My God is Good

God continues to rock my socks off. He has provided for this trip to India in amazing ways. Here's a small list of some of the things He has done:

• All of my funding, to the last dollar, came in the day before I was to turn it in. Some of it came from some very unepexected sources.
• Miranda and I had no idea how we were going to be able to buy the clothes we needed for this trip. My mom offered to sew them for us and pay for all of the material.
  
• I had no idea how I was going to afford purchasing supplies for the trip. My Mamaw took me shopping and bought most of what I needed.
  
• We need to take soccer balls to the schools we are going to and as of yesterday we had none to take and no way of getting them. Last night I got a check from an unexpected source that will now allow us to get soccer balls and pumps to take with us.

God is good. Everyone should go on an overseas mission trip just to see how God provides. And to find a spouse.

I'll be back to blogging in a month or so. Please pray for us.

A Mortar Board, Gown and Some Tassels

Today was the big day. They read my name and some Latin words, I took my envelope, shook the Dean's hand and walked across the arena. I graduated today. Oh it feels so good.

For the record the ceremony lasted exactly 2 hours, there were closer to 1,200 people who graduated and Ben didn't cheer for the Ice Cats. Whew!

Wow. I graduated today! I'm a grown-up now.

Swimming

During the summer, my family and I live in our swim suits. We don't have air conditioning and the only way to cool off is to take a dip in the pool.

Yesterday, Nate and I were swimming (the water temperature is perfect!) and these two flies found joy in buzzing around our heads and then landing in our hair. It was so annoying.

After we got out, Nate grabbed a badminton racket to combat the flies and in the process of swatting wildly above his head he nailed himself in the head with the racket. I almost fell over from laughing so hard.

Tomorrow I walk. I keep having nightmares that I completely mess up graduation. In my dreams something happens like I forget my cap and gown, I have the wrong color of cap and gown, I have no dress clothes to wear or my boyfriend stands on the sidelines with pom poms cheering for the "Ice Cats". Who knows what school that is....

There's close to 3,000 people walking. They say it will only take 2 hours. I think they are lying.

I'm done!

Today I took my last final ever. Now all I need to do is walk on Saturday and I am good to go. I will be a college graduate.

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Things have stayed busy and I got sick. Bleh.

I am starting to stress about leaving for the mission trip to India in ONE WEEK. I am totally not ready. Please pray for us.

A Crazy Call

It's time to post another funny story, as it has been a while, but I'm not going to. Maybe you'll get one tomorrow...

Instead, let me tell you about where I am living in the fall and why.

I'm moving to the ghetto downtown because God has called me there.

I've always loved cities and have wanted to live downtown for a long time. I also have a desire to be involved in inner-city ministry. It's not quite a passion, but I feel that this isn't because of a lack of desire but because I haven't had time to develop a passion for this type of ministry. For the past four years God has called me to minister at my school and inner-city work was put on hold.

This past fall I felt God calling me to move to the ghetto. If I have a desire to serve the people who live in the inner city, then I need to live in community with them. Too many social programs involve the upper-middle class running into the city, throwing aid at people and then returning to their safe suburbs. I think ministry is more effective when you walk through people's problems with them, not throw help at them from a distance. This is what I felt God is calling me to do.

I wasn't sure Tamara, my soon-to-be-roommate, would be happy with this idea. I asked her to pray for God's guidance on where we should live and I started praying that God would tell her downtown. (I'm not sure that was exactly fair for Tamara but whatever...)

A while ago Tamara showed me some apartments she was looking at and they were all in the suburbs. I figured that was my answer and I stopped praying about it.

Until a couple weeks ago when Tamara, in a conversation about where we should move, stated that she thought we should move to the ghetto and that God was calling us there. (At this point I still hadn't said a word to her about wanting to live downtown.) As you can imagine I flipped out. I wasn't making this calling up. God did answer my prayer!

So we are moving downtown sometime at the end of the summer. It's scary and exciting all at the same time. I have no idea what God wants me to do when I get there and that frustrates me. I know I am supposed to move there and I'm trying really hard just to trust and follow what I know; it would just be nice to know more.

There are days when I really flip out about this move. I mean, I'm just a little white girl. What difference will I make? I know God's the only One who will ever make a difference in people's lives, I just hope I don't get in the way.

But until then I need to graduate (One more class, two tests and a paper to go), travel to India and back and find a place to live downtown.

Being a Christian is incredibly exciting.