This is coming straight from my journal and heart! It may be a bit long! Here goes:
The Lord is so good and faithful. I was able to go on an adventure/experience that changed my life. I was able to allow Jesus to change my heart, mind, and attitude towards people. I was able to see how close-minded I was towards things and that allowed for Jesus to come in and break my heart wide open. In having this happen, I was exposed and could do nothing but run to the Lord. One night in particular, the Lord really worked on my heart and in my life to show me some areas that I had been letting satan control and hold over me. I spent some time after the worship and devotion praying for Jesus to break the chains of these sins. After spending time in prayer and letting go of them, I felt so free and was able to hear the Lord speak to my heart. The rest of the trip, I was able to see how God was going to use me and change my life forever. I saw how much I changed on the trip by allowing for people to get to know me better and how my heart opened up to them. This trip forever changed how I view people, their situation, where I live, who I live with, and ultimately my life.
So many things happened that have allowed me to learn so much more about who I am and who I am in the eyes of my King. I see that I am so different than when I left for the trip. I keep looking for ways to show who Christ is, what he means to me, and what he has done for me. My life's mission is to show Jesus to people every day of my life. I am looking more at areas in my life that I need to grow in.
From start to finish of the trip, I changed and became a different person who was more open and vulnerable about change instead of insecure and super secretive. God really worked on me and changed me for the better. I saw so many things that opened my eyes to what was really going on in my life. I complained so many times about the little things that didn't matter before the trip and now I have become a daughter of the King who thinks more before she complains. I am still working on it.
The trip itself was hard, grueling, exhausting, and overwhelming but it was totally worth it to see the Lord use us to help better people's lives and circumstances. Working at different sites allowed me to build relationships with the people I worked with and the people we were working for. I spent one of the days investing in people's lives for 6 or 7 hours just talking, asking questions, and sharing my testimony.
I was able to share my testimony with a man named Nolan. During the time, I was able to see God work and learn so much about him, the hurricane, what really happened, the devastation, and the Lord opened my eyes to show me how truly blessed I am. I used to think that I always needed to work for the next best thing and to gain more than I really needed. It was an eye-opening experience because I was truly humbled by the Lord and everything that happened.
This trip challenged me in so many ways because I was not used to everything that was happening on the trip. I saw God answer so many prayers through this trip, He answered in so many unexpected ways, but it was so good and humbling.
What an awesome reminder that we serve such a great and faithful God.
