Crazy Good God

Hey ladies! I miss you all so much and it's barely July! God has done marvelous things in my life through Worldview Academy and United, so here I am to tell ya. :) Starting from the beginning...

Not going to lie, the entire 4-hour-or-so drive up to Springfield, Missouri, I was pretty nervous. I realized that I actually didn't know anyone at the camp and I had no clue what the week had in store. Looking back, I can agree without a doubt that it was one of the best weeks of my life! It was so encouraging to be at a camp with fellow Christ followers, talking about our Savior and worldview as Christians! We talked about leadership, defending our faith, and even some other religions (when we covered Mormonism, I thought of you, Carley!). There was even a little bit of evangelism training I didn't know about beforehand, so that was a pleasant surprise!

Worldview Academy was truly a blessing, but what I learned there didn't end when the camp did. The timing was pretty much perfect- it was two weeks before United. All of the apologetics classes? I felt so much more confident when we went to Panama City Beach! Evangelism? It was so good to go out and evangelize and get back in the swing of things before United. God was so good to me. The week in between the two trips, I was so pumped and ready to set foot on the sand and just go!

And (as the pattern seems to be) God was nowhere near done working.

For United, I had been placed in the largest girls cabin, along with Emily McIndoe, 23 other girls, and Jenn Hartman and Ashley Briggs. I knew less than half of the girls, but sleeping in the big bunk room changed that soon. There was one girl, Kelsey, who's a year older than me (and was another huge blessing that week!). Even before I had finished unpacking and losing things all over the cabin in Florida, He had already shown Em a chance to witness to someone in our group!

I could go into detail and tell stories about our first day on the beaches- exactly a year since the last time I'd been beach witnessing. Or the next day. Even the worship (which was stellar!). But honestly, the best part about the entire trip to Florida was that even though we got rained out the last two days and didn't exactly accomplish what we thought we set out to do, God shattered our expectations and moved in ways we'd never fathomed! I'd thought my purpose on the trip was to meet people on the beaches and lead them closer to Christ. But if that had been my sole reason to go, I would have been disappointed. Jesus wanted to reach those on the beach... and those that weren't.

The last two days got rained out to the point where nobody was on the beaches. I was praying and fasting on July 3rd, the day the rains came. Our huge prayer that day was that God would take the rain away, or do something that could only happen with the rain. The rain continued to pound the roof, hour after hour, and it seemed like nothing was happening. Late into the evening, it was still pouring. Everyone was in the cabin, and nobody wanted to leave, so basically we were stuck inside. I tried to clean up some of my things and get ready for bed and instead got 'sidetracked' helping a girl in our room, Lila, convince another girl, Grace, to sing. The three of us were the only ones in the room, and nothing was out of the ordinary.

That's when Lila's best friend, Claire, walked in. She told us that she had something to tell us all. We grouped up in the floor and Claire shared her story. She would pause when others came in to get something because it was a long, personal story. At one point, Elle Maddox walked in, but Claire just continued, including Elle in our little group. Claire's story spurred Grace to tell hers. When the rest of the girls came to get ready for bed, they walked in to see five girls sitting in a big group hug on the floor.

We moved outside so we could keep talking, and we all ended up talking for an hour or so with Jenn. Claire told us later that she had been waiting for the right time to share her story with Grace and I. Lila already knew her story, Claire knew Grace had been in a similar place, and said she trusted me from the moment we first spoke. She had been in the living room with all the others when she felt the Holy Spirit telling her to go to the bunk room. Lo and behold, who else should be in the bunk room but Grace, Lila and I! That night, because of the rain, God literally moved Claire to share with us. It was something I couldn't explain.

God didn't even stop THERE. The other girls knew something incredible was going on, and when our group walked back inside, we found almost everyone gathered on the top bunks, listening to other girls share their stories. They had no idea what we had been doing, and yet here they were, sharing just like we had.

Now I'm home, and trying to make some sense of it all. It was so wonderfully unexplainable. Best yet, I talked to Jenn, and I may join their small group as an assistant leader on Sunday mornings! Lila and Claire are joining, and Grace is already a part of Jenn's small group. I have a chance to continue to disciple these precious girls, and I'm loving it. :)

All I can say is that God is so, SO good! There are no other words I've found.

I love you guys and I can't wait to see you all again!!
Much love, Katie