orlando :)

orlando :)
i got back last sunday night from a ministry trip with my college ministry to orlando. all i can say is wow. we met so many people, did so many things, in three days that i have never felt such a strong pull into ministry as i do now. it made me look at the ways i serve right now and want to do them so much better. getting a chance to talk with the founders of many of the ministries we worked with made me want to pour out my life in serving others everyday.
we got to talk to a woman who was a missionary in panama with ther husband back in the early 90s. they were only there for a few months when Colombian rebels stormed her house and took her husband, along with two other missionaries, into the jungle. they were never seen again. she talked about her crisis of faith. a huge crisis of faith. they were serving God, they were doing God's work, so why had God allowed her life, her future, her family and her ministry to be torn apart? she talked about how she dealt with finding out he was dead and how he died. sitting next to a woman with such great faith was really amazing. when i first saw her, i never would have guessed the story she had to tell, what she has lived through. she said her biggest lesson was realizing that God's love was bigger than her circumstances. circumstances do not change God's love.
we worked with a ministry that works with inner city kids. i'll be the first to admit that i am not too gifted in working with large groups of children but i had fun. i loved the way the volunteers spoke of the children and the love and dedication they showed every week.
that same day we worked with a church that helps rebuild a poverty filled part of Orlando. i was on the team that got to go to every jobsite and see what they needed. in the process of going to the jobsites, we got to hand out the leftovers from the lunch the volunteers got. i talked to prostitutes and little kids. it was quite possibly the coolest thing ever! i got to meet a pastor of a church that was starting the next day and his love for the area was so evident. he never wanted to start a church on 18th street but God had other plans. he was praying and God said that He didn't want another church on 18th street, He wanted THE church on 18th street. what a way to end our time with that church group.
those are just a few of the many things i got to do and be a part of in orlando. and i get to go serve in d.c. in less than a month! i'm so excited and i definitely can't wait to see what God is going to do!