So, I’ve been back for a little over 2 weeks now. It’s crazy. It’s weird. I can’t believe that I just spent 3 months overseas, ended up in 7 different countries on 2 different continents, and now I’m back. I thought it would be good to write about how the transition back has been, and officially wrap up my blog posts for the summer. (I still hate saying “I have a blog.” But it has been a good outlet for me to externally process while keeping people updated on my summer.)
Back on August 5th, I flew from Morocco to Madrid, from Madrid to New York, and New York to Boston. My mom was able to meet me at the airport and she was able to visit for a couple of days before heading back to California to get back to work. And after those two days, I pretty much had to immediately jump straight into training for my RA job. As of today, my training is finished, and classes start tomorrow.
It’s been very interesting trying to adjust to being back in the US, adjust to my role as a leader on campus, adjust to the responsibility as a returning RA, and adjust to the pace of life here. In Germany, my days, no matter how crazy things may have been, typically followed the same general outline. Wake up, spend time with Jesus, go to a team meeting and worship Jesus, then go out and do whatever Jesus asks me to do that day. Now that I’m back on campus and working hard to prepare myself and my building for this year, it’s so different. I don’t have that time with Jesus built into my daily schedule, and I have to wake up early and fight for time throughout the day to spend with Him. The job I have here is in some ways very similar, but in most ways very different. I’ve barely been in the country 2 weeks and got over jet lag just 5 days ago, but I’ve been running extremely hard throughout training. So because of this, my time to process and ability to adjust has been limited.
But, as usual, God is good! He’s been helping me with the transition and has spoken a few things that have really helped. I’m back, and I have an entirely new outlook on things, and the way that I live my life is going to be different than last year. Not that I lived my life poorly before, but now I’ve spent a summer on what some would call a spiritual high, that for me has become my normal, and this normal is going to be a launching point for going even deeper in my relationship with Jesus. So because of this and all that happened this summer, I asked Jesus, “So, how have I changed?” He was quick to correct this language- He said, “You haven’t changed, you’ve been amplified. I’ve taken these things that were already in you and increased and amplified them.” Wow… I’m not changed, I’m amplified.
Another thing that Jesus spoke was that everything that happened in Germany, all the crazy things I saw- the healings, the salvations, the depth in relationships- it all was a direct result of simple obedience. And that’s all I have to do back here- be obedient. If He wants me to pray for healing for someone, I’ll do it. If He wants me to share an encouraging word with someone, I’ll do that. If he wants me to walk the long way to class, I will. I’ve learned that even if I don’t necessarily see the fruits of my obedience in front of me, every small step of obedience is an act of spiritual warfare that brings the Kingdom of God forward. Man, the magnitude of that is so great, but it is so simple to do. Be obedient.
And that’s how I’ll be continuing to live my life here.
Thank you all for supporting me this summer and praying for me. It’s been an adventure, and I know that the adventure continues as I go with Jesus back here to Gordon.
Thanks guys,
Bae
