The Ocean

This idea sprang into being when I was in Galveston last week, and tonight it spilled onto the page, unbidden. This is the first time I've shared anything unedited - and honestly, it's a freeing and glorious feeling.

The ocean is alive. The white-crested waves that move upwards before crashing back down are full of life. There is no stagnation there. There is a rhythm to the way the waves beat against the rocks, yet that rhythm is ever-changing. The roar of the waves fills my ears, pulsating, causing my soul to swell with their every rise and fall. The water surges across my feet, a living thing, renewing my spirit, filling me with life.
In the ocean, I see life and motion. I see passion and restlessness. In the ocean, I find myself.

Home Again

So here I am after 5 days spent in Galveston on spring break mission trip with UT Arlington's BSM. After playing soccer matches with little kids, sharing 7 showers with 40-something other ladies, and sunburning my legs, it's nice to be home again. But what a fantastic trip it was!

We drove down to Galveston on Saturday and returned home on Wednesday. The main work my group did on the trip was hosting kids' club Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday morning during which we played games and shared the gospel. This was followed by block parties Monday and Tuesday afternoon, which was really a great opportunity to interact with the kids and parents in the community.

But personally, I found Saturday night to be the best experience of the trip. Before arriving in Galveston, the car I was riding in and two other vehicles made a stop at a church to provide some assistance for the evening. We served dinner to part of the community - dinner consisting of a hot dog and a bag of chips. We also handed out bags of groceries which contained eggs, meat, bread, spinach, and a jar of peanut butter. It struck me to see how needy these people are. While a hot dog is barely a meal for me, these people were so grateful for something so simple. It touched me to be able to work with the church to help this group of people and provide them with food and groceries.

Another meaningful experience was Wednesday night while driving home. After watching a gorgeous sunset, my good friend Ashlee, who was driving, and another lovely lady, Tamara, had a conversation that covered several topics, including prayer and a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, daily Bible reading, and witnessing the miraculous things God does in our lives. This discussion was uplifting to me and I hope it was a blessing to you ladies as well.

It was incredible to see how God used me and my fellow students to touch the lives of those around us. My first mission trip was a wonderful experience and I am grateful I was able to go and spread the gospel with such a fantastic group of people!

To Galveston

This spring break UTA's Baptist Student Ministries is sending a hundred students to Galveston for a mission trip. We'll be leaving tomorrow morning and spending 5 days in Galveston before returning home. Our areas of outreach and service range from manual labor to evangelism to children's ministries.

This is the first mission trip I will be going on. I'm excitedly anticipating the trip and all that's in store for us! I pray for spiritual growth for those of us going to serve, and I hope we're able to be a blessing to those we go to minister to.

Because of this, I won't be blogging again until late next week. And that's okay - it's going to be a fantastic trip!