Finally Following Up

Well, I’ve been home for two months now and there are a few things I am sure of:

1. I love being home, but I ain’t no homebody,

2. God is so sufficient,

3. and getting a summer job in Spokane kinda blows.

1. Going from London Heathrow and Seatac to Spokane made the Spokane airport seem really small. So after being greeted by my family with flowers and milk (Yes, a carton of milk) and Oreos, we were out the door in no time and suddenly, after months away from it, I was driving back through Spokane to my little blue house in Newman Lake.  Driving down the freeway, overlooking the old downtown buildings, the feeling was surreal… almost as if I had never left. I couldn’t believe I was home.

I didn’t know I’d be so happy to be home. My roommates face was priceless when I walked into her room the day I visited Whitworth again. My first weekend back consisted of reuniting with family, church and school, Whitworth graduation and my sister’s last high school track meet. The next few weeks consisted of the celebration of mine and my mom’s birthdays and Kelsey’s high school graduation. Busy, busy, busy.

I still have tons of pictures to be shared and it will probably take me a year to get all my stories out. But man, I’m glad to be back. To be independent again. To drive my own car. See all the faces of the beautiful people in my life. Glad to be in a familiar place again. I miss Africa, I miss it a lot. And I don’t plan on sticking around here forever. No sir, I want to see the world. But for now, I’m very content to be back in my little life in Spokane, Washington.



Some kiddos from a Masai village



2. If you’ve ever been exposed to things other than what you’re used to, you know how it can challenge your norms, beliefs, lifestyle, etc. That’s something I expected to happen to me when I went to Africa, seeing how even going to college exposed me to things and challenged me.

I’ll admit that doubt, uncertainty and dullness rose up in my life, mainly my faith.

As the trip went along, the Bible became dull and invalid. God, who at the beginning of the trip seemed so great because he was so big, now seemed too big, too big to even be my own personal God. People around me kept saying “what is truth?!” My mind couldn’t comprehend how God could be my God, yet stretch himself so far as to be the God of all the other people in the world. And let’s not even get into other religions, where to find truth and who goes to Heaven. Shoot.

It might seem like this would drive me crazy and send me over the edge, but somehow I stayed calm. Well, I know how. God- the same God in whom I wasn’t so sure of. Oh his grace…

And he came through. In the last month in Dar es Salaam, my roommate and I were watching The Book of Eli. If you haven’t seen it, I’m about to ruin the end for you so, uh, sorry. But when Denzel began reciting Genesis 1:1, something inside me moved (my spirit) and something else said “if you want to know this book, you should probably start from the beginning” (that would have been the Holy Spirit). I don’t think I’ve ever had that quick of a response to something, but I went right into my room and began to read, even before the movie had finished. And behold, even in the first few chapters I was getting new insight, questions were being answered and the Book was alive again.

That was just the beginning of a series of ways God would reassure himself to me with new depth. Things that will have their own blogs, so this one doesn't go on forever. But God's faithfulness has been so good.

3. Okay, getting a job doesn’t blow. But, it’s quite difficult. So what’s up now? Well, I’m just livin’ it up this summer. At this point I’m done job searching and am okay with it. I’m finding small jobs here and there to make money for the summer and am feeling rather grateful for the time it's giving me to catch up on my relationships, read, work out, go to summer camp, etc.

Don’t you worry though; the thing is that I have a job already lined up this fall, in a month actually. I’m going to be a 2^nd year resident assistant at Whitworth. Living up my senior year in the all-freshman dorm where I’ve already lived two of my 2 ½ years on campus. I am so looking forward to it though. My team is 100% new, so a grand adventure awaits.

After that, of course, I will have my whole life planned out and ready to go because that’s what happens to all college seniors… right.

Rain falling in the Ngorongoro Crater

It may be a surprise to some when I say that I’m not sold on Africa. “Watch out, you’ll leave your heart there!” Not so much, but it now is a solid piece of my life experience. I now feel more confident in the world. I know I can handle uncomfortable situations and new places now. God has proven himself to me. And heck, I have family in Africa now.

 

I thank every person who supported me in everyway. I praise Him for providing, for the things I learned and for what the future holds.