The most prominent thing that God has been doing while I've been is San Diego is answering a prayer of mine that has been crying out for a community of believers like myself. I began asking for girlfriends who loved God as much and I did and who were just as messy as I was, back in May of last year, right around graduation. He first answered that prayer when I met the beautiful Kayla while in Wayne, and I just figured He would stop there since there hadn't been any signs of Him sending me anyone else. As usual, I doubted God's abilities to provide and He put me in San Diego, with 13 roommates. INSANE, right? I thought it was going to be a lot of drama and very dirty bathrooms, but instead I was met with a group of girls who had immense love for God and the same desire for community that I had. It's only five weeks in to my trip, and I already would do anything for these girls. It's such a blessing to have a community of girls around me 24 hours a day who are so encouraging and are always pointing me back to the gospel in my times of need.
Speaking of encouraging, I haven't had the chance to tell you all about my super amazing discipler, Cheyanne. She was so excited to meet me and the rest of our DNA group that she called us each before project even started to tell us she was praying for us every day. The day I arrived to project, she hugged me like we had known each other for years and were reuniting, not just meeting. Cheyanne is such a light and a joy to have in my life, and she has been endlessly encouraging and supportive throughout all my questions. I was wrestling with the idea of being "re-baptized" the past year or so, and having spoken to one person who told me it wasn't necessary, I was discouraged from pursing that. Cheyanne explained that there aren't "rules" to baptism; at the core, it's a symbol to publicly declare your commitment to God. A few days following that conversation, she baptized me in the Pacific Ocean with about 50 other students from project!
I love this photo of us because I have never seen so much joy in my face, and I can see the excitement in Cheyanne's face as well! I am so excited to have been baptized by someone who has invested so much in my life in such a small amount of time.
This weekend, Cheyanne will be leaving to continue her adventure in East Asia. I am overjoyed to see her following God's calling for her and to see His provision in her life, but I am so sad to see her go!
God has blessed me tremendously this summer, and the best part is that I still have five weeks to go! I can't wait to see where else the Spirit leads me while I'm here. I miss you all dearly, but San Diego will be hard to leave!
