Week one: What an adventure!

So, I'm supposed to blog every week, but last week was a little bit of a whirlwind...quite literally. On the second day of classes, D.C. experienced an earthquake. Well, we definately felt it here in Virginia Beach too. Being from Florida, I've never experienced that before; it made me feel slightly dizzy, like when you stand up too quickly. Two days later, we get reports of hurricane Irene coming straight towards us and that classes would be cancelled. So, Thursday night I backed up and left on the spot to take cover with two friends from Balitmore. Praise the Lord, no serious damage was done to our house. God was so faithful! My friends' family, who I was staying with was amazing! They even threw me a little birthday party. My brithday, however, was celebrated with 2 days of power outages (what I'd like to call Missionary Training). Luckily, I was able to catch up on some school work while in Baltimore. The Lord kept us all safe and blessed us in the process.

I also wanted to add a little note of what God has been teaching me lately about this new season of life and of the weakness I've been feeling for the tasks that lay ahead.

From Elisabeth Elliot's Daily Devotional: "Content to be Weak"

"What weakness are you feeling today?"

"Christ has been there before you. Every form of human limitation He knew, and out of that utter poverty we have been made strong. Yet, again and again, in the life of each disciple, comes the experience of weakness in order that we may live His life for others.

'We who share His weakness shall by the power of God live with Him in your service' (2Cor. 13:4).

This sharing of His weakness is one aspect of the death of the cross, one of the conditions of our discipleship, and hence cause for joy rather than bitterness. For we walk the road, not alone, but with Christ, 'well content to be weak at any time if only you are strong' (2 Cor 13:9). The mystery is constantly being worked out-- strength out of weakness, life out of death."

My experiences are nothing like what others face all around the world, but each difficulty matters to God, and He's letting us know that through it He is making us strong and drawing us into Himself, that we might truely experience the life He has for us.