Three weeks in

Hey!!!!!!
So here is the first of the blogs. I am new at this so this is really weird for me. I am not used to journaling for a load of people to read...not that anyone will actually come to this site....but in case you are, thanks. I will be pretty honest in these, I hope, so some of this stuff won't be all happy happy joy joy.

I have been here about three weeks but it feels like a year. Which I suppose is good and bad. Good because the people here are all ready family, bad because they are all ready my family, lol (grrr, haylee. I shake my fist at you! (she is throwing grapes at me while I write this)).

It has been a great three weeks in general. There have been a lot of ups and downs, but God is really starting to stretch me (to the point that it's starting to hurt). Everyday my eyes open up more and more to what he is offering me in my life. Most of the time I am unsure if I am actually ready for it. It feels like I am scrambling toward Jesus but he keeps walking just out of reach so that I have to keep reaching. I am doing all right keeping up so far but I feel that if I make one wrong move I am going to be drowining in fears, doubt, and confusion....this sounds morbid...

...here is a victory story! I just completed the first eighth grade retreat on Friday. On that last day all of the missionaries were supposed to pray over their small group members one at a time. I decided that I would make it a group effort so we put each student in the middle of the circle and all of us(myself and the rest of the eighth graders) prayed over the person in the middle. It was awesome just having them do it themselves, but it wasnt even the best part! At the end, without anyone telling him, a kid named, Chris, pointed to me and told me it was my turn!!! Now these are eighth graders!!! how crazy is it that these eighth graders are willing to pray over a 23 year-old all by themselves. There were no other adults in the group at the time so I was really astounded!
I felt completely honored and humbled to know that even those who people expect not capable of getting their faith can really get serious and pray over someone who is almost twice their age. I was a youth minister last year and never really paid to much atention to the middle schoolers. Hanging out with them for a week as definitely rearranged some of my assumptions.

Anyways, I'll try to make these short and sweet. Here is just one more thing that I have been pondering lately: the importance of Mary in the life of Jesus.

Peace out
PD