Whirlwinds assuaging

Well friends, briefing is over. What can I say besides it was a whirlwind and a half. Going for six days straight from basically 8:30am to 8:30pm....needless to say, introvert heather didn't have a lot of processing time. Thus, when people would ask ARE YOU SO EXCITED??? Half the time, I'd just stare at them....so everyone probably thinks I'm really not that excited, but I promise you I am!

Turn the coin though, reality set in majorly at briefing (or more like on the way home). Reality that I'm leaving my family, my friends, and all that makes life comfortable to go to a city where I don't have a great grasp on the language, where there are no elevators for 7 flights of stairs, where Americans aren't highly looked upon, and for that fact, neither are Christians....I must be insane.

It all struck when I was sitting in the Boston airport waiting for my connecting flight home.  Minor panic attack ensued, and then a voice over the intercom goes- last call for flight blah blah blah to Long Beach California. And I thought about it. If I were to go anywhere, to get as far away from Europe of possible on my budget- California would be it....

I proceeded to text a friend, realizing I just had a Jonah moment. The text might have gone something like I WANT TO BE JONAH BUT I DON'T WANT TO END UP IN THE BELLY OF A WHALE.  Bless my friend. I don't know how I'd react if one of my friends texted me that, but she's used to my weirdness... So the dear friend took it all in stride and laughed but encouraged all the same, saying something like well that's why the Lord gives us scripture, so we learn from their mistakes...

True. So I obeyed, got on my flight back home to Dulles and have proceeded to pack up my life into 94 lbs between two suitcase, went to apply for my visa- where they made me sign a wavier saying it could take three weeks (at the time I was still two weeks out, okay, Jesus has got this, yes I leave in 8 days, it's still not here), and now, I'm anxiously waiting for my visa/passport just wrapping up loose ends this week and trying to relax. Catch some rays before I go to a land with an average of 1.5 hours of sunlight a day in the winter. awesome.

But, all for the sake of knowing Jesus more. I remind myself daily that Jesus is the point.  All for the sake of Knowing Jesus more. Otherwise, I have more Jonah moments, and though the thought of being in the belly of a proverbial whale is a great deterrent...I'm still human. I feel like this is edging on the craziest thing I've ever done.

Luckily, the Holy Spirit keeps reminding me of Philippians. I'm incredibly grateful that the Lord led me to the Matt Chandler Philippians series when I was leading the college girls last summer at CRCC.  He obviously knew what he was doing.. I don't think i'll ever get used to Him having my life planned out and going so perfectly/cohesively together. Anyways, I have Matt Chandler's voice in my head reading from Philippians 3: 7-14

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

 

I love the verbs Paul used (in greek of course) but even translated they are still such a powerful picture.  This year will be a year of straining. Of pressing into Christ who is my goal and prize. When I focus on that, Jonah moments become fewer and fewer, I tend not think of myself as crazy, and ultimately, it brings peace to a soul that's caught up in a whirlwind...

Whirlwinds Assuaging. Praise Him.
8 days.

Figured some pictures would be nice :)
This is the team!
Starting from the left: Brooke and Lance, me, Hannah and Dan, Hal, Scott (with Katie and Asher on the phone), Vivek, and Becky.

 Future tenants of The Upper Room!! (there is a story with that...look forward to it..)
             Halaina (Hal), Becky, and me!