It’s hard to imagine that it has been over a year since I was living in Sansepolcro, Italy. I have grown so much from that experience and now am anticipating my next trip abroad. When I returned home I was overwhelmed once again with a full course load and numerous activities on campus which would force me to fill my schedule pretty quickly. While I love being active, it was in Italy that I found out that finding time to reflect and BE STILL (Psalm 46:10) was really important. I realized I was at a point in my life where I had to be a little selfish, worrying about what was best for me for I will soon be old enough to think of marriage and a family. Where did the year go?! I did manage to stay in the country for a whole year!
The process and preparation for South Africa has been going a little slower than I originally anticipated after I found the school and country I wanted to be living in, in South Africa. I realized I wanted to be in South Africa last fall and then found University of Cape Town. All of my hopes have been centered on reaching out to the community and hopefully volunteering some. The application process seemed never ending and before I could so much as blink it was October and everything had to be turned in.
White Iris-On my BIRTHDAY!
A wonderful canoeing trip with wonderful friends like Miss. Hallie Willis
October is MY month. My favorite season, fall and CORN season, has begun. It came and went by with a wonderful birthday weekend canoeing on the river and then only a week later I finally but my beautiful Meredith Onyx on. Reflecting on the 4 semesters already passed at Meredith with good friends made for a beautiful night.It ended in a weekend with friends in the mountains at my favorite place ever, my famiy’s cabin. This weekend I fell in love. I fell in love with this precious dog. Her name is Ellie and although I learned there was no way I would be able to keep her (a dog in my checked bags wouldn’t have gone well upon my arrival in South Africa) she has now found a home with Joe’s roommate Will.
November started pretty CORNY with a week of sleep loss and all night practices preparing for our Junior Cornhuskin. Perhaps that was part of reason that I couldn’t even begin to find the time to blog. I was able to spend time with my 2012 girls and am quite thankful for that! Singing "I love you little sis" at Cornhuskin was a moment for me because I realized I was over halfway done with my time here at Meredith. I can't believe it is already time for me to have littles. I tried to blog in the weeks that followed Cornhuskin but this was all I wrote:” Fall is in full swing and I cannot believe that its November. The leaves are quickly falling to the ground and all of the corn spirit decorations are down. The freedom boards are painted to remind our class of the sleepless nights Cornhuskin week brought. Where did October go, or the semester for that matter? My mind is beginning to wonder to thoughts of South Africa, well who am I kidding it does every day! Now it is less than two months away”.
And here I sit, only weeks away from leaving the country for 5 months. Christmas practically forces one to stay at home and reflect on the year gone by (or flown by in my eyes). It is nice to be sitting home with my family who reminds me of how truly blessed I am. In good Massey fashion we rolled out of the bed around 10am and didn’t get to get breakfast until 1:30 this afternoon. My grandfather sent out an email this morning that read: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope (Romans 15:13). This holiday season has been different than others because my mom’s mom has now been in and out of the hospital after a stroke and is now quieter and more inactive than ever. It is hard to think of the joy of Christmas in the hard time, but I have found peace in the gift my family has been for twenty years in my life. How beautiful the gift of love to be given this year and every year from family and friends (1 Corinthians 13:13).
The New Year will be here soon and preparations for South Africa won’t be able to be put off any longer. As advent continues I will celebrate in the beauty of Jesus whose death has given us life eternally. He is the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). That is really the greatest gift of all, God’s everlasting love. As I prepare for South Africa I pray the spirit will be ever so evident and alive in me so that I can use my gifts while in South Africa to grow and learn even more than I did my first semester abroad. That same hope and presence in the spirit of the Lord is what will get me through time apart from so many I love.
Gotta get back to blogging more… I know I shouldn’t make promises, but let’s just say I would really like to keep this up in the coming months!
No comments:
Post a Comment