Three Weeks of Immeasurably More

Wow. Words cannot describe the amazing things God has done in the past month. I have just come off of undoubtedly one of the craziest but also most beautiful adventures of my life. Over the course of three weeks, I attended two camps, crossed through seven different states, and traveled over four thousand miles round trip. Y'all that is absolutely crazy but it is ONLY by the power of God, and I can't wait to get to share with you in this post just a glimpse of some of the awesome things He revealed to me in my time away from home.

I am beyond thankful for these amazing opportunities the Father has placed before me, but I pray that the focus of this post would not be so much about the programs and events themselves but rather the power and love of God shining in them...because oh, has He been present!

My first three weeks of summer started with a bang: I finished school on a Thursday and left the following Sunday afternoon for Kentucky, where I attended a two-week Christian leadership camp called Youth Becoming Leaders (YBL) at Asbury University.

Waiting at the airport for our flight!

God was so present the entire time leading up to camp...even as far back as February, when I first applied for the program. (You can read more about that here and here.) The adventure continued as I faced one of my big(gest) fears: flying. Since my last flying experience (which had severe turbulence and was very traumatizing to me), I had sworn I would avoid travel by air for as long as I could. Clearly, God had different plans! I was very nervous walking into the airport that day, but the Lord was so gracious and calmed my nerves through the sweet smiles and kind words of my friends, and He brought me safely to Lexington by the end of that night.

When I arrived in KY with the three other students from my church, I immediately got to meet some of our counselors, college students/graduates from Asbury, who I grew to love dearly over the next two weeks. Since we had booked our flight for the day before camp officially started, we had to wait for the rest of the YBL students to arrive the next day. I was slightly hesitant about our new community at first, but I quickly became close friends with each of the twenty something students there.

Our WONDERFUL group of YBL students, faculty, and counselors! Words can't describe how much I miss these people.

Our two weeks together were filled with more laughter, tears, growth, games, sunshine, and Jesus than I could ever possibly try to fit into one blog post, but I can safely say that the Holy Spirit was so present and moving. We focused on the story of the Good Samaritan, and I learned more about that scripture and how to truly love others than I ever thought possible. Some of my favorite memories are the many little adventures we had, from hearing/learning from amazing university and seminary faculty to visiting a monastery in Indiana to buying supplies to furnish an entire apartment for a refugee family. Through all of these things, Jesus stretched me and grew more beyond what I could've ever expected or hoped for..and for that and for all the new friendships built at YBL, I am indescribably thankful!

Our little group of four students from my church flew back from YBL late the last night of camp, only to drive twelve hours the next morning for our mission trip to Colorado. It was definitely a whirlwind; I was home for less than eight hours before I had to leave for the next journey...but it was totally worth it. I knew that this was where God had me this summer, and I was just grateful for the opportunity, even if I was sleepily thankful at that!

Going from our group of 30 students at YBL to over 130 on the mission trip was a little overwhelming at first, but I quickly adjusted and the Lord reminded me He was indeed still with me, just as much in Colorado as in Kentucky. Throughout the week, He showed me through the love I received from my adult leaders, other students, and even the people we were serving more of His grace and mercy. Again, He was just sweeping me over with even more of His goodness than I thought existed.

Sunday morning service at Rocky Ford First UMC. The church members told us how excited they were to have all the pews filled!

It was especially cool to get to return to Colorado after having visited there back in March (which you can read about here), and it was awesome to see the hopes He had placed in my heart for this mission even back then be fulfilled over the course of the week. Our student leadership team had felt a real need to bring hope to Rocky Ford, the small town we served in, and the brightened faces of the people there told me we had brought that there, even if just a little bit.

Hugging a local resident at one of our community block parties during the week!

As I've been reflecting over the past three weeks, the Lord keeps bringing this certain Bible passage to mind. I was first reminded of this verse one of my last nights in KY, but He didn't fully reveal it to me until I finally got to my home state just a few days ago. The passage is Ephesians 3:20-21, and every time I look at it, He keeps pointing me to even more of how deeply I can connect these verses to my recent experiences.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” {Ephesians‬ ‭3:20-21‬}

At both YBL and the mission, God kept continuously pouring more grace and more goodness over me. In fact, the theme of this whole summer seems to be more...He can do more than I can ever imagine. Just when I think I've reached all He has to offer, when I'm sure I've reached the threshold of His mercy and learned all there is to know about His love, He is showing me more. And it is big and powerful and even sometimes overwhelming but in the most beautiful way. He is showing this not just in my "big" experiences but the little everyday moments with Him as well, and He's reminding me that every step with Him is like a grand adventure, no matter how little it seems. And it is all only through His power, and it only points back to His power. NOTHING that has happened this summer would be possible without the crazy grace He has lavished on me, and I believe He lavishes that same grace on all of us. When we accept that grace and say yes to Him, we are saying yes to a lifestyle of immeasurably more. He delights to love on His kids, and He has awesome plans for you, if you will just say yes. That is something to celebrate.

My prayer for us is that we would be a people who say yes, that we would choose to trust Him wherever He leads us, knowing confidently He WILL do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. I pray He would swipe away the fears and doubts in our lives, just like He did for me before my flight to Kentucky. I pray He would empower us to serve others and pour into their lives with His love, just like He did for me in Rocky Ford. I pray that He would surround us with His peace, as He has surrounded me this summer. And I pray He would give us the courage to say yes...because He is IMMEASURABLY faithful.