Topic of the Week:
Week 6 was all about the Holy Spirit. The speaker, Dennis Reanier, talked about spiritual gifts, impartation and activation. This week was a hard one for me because I didnt necessarily agree with the speakers beliefs. He said some things that I found questionable and unbiblical, but it was also very good in the sense that it challenged me a lot. It made me question what I believe and why I believe it. Was it my faith? My parents faith? In the end I was able to reaffirm my beliefs and dig deeper into the word of God and find scripture to reassure what I believe.
Life is Hard:
On my track focus outreach we went back to the same family. It was sad to see the dynamic of the family and how they now have to function. The dad stayed at the house with us while the mom ran the errands she needed toget done. Another girl and myself got to talk with the dad a lot. He told us story after story about his old job (being a police officer) and it was extremely difficult to hear him struggle with each memory. Everytime he would stop and couldn't remember what he was going to say next he would say, "Sorry, I have Alzheimers." You could just tell how much he loved his job and how much he wishes he was able to continue to work and provide for his family. As I was listening to him tell us about how he was chasing after someone one time, I couldn't help the tears that welled in my eyes. As I was listening to the kids finish his sentences for him, I couldn't help the tightening in my chest. As I had to make dinner for him because he isn't allowed to use the stove, I couldn't help the burning sensation I felt in my throat. As he told me that he was making a box that he could put the memories that he wanted to remember in, I couldn't help but feel intense remorse for all the small things he won't be able to remember. As I rocked his granddaughter to sleep and watched tv beside him, I couldn't help but feel extremely grateful for my own dad.
Stuck in the Sand:
On Saturday10 of us girls and two girl leaders decided we wanted to take a trip to Lake Mead to get away for a little while, so we all piled into the 15 passenger van and took off. We arrived- somewhat sketchily down a big sand/dirt hill- around 3ish and went cliff jumping and just swam around for a bit. Around 5 we decided to head back, so we all hopped into the van and started praying the van would make it back up the hill. We started going and were doing pretty good and then all of a sudden we just stopped and couldn't move any further. We all got out of the van to see our tires just completely stuck in the sand. Another car was stuck in the sand behind us and then two of their friends pulled up to help them out only to get stuck in the sand as well. We decide to help them with their cars first, so we went over and started to help them push each car out of the sand.
Two and a half hours later (7:30) our van was still stuck in the sand, it was dark, the people helping us had left, I had just found cell service, we had no food or water, we had seen a scorpion, we had run out of gas, and it was starting to get cold. I finally, got ahold of someone at the base to bring a truck and a chain to pull us out of the sand... Little did we know when they finally got there at 8:45, Brett (one of the leaders) would bring three other girl students with him, he would bring a piece of "rope" to pull us out, and he would be on empty himself. I felt like I was in the twilight zone and anything that could go wrong would go wrong.
After trying to pull us out witht the "rope" and it breaking twice, a park ranger pulled up and offered to follow Brett to the nearest town (that is 45 minutes away) to get gas and a chain. Just in case Brett ran out of gas on the way the park ranger would be able to drive him the rest of the way in to town. That's 45 minutes in to town, however long it will take to get gas and a chain, and then 45 minutes back. So, we all got back into the van (to avoid scorpions lol) and started telling stories, singing worship music, and reading the book Captivating out loud.
At 10:45 Brett finally pulled up in the truck and gave us the news that he couldn't find a chain, so we were all going to have to pile into the truck- let me remind you there are 16 of us at this point- to get back to the base. We had nine people in the cab and eight people riding in the back of the truck. Praise be to God that we finally made it home around 12:30 am!
What I learned through that adventure was patience, faith, and hope.
Adventures to Come:
- We leave for Mexico today at 1:30pm- We will be going to Ensenada and Tijuana to work at a rehab center and an orphanage.
- Arizona in two weeks (week 9)
- Leave for international outreach on November 28th
XOX,
Katy Melton
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