If you want to sacrifice everything to God come to the front the man gently spoke. But be warned he said as everyone held their breath. If you come you are asking to be crushed for God. I stood up and walked to the front and then fell on my knees crying.
The month of July was one of the most crazy months I have had in a while. This being said I only slept at my house 6 days the entire month because I was traveling so much.
The first of the month I said goodbye to River who was leaving for Mexico for the entire month. He got a internship at a orphanage there.
Then the day after the 4th of July I left for a youth camp in LA.
It was an experience that I will never forget. It was the second year that I had gone to this one in particular. But this experience was so different from the last. I wasn't even supposed to go to this camp but God made it work out and so I went there with a mindset open to whatever he was going to do for me at this camp and frankly over the month.
God stripped away the things that had become my identity but should not have. The things from the past that brought me so much pain. And then on the last night I sacrificed everything to God and he clothed me in his righteousness.
I left that camp refreshed and a new whole identity. I was a whole person again.
Then I got back and a day later I left for my churches' girls campout called fierce. This was a refreshing time to try out the new self God had given me and grow relationships with my girl friends. There were no phones or watches aloud so we had no sense of time and that was a beautiful thing. God helped show me that I am a apart of my family's healing and showed me he loves me.
After these 2 very God filled and tear-filled weeks it was nice to know the next thing I was going to was a week at my cousins house. I was able to relax and Catch up with River during this time along with spend time with my family. At the end of this time I didn't want to go back home.
I was able to go to the midstate fair and then have a day break before packing up for the Navajo Nation Missions Trip. A group of us highschoolers from First Baptist Church were heading up to Arizona to do missions work on the Navajo Indian reservation. To be honest by this time of the month I was really tired and a nine day trip of sleeping on the floor and doing work did not seem like the most fun idea. But I am so glad I went. Finally I was able to put everything God had taught me over the month to use and I was ready to serve these people. They lived in little shacks and trailers and most of them didn't even have running water. The first two days I worked on some houses and painted them and then the evening of the second day on a beautiful hike I sprained my ankle. To the point I couldn't walk. This was a whole nother learning process by itself. I had to learn how to except help and thankfully the last day we were there I received crutches. The last two days God let it work out so I could just sit with the children and play with them. I also had the privilege of going with the kids to drive them home after the day at a VBS. I was able to see where they actually lived. It looked like a third world country and it was right in the united states. In Arizona. Other then those things I also made so many friends. It was so amazing see the 3 churches that came bond over the nine days we were there. The last day the leaders washed all of the students feet and we all cried and God moved all of us. In that moment I knew that the feet washing was the last thing God wanted for me. The wash away all the pain in my past and make me new.
I got back Saturday and River Surprised me and came home early on Sunday. My Crazy month was finished.
So much more happened with so many more details I had to leave out or this would go on for pages but you get an idea of what God did to me over the month. I hope that something in this touched you in some way. Thank you for your patience for the absent blog post. I will be posting regularly now.
Signing out,
Marci