The Sunshine State.

Saturday 6th November
Distance Traveled: I dunno, but it took 10 hours.
Destination: Orlando, Florida.

I've only been to Florida once before, if you can even count it. I remember staying overnight in a hotel in Miami and being so hot I couldn't sleep. Well this week was slightly different...

We headed down through South Carolina, Georgia and into the Sunshine State and stayed overnight in Jacksonville with one of our close friends, Hovde. I'll just let you know our 12 passenger van managed to get through an awful lot of Hershey's Chocolate Cookies!

The next day we hit the road so we could arrive on schedule in Orlando. Setting up tents, registering, having meetings, unloading the van, and eating was what the day consisted of.

That night we snuggled down into our sleeping bags thinking "this is Florida, I won't need too many blankets!" How wrong we all were! As the night wore on we found ourselves constantly waking up and throwing on more hoodies, socks, jackets...anything we could find to keep up slightly warmer! Nothing seemed to help. So on Monday we made a trip to Super Target where most of us invested in a sleeping bag or a fleece blanket of some kind.

We started the day off with a banging hot breakfast, oatmeal, eggs, sausage, bacon, croissants and orange juice and then walked over to the lecture hall. Those first few days were all the South East Conference, DTSers and staff joining together to worship, have fun, hear from speakers and pray together. Always an amazing time when the Spirit moves and you feel full of God.

On Wednesday began the 50th Celebration of YWAM. The title being The Flame Goes Forward! And that night 600 YWAMers came together with candles and thanked the Lord for His faithfulness over the last 50 years. A time of looking back, enjoying the present and anticipating the amazing things the Lord is going to do in the future. I wish I could describe to you just how wonderful it was to sing and pray in the candlelight with radical Jesus lovers.

Sometimes I find myself thinking about another life but I am quickly brought back to the reality of the calling the Lord has placed upon my life. To live radically, to go to the lost in the dark places and to be an ordinary woman used by an extraordinary God. I'm slowly learning that I don't need the things of this world. At the end of the day if all I have is Jesus, that will be enough.

This past week I learned a new song which I find myself humming all the time:
"All this pain I wonder if I’ll even find my way I wonder if my life could really change at all All this earth Could all that is lost ever be found Could a garden come up from this ground at all You make beautiful things You make beautiful things out of the dust You make beautiful things You make beautiful things out of us All around Hope is springing up from this old ground Out of chaos life is being found in You You make beautiful things You make beautiful things out of the dust You make beautiful things You make beautiful things out of us You make beautiful things You make beautiful things out of the dust You make beautiful things You make beautiful things out of us You make me new, You are making me new You make me new, You are making me new" ~by Gungor

As I was just writing this I began thinking about how much I love Loren & Darlene Cunningham (the founders of YWAM), their commitment, love for God and their love for others and I was quickly taken to who they remind me of...my Grandparents. I look up to, love and respect my Grandpa and my Grandma. They have fought hard when things have been tough, their have been faithful in their Christian walk, they have been humble when it could have been easy to be proud, they have a desire to see the light of God shine in their community, they have walked out in the calling the Lord has given to them and have risen up as strong warriors in the faith. I thank God for these two precious people that have invested so much into me since before I was born. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa for your dedication, love and support. I love you both so much. And thank You Lord for such a rich heritage.