6 Months Later...

February 1st marked our six month stay at God's Resort. I remember in September there being moments where we definitely didn't think we would make it this far, but we have and quite honestly I think we have been successful in more ways than one. We were hanging out with our mentor last Friday and discussing the ways that we have changed and the things we have learned and I think we surprised ourselves in just how long that list was. I think I can probably speak for both of us on the following things we have learned, but just in case Meg would put it differently here is my list of a few things I have learned:

1. Loving people you don't know can be really hard at first, but the longer you do it and the more unconditional you can make it, the easier it gets.
2. Patience is a virtue for a reason and things all go much more smoothly if you can practice a lot of it.
3. Finding a way to view others as God sees them helps with the above. Once you can see someone for who God has created them to be, without all of the baggage of the flesh and this world, they shine with a holy radiance that cannot help but make you love them.
4. Jesus is real and not only because I see Him alive in the scriptures, but because I see Him alive in our neighborhood. The same stories that we hear of His life on earth are still totally applicable to our world today no matter how different it may look. We just need to be creative enough to see the application for them.
5. Truth may be my foundation to stand upon, but faith and hope are what keep me clinging to it when things get rough.
6. Community is vital to not only a Christian’s growth, but their survival as well. At one point for me that community was a group of peers that challenged me as we grew together, now my community is my neighborhood and even though they may not be well-educated or look like the world wants them to, they have taught me just as much if not more about what it means to be a Christian that is totally reliant on God and completely enthralled with Jesus than the Church or my peers.

How have I changed/what have I learned about myself:

1. I do not need breaks nearly as much as I have been taught I do or taken in the past.
2. I can be a very patient and flexible person with people in my neighborhood, but not so well with those I work alongside.
3. I love living in the middle of such chaotic life, even on the days I seem fed up with it, because no matter how tough it seems, it is more worthwhile and more exciting than any other life I have led.
4. I have finally begun to understand how to marry the Christian walk with what I have pursued in my education.
5. I am more controlled, less sarcastic, and feel in control. I have a newfound confidence in Christ and therefore do not lash out or feel insecure as much in my interactions with others.
6. Everyone needs to be able to process what is going on around them and when they can’t it is usually the start of a lot of life problems. Everyone processes things differently according to their walk and their role in the kingdom and that is okay as long as the outcome mimics Christ. Most of the time when my actions don’t mimic Christ it’s because I never processed them through a Christian frame to begin with.

For fun, how Megan has changed:

1. She has truly excelled at the work at God’s Resort and found her gifting in working with the kids, including crafts, teaching the kids everyday life skills, beautifying things in the neighborhood.
2. She has put herself out there with the families in a far more open way then she used to with our friends, putting herself in their homes and being real with them.
3. She has relaxed a lot about life and become more patient as well.

Well I just thought it would be fun to share some of these things. There are so many just random life lessons that we have learned, but there is not enough time for me to write them down nor do I kid myself in thinking you want to read them all.