Back to Civilization

I think this may be the longest blog drought in my blogging history. Part of this was the fact that I spent four days in the woods away from civilization and my computer. I have become very busy lately but that's no excuse for blog slacking.

The camping trip went well. It was much easier to be the staff that knew what was going on than being a student who had no clue or control over what was going on. I managed to not poop in a hole though my body was ready the moment I stepped foot in a place with a real toilet. I didn't smell as bad as I thought I would. Using men's deodorant before we left and swimming in the river helped, I think. We were not as organized as I would have liked and as staff, frequently found ourselves scrambling to get water for our endless meals of Ramen noodles. It all turned out okay and the students were in the dark anyway.

My favorite time of the trip was testimony time. Most of the students' applications didn't include all the crazy stuff they had done or that had been done to them. Between just the 12 girls; three had been raped, one had an abortion, one had a miscarriage, one smoked crack, another was forced by her mother to prostitute herself for drugs, two have been arrested, one used to be a lesbian, several had suffered from depression and a few attempted suicide, one of their moms is in jail for a few years and her dad is in for life, one suffers from an anxiety disorder, many had overused drugs and alcohol, and several had sex in high school with the guy they mistakenly thought was "the one." It is crazy that they have been through so much considering that most of them are eighteen and right out of high school. It is cool to see how the Lord has brought them through all that and redeemed them.

I am at a real place of contentment right now. I still miss people from home but I don't think about it very much at all. I am focused on my task at hand- discipling these girls and watching them grow in their relationship with the Lord. I can't wait to find out which ones are on my team.