I will forever be grateful for these sweet people. What a sweet moment captured.
I leave for Montana in T-minus 14 DAYS! Woo hoo!
It's kind of a strange feeling that it is already here, but I am over the moon excited!
We had orientation last weekend, and what an awesome experience that was! I had the opportunity to get to know my team, meet new people, and deepen friendships that I already had. During the weekend, we had to do crazy things like take bucket showers and eat chicken fried steak with our hands; and it was so cool to see everyone participating with joy rather than annoyance. There is really nothing like being surrounded by young believers whose goal is to expand the Kingdom. My favorite moment was on the second night; there was about twelve of us that went to the basement of the chapel (creepy I know) after worship, to continue worshiping together. We sang and prayed with one another, and it is a sweet memory that I will hold on to for a long time. On the last night of worship, rather than listening to someone give a sermon; we spent an hour in prayer. The hour FLEW by... kinda weird how that works.
Prayer is so important.
We so often forget to pray. A lot of times for people my age, we use the excuse of being 'too busy' but if you're too busy to spend time with God, then you are way busier than He intended you to be. Truthfully, we make time for the things we want to make time for, and we should want to spend time with the Lord. Our time cannot be stored, but only spent well. Do things that matter. Prayer should be something that we are mighty in, a spiritual muscle that we are strong in. We have access to the creator of the universe. Read that again. ...Prayer is powerful. Jesus made prayer a habit; a joyful habit at that (Luke 5:16).
I will be the first to say that I am not good at the quiet aspect of prayer, the listening part. Naturally, silence is uncomfortable for us. But in the most uncomfortable moments of my life, great things have happened. We have to be quiet before the Lord. Just like a human relationship; if you did all the talking and none of the listening, the other individual likely wouldn't want to be your friend. Developing a true relationship with the Lord is nothing but rewarding, and is how we make disciples!
One of my favorite things is studying the word with new people. You really never know what you're going to hear, and it is so interesting to hear how others think. I cannot wait to learn from my team, and grow with one another this summer. I can't help but reflect on what an amazing opportunity this is.
I've been thinking a lot about what I want my summer to look like, and what I want to gain from this experience. I've been asked quite a few times what my expectations are, and every time I have answered with the fact that I want to come back a different Chloe. Come home with a different mindset, having learned something new, with a greater love for the Lord and others. A friend of mine told me that their goal was to always volunteer for the hard job; do the thing no one wants to do. We were created to work, and to work with willing hands, giving glory to the Father. Which is why this is going to be a goal of mine as well.
I learned a lot about what it means to be a missionary.
A missionary isn't someone who simply brings others to accept Jesus; but someone who seeks to make disciples. In order to do this, we have to have a firm foundation spiritually, live out the word, and love others. Spiritual leadership requires spiritual people. When we are filled by the spirit, we are controlled by the spirit, allowing us to walk in His footsteps to be a witness to others.
I cannot wait to share my experiences and everything I have learned. I know the Lord is going to move in a mighty way!