From Amanda's heart...

It's hard to sum up the incredible things I learned on this trip in a blog entry, but I'll do my best. One of the main things I think God was teaching me this week was that His timing and will were perfect. At the beginning of the week, I was slightly disappointed to find out that my group was going to be doing two work projects, which meant I would spend some less time with the kids. That was a bit of a disappointment because going into the trip, I had assumed that all my time would be spent with the kids. However, the demolition work that we did ended up being one of the highlights of the trip. I think God was telling me that He knew what He was doing, and that if I would just be flexible and be open to what He was trying to teach me, I'd hear from Him.

Another thing that I learned was from one of our speakers. One of the leaders at the church was giving us chapel one day, and he was talking about struggles with sin. Something he said really stuck with me. He said that if you say that you're “struggling” with a sin, are you truly fighting that sin and working to repent from it with God's help, or have you given up the fight and accepted the sin? That kind of hit me because I'm constantly over-worrying about things in my life, things that don't need extra worry, but I had given up and accepted it. I now realize that it's important to be constantly seeking after the Lord and working to overcome the anxiety and be at peace in the Lord.

Another thing God was teaching me was that I didn't necessarily have to be amazing with words or make incredible connections with the kids in order to make a difference. I was a little disappointed towards the end of the week because it seemed like I hadn't made any big difference in any child's life. However, God reminded me in a way that just playing with the kids, loving them, and being there for them could make just as much of an impact. He also reminded me that it wasn't all about ME coming and teaching the kids, He wanted me to learn something from the trip as well, which I did. I learned how lucky I am to have grown up in a wonderful Christian household, I learned that His timing and will are perfect, and I learned that I need to love any kids in my own life not just the kids I meet while I'm on a trip.

It was an incredible week, and I am so glad I was able to go. In the words of Castle Rock Church, what I'm taking from this trip is to “love God with all ya got, and love people 'til ya drop!” ~ Amanda M.