My life began....again...Part 2

If you have ever met me you will know that I am a someone who is shy around people I don't know well, this stems from the fact that I don't trust easily. I don't trust the people who I first meet because I am instantly thinking, what if they don't like me, what if they hurt me, because of these thoughts that are going through my head I stay silent in hopes that I can fade into the background. When God started to break off my fear He did it in tangible ways, He gave me joy that overwhelmed my fear to the point where I was able to  be who I am. Which is opinionated, talks to much, outgoing, adventurous, loves to laugh, and sometimes just a little crazy. I forgot to be silent and instead yearned to get to know my team, I wanted to know their names, their stories, joys, hurts, everything, so I asked questions. I was assertive, I was anything but the wallflower that I should have wanted to be.

The team of shy people dance

We are being set free right here

Its funny because on the second day of training camp they asked the students to ask the Lord what He wanted to tell them about our teams. The training team each team to know what God was calling our teams into, so the students specifically were told to ask him for specific words. It was amazing because so many of them got the word freedom.  God wanted to give us freedom from all the lies, fears, brokenness, hurt, all the things that were holding us back from Him. Freedom was poured out from the Lord on to my team and it started in me and spread, the Lord set every person on my team free. Even more so though my team was going to be used to bring freedom to many they met on the field and even off later when they got home.

I don't know if you can see but you can actually see the changes starting. The smiles get bigger

I will write more about this later but let me tell you this signifies a lot of freedom for my team.

These first to two blogs where about how God set me free and next I will tell you about how he set the rest free. It is story that brings me such great joy that I literally dance and weep because my heart is so full of gratitude and love for the Lord who decided to love us so much. This trip taught me so much about the Love our Abba has for us. Our Abba sent Jesus (His son) to earth to set us free, I lived in a cage for far to long the door has been open and ocassionally I would step back in when I started to wander from my God. No more. Freedom is mine, it was paid for with a price and I want to take my free gift and run with it.

My life began....again...

I struggle with writing about my team because how do I even begin, so maybe I will restart and start at the beginning...

The Banner welcoming my team to training camp

It was another hot humid day in Georgia they day my participants came, the leaders had been already been in Georgia for three days preparing our hearts and minds so that we would be ready to lead our teams. It was a time of refreshing community, we were poured into, encouraged, loved, nothing could have prepared us better for what was coming.

However refreshing and wonderful time together as leaders was it was always tinged with just a little bit of anxiousness because we could not wait for our new families to arrive, we felt ready, it was time.

June 15 was almost as good as Christmas morning with everyone getting up with the knowledge and anticipation that today was the day. The students would all be here tonight, by tonight we could say goodbye to personal space, sleep, carefree days for a month. It was something we were all willing to do with joy in our hearts.

Haleigh and Miranda on the Bus on the way to AIM from the aiport

They arrived just as we knew they would some were scared, some tearful, some with seemingly no fear, they were there standing around and you could just see in their eyes that they were terrified. They wanted to be loved, accepted and just so afraid that they wouldn't find it within their team. The funny thing is that up until that moment I fought the very same fears. I was afraid that my team wouldn't like me, that my co-leaders would be sad that they had to have me on their team. But in that moment of seeing my first participant I didn't care, something in me changed. God spoke to me, He told me that everything would be alright, I would be loved just as much as I already loved my team. That no matter through the hard times Abba loved me.

Ashley and Jesse on the bus from the Airport

In that moment I felt like I was really starting to get a new understanding of that Love.  In that moment that I saw Haleigh (she was the first one I saw), I knew I loved her with my whole heart that she would be there for life. I also knew this love that I had for her wasn't something that I would be capable without Christ giving it to me and if God could just implant this type of Love in me, how much better His love was for me was. How much stronger and all encompassing it was overwhelming and I could feel no fear, it was gone in a moment, Love overcame it.

My team and their 'things' at training camp

To Be Continue...

PS. I am still not fully funded, in the next post I will post the exact number but it is still over $1000 please be praying that I would remain faithful in this time to the fact that God always provides.