Its All About Relationship

This last week was the first week of actual classes. We studied the kingdom of God and the importance of relationship. Its going to take me awhile to really get into the swing of things here. Every day we go, go, go, and my mind and body are exhausted. With the long days of living and learning I have had many chances to bond with teammates, but there have also been moments of frustration. The blessing and curse of living in community...there are always people around if you need to talk, but then there are always people around when you don't want to talk. I must say though, I have become really good friends with my ear plugs and eye mask, which makes sleeping much more pleasant.

This week we also started our local outreach, Camp Tuesday. Every week we will be going and and working near two apartment complexes and doing an afternoon summer program with the kids that live there. I am on the singing team, but there is also a teaching, games, science activities, and crafts. It will be fun and challenging working and building relationships with these kids each week.

The past few nights though have been quite memorable. We went to a drive-in theater and saw Monster's University, and I saw a firefly for the first time. We had a tornado warning and had to cram into the basement. Growing up in Eastern Washington with maybe threats of wild fires in the summer, it was a little overwhelming dealing with this new threat that I never really imagined I would have to deal with. That said, I of course started crying, but I had my trusty pillow pet in hand, and was just great. Then last night, a group of us came together to pray. It was a powerful time of opening up to each other, we cried and shared and grew together a little more.

Today we started a week long series on the Father heart of God. Looking at our misconceptions of authority figures and how that has affected the way that we view God's love for us in our lives. The reality of God's love is sometimes hard to really understand in our broken world. But in seeking him, listening to him, experiencing him, we learn to see him for who he is and see that he loves us truly and unconditionally.

I know that God is working in my heart, and I pray that I won't get too overwhelmed with all this learning. With the busy days there is a lot to process, and it is tricky balancing my time in order to stay most alert in classes. God is good though, and will help me learn what I need to learn.