, but I'd seen him leave the waterfront earlier. I figured I'd give it a try though, so I whispered, "Dustin?" And sure enough, it was him. He said that as he started to walk back to the church, he felt God tell him NO, so he stayed right where he was. He looked around and saw me talking, so he just sat there and waited for me. In my fear, God had provided. Ha, and that's only one instance from this whole time I've been here!!

I love this area and these people so so much! This week has been service projects. We worked at the Boys &Girls Clubs in Ridgeland and Hilton Head organizing and sorting through their art room and library. Yesterday we worked at Larry's house and completely fixed his yard. We cut grass, planted flowers, pulled weeds, got super dirty! Each day, we also have been meeting as teams to prepare for our first week of camps. We're working on DeFauskie Island this coming week, so please pray for us there. We have to ferry out there, and we've been told that these children are so so smart. They are also "at risk". Many of them have literally nothing. Some live on their own, abandoned by their parents for weeks at a time. I'm so excited to get out there and see what God does. The stories we've chosen to do revolve around the theme "On God's Team" and are about God's love for us and how He has chosen us to be on His team. Our stories are Gideon, Daniel in the Lion's Den, "Jesus Day", The Rich Young Ruler as an example of someone who chose not to be on God's team, and Bartimaeus the Blind Man. Pray that God will use us and these stories to show these kids His love for them. Tomorrow, we'll be going to Hunting Island to help with a campground worship service. We're still not sure what they want us to do there. After that, we head back to BCOB for their service and then to St. Helena Baptist to help Larry with their service. I can't wait!

Last night, Larry came to the house and we discussed the book and some excerpts from a couple of different books. Then we did something kind of different. He passed out a rock to each of us with a word carved into it. We prayed over the rocks before we drew them. Love, Trust, Faith, Laugh, or Joy. I got JOY, but I'm not sure yet how God is going to use that. Maybe it's something that I already have a lot of and need to share, or maybe He is going to help me find it in different aspects of my life. I'm still praying that God would show me. So far, I think that God is going to show me joy in all of life and help me to share that with others. It was amazing to see how the rocks that some people received correlated with the circumstances in their lives.

Prayer Requests:
-Logan's sister, Rachel, has been hospitalized for pregnancy complications. It's still 2 months before her due date, and this is the second time she's been hospitalized during a pregnancy.
-Krystal's father either has a horrible infection or prostate cancer, but her father has not gone in for testing yet.
-Our first week of camps in DeFauskie starts Monday
-The Performance Team has their first performance this Friday and has yet to receive the words to their songs and the music to some of them.
-The Sports Team has their first camp this week at the B&G Club of Beaufort.
-Charles, the man I met at the waterfront
-Nelson, an older gentleman Susan got to talk to today in the coffee shop
-Larry as he preaches both the morning and evening service at St. Helena Baptist tomorrow