Blessed

God answered so many prayers this week at the Crossroads youth camp. It was totally by chance that I got to go as a chaperone, and I'm so glad I didn't make excuses to keep me home when it would have been so easy to do so.

A few points from this week:
Passion comes from pathos- a willingness to suffer or endure pain.
Passion is faith in the face of fear. Believing when you should be doubting.
Passion is faithfulness in spite of consequences.
Passion is finishing well.

and a lesson from 1 Samuel:
Nothing should ever replace obedience, even when conventional wisdom and outside pressures make more sense.

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The week was a great chance to get to know some of the youth that I haven't spent much time with. I got to see an amazing son of God and brother in Christ give his life to the ministry. I got to see a young girl who is so eager for a deeper relationship with God, lift up her hands in praise to God.

It is odd to NOT see me raise my hands when singing and praising God. It has become part of me to fully open myself and surrender to God when singing or praying. The act of being open to God is a big part of my life, and it is an amazing feeling to see others let go and let the Holy Spirit fill them up.

I got to hear great messages that include some of those points above. I got to hear Carl Cartee read a verse and share part of his testimony that seemed aimed STRAIGHT at me, and when we talked about it later, we rejoiced in following God's voice in our hearts because you never know who needs to hear what you were told to say.

I also felt really blessed by the fact that I was given the opportunity to pour my heart and soul into some of the girls. I would keep my door open at night so they could come in while I was reading or journaling and ask questions, tell jokes, just hang out. And it was great to be able to be there when they had questions, when they just needed and ear, or when they wanted to know what kind of animal I'd be if I could be one. I love stuff like that.

::sigh::

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Thursday was a truly blessed day. The morning devotion was amazing, and so was the workshop "Creative Christianity". I was supposed to be going off campus to the river that day, but God was calling out to me to take some time out and fall on my face in front of Him. I ate lunch in the caf early, sat down with Clayton King, Nathan and their friend Mike, and later, Charie (Clayton's wife) and their nanny Abby sat down. It was a chance thing that I sat over there. I'm often shy in situations like that, but I felt like I needed to have adult contact, and besides, I had questions to ask Clayton, and really just wanted to even just LISTEN to this amazing man of God off of the stage.

Abby and I had great conversations, as did they continue when Charie joined the table. It was great to sit down with two women of God, and except for a short little bit, talk about something other than India. It's very exciting, yes, but we got down to talking about God's will and what it means, and having a deeper conversation than just "I'm moving to India." and it truly blessed my heart. Truly.

I had finished long before Abby as I had been sitting there talking with Mike and Clayton before she got there, but it was such good conversation and never felt right to leave, so I stayed, drinking water and having amazing conversation. After a bit, there was a shadow over my corner and someone said "Melissa..."

And a prayer I didn't even know I had was answered. There were Mike and Patti and Jake. O my goodness, my heart lit up. I know at some point one of them will read this, and I hope they've read the journal below as well, just so they know how much Mike means to me. That whole family is an amazing and Godly family, and just by being a part of my life, showed me how much more there was to life than what I had. That I could really wait for the man who was more like Mike and less like my natural father. He has always encouraged me and made my heart smile.

Seeing them after two years, and after having that time on Sunday when I was mourning the seeming loss of him in my life was AMAZING. It was a true blessing and meant the world to me. God is SO good!!!!

We went down to the river to see the kids and walked around, and then came back to GWU and walked around the quad. Shortly after, Amol and Rachel came up with their kids, and it was definitely a great time with them. It was exciting to see that Patti and Rachel knew some of the same people, and, like I said, was just amazing.

Paul finally answered his phone and we surprised him with the Paynes. :-) And I got to spend an afternoon with 3 very special people and eat dinner with them, and worship with them. They got to hear from Amol and Rachel that evening at the service and then went out to DQ for ice cream with us.

It was a truly blessed day.
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Today was also blessed. Amol prayed for me after the devotion time this morning, and it we had a nice talk and it's great to know that there are people over there that I know, even if they're basically no where nearby. To know that during long breaks I can go up there makes me SO excited, and just generally hopeful. Amol and Rachel are truly following the will of God and that makes me happy.

Amol was talking at one point about bringing his children to Crossroads one year and I got this picture of these kids, singing side by side with the youth at Crossroads, and it made me tear up. That is so exciting. Such a sight to see, even in my head. The nations worshiping side by side. Amen.

Amol is also planning like a youth retreat for next summer, and depending on the timing of it, I'm thinking I'll stick around for it. That is so exciting. O, so blessed.

Crossroads 2008: The year the Grey Squirrel died.
And the year my tank was filled up to the brim to carry me to India with even more passion than ever (if that was even possible).

Acts 20: 24

It's been an emotional week, but it has been so great. I'm sad that I'm leaving this place. But so excited to see what God has in store for me.