I know it's been far too long. You would not even believe how much I've had going on. On top of that, the internet in Hawaii didn't work almost the entire time we were there, so there was no way to do anything.

Last week was so good. Being able to spend all your time with Jesus and close friends is probably the most refreshing thing in the world. Not to mention, spending that time at the beach and the market and downtown and all around the beautiful campus I called home. You never know what you have until it's gone.

Yesterday was a day full of emotions. I was sad because of the people I may never see again in my life that I had to say goodbye to. I was beyond excited to see my family. I was literally jumping up and down. I looked like a crazy person. I was overwhelmed with the realization of everything God has blessed me with, especially in the last three months. He has given me such a blessed life and loves me unconditionally. He pours his love out on me so that I can pass it on to others. What else would I ever want to do with my life. So, needless to say, I spent all day yesterday crying. The funny thing is, I was never that much of a crier until DTS. Now I cry basically every day about everything emotional. Even if it's not even sad. God has broken my heart for the world. For the people I love in Haiti, living on nothing. For the people in my hometown who are filthy rich but just want more. As I sit in my little sister's starbucks, watching her serve these people, I'm overwhelmed with sadness for these people. At first I was angry, seeing the couple meeting with the real estate agent, probably looking for bigger and better things. The woman with the gucci bag and expensive jewelry. It made me so angry that these people are so cut off from the world. But then I realized something. As much as I think of these Sammamish people as snobby Microsoft housewives and overspoiled children, they just haven't realized what's going on in the world around them. They may know it in the back of their mind, but it hasn't become real to them yet. This is where I can come in. The people I met in the last three months can impact these people as much as they have impacted me. God has let me learn these stories to show these people what the world really looks like. To show them the things that people go through that are worse than not having the latest fashion or best haircut. I understand that this is just a stereotype, though. Not everyone is like this. But they definitely are here. They are waiting for someone to show them that there is more to life. They just don't know it yet.

I'm excited for this new season in my life. My hope is that I can inspire the people of the Eastside to do something more for the world. I'm praying God will put meaning into their lives. I'm praying I can be some small part of that transformation.

I'm gonna start crying again if i think about this too much. So, that's all for now. I'll write more later.

...that Skype is just about the best thing ever invented. But I've also decided that it can make you miss home more than ever. Anyway, just got done talking to my sister and parents! It was so good to hear their voices and see Sarah's face! But now I just want to be home. But it's only a week and a half before I get home. It's going to be so good. I think about it all the time now. It's awful.
We finished up our last day of ministry yesterday! It was such a good day. We spent the morning in a community teaching a bunch of kids which was crazy and chaotic, but overall good. Then we went to do an evangelistic service for the kids in the baseball team we've been working with. It was so so good and 40 of the boys came to Christ! After that we attended this church service with some people from the morning. The things they do in these churches are so strange and different. They have dancers with the worship team and they wave flags and banners. But all in all, it was a perfect end to our time in the DR.
It's so strange to be leaving so soon. I go back to Kona on Thursday and then back to Seattle the next week. You have no idea how excited I am. Seriously, it's going to be soooooo good. Oh man.

Last week was so good. We worked with a church who partners with compassion international and a ministry that provides clean water for the community called Healing Waters. We did so many random things, but my favorite was when we got to walk around the communities around the church. We went to one called El Tunel and just got to meet people, pray for them, and tell them about Jesus. I'm pretty sure there's nothing better in life than that. Anyway, we got to meet this one girl who told us she went to church but wasn't a Christian. She took us to a friend of hers named Jasmin who was sick. Her back was very crooked and I think she may have had some sort of mental problem. I placed my hand on her back and began to pray for her. After a few minutes, I could feel her back begin to move. We had to leave before it could heal completely, but I believe God continued to move after we left. We never got a chance that day to really talk to the first girl, but the next day, she met us at the church and Hannah, Denine and I went out to dinner with her. She began to tell us her story. She said she used to be a Christian, but she isn't anymore because she likes to dance. She doesn't even go dancing, she just likes to dance in her house. We explained to her that there is nothing wrong with dancing at all, as long as you do it in the right way. The YWAM base here has a ministry called Kings Kids where they teach kids to dance for Jesus. We explained to this girl that any gift you have has been given to you by Jesus and can be used for his glory. She ended up rededicating her life to Christ. She also told us a little about her life. Her parents died when she was young and she has been living with her Grandparents along with her 17 and 15 year old brothers. When her grandfather died last year, her Grandmother was no longer able to take care of her and she was forced to marry a 32 year old man (she is 19). She told us she respects him and he treats her well, but she doesn't love him. The things people go through break my heart. Can you even imagine living her life? We've done a bunch of random things too. We did a service for the kids at the Compassion school, interviewed a bunch of people, watched a few baseball games, and did some church services.
I'm so ready to go home. We go back to Kona in 6 days and I come home to Seattle in 2 weeks. It's amazing how fast this time has flown by and yet it seems like forever since I've been home. It scares me to think about a year and a half away from home, living on support, being away from my family. But if it's anything like what these past three months have been like, it'll all be worth it. There is nothing better than serving Jesus. I can't even imagine a better job.