Promises IV

2 things: I finished Mountain Rain and have started on my scrapbook for the summer.

These 2 things bring back so many good memories of the summer. Of the amazing things I saw God doing and some of the trying times. I have all my pictures/scrabook/journal/bible/letters sprawled out in our family room, it looks like a tornado blew through it. But when I first started going through the pictures and organizing them, this flood of emotions washed over me and it was amazing. I also got a chance to talk to a couple people from the Summer. It's only been 4 months since the trip, but this quarter made it seem like it was so long ago.

Looking back on my journal entries, I read so much pain and uncertainty and just discomfort. It's amazing how God turned what started out to be a pretty bad summer into probably the most lifechanging summer of my life.

Funny how things turn out, eh? :)

This is a summary of my trip. In early August I listed things that I wanted to keep:
Continually praying
Always open for opportunities to minister to others
Uninhibited, smiling-from-ear-to-ear joy
Cherished quiet times every day
knowing God's heart for the nations

I feel so blessed now to have found someone to pray with every day. Intercessory prayer, praise, thanksgiving, everything. And yeah it was a cool habit that I praise God didn't leave. To just be automatic in coming to God first. Whether it be a quick whisper before a test or singing out alone to God or even in tears crying out to my heavenly Father.

Being in school, I quickly get caught up in what needs to be done, the bottom line, the deadline that my eyes aren't searching for open opportunities to share Christ's love. This also goes hand in hand with the Cherished quiet times. I find that my morning walk to class as well as home after class, i'm struck by this awesome view of the pacific ocean. Those have been sweet times of prayer and meditation, though sometimes my mind is occupied with something else that I don't praise God for giving me air to breathe and this beautiful view. It's definitely something that I still cherish and something that I want to make a priority. We'll see how this new year will fare.

If there is a thing of beauty that I'd want to be known for (like J.Lo is known for her very healthy posterior) I'd want to be known for my smile. I've heard that people have smiles that can brighten up whole rooms. A smile can turn someone's day from drab and dreary to bright and sunny. haahaa, I took this test a while a back assessing my ability to spot a fake or real smile. I ended up scoring 17/20. So you better watch out, I know smiles and I can tell when that's a courtesy laugh you're giving. But yeah, I dunno. A smile or a laugh can show true openness and geniuneness (if that's even a word). That's something I'd like to show other people. :) Smiling makes me happy.

I've resolved to learning more about international health. It'd be SOOOOOO awesome to do a product overseas. That would be so awesome. But right now, it would be just as cool to find out how God is working and how I can help here in the U.S. whether by prayer or otherwise. If anyone is in the Healthcare field (if you're a student or professional) what do you think of taking a short trip this coming summer somewhere and helping out somewhere? My team leader from the summer asked me to pray and consider leading a team to somewhere in asia (perhaps Big Red) where we can help out with health education, basic hygeine and basic physical exams. If you're interested let me know. Trips like these are AWESOME.