On a journey...

Well, after managing to sort of live in a state of denial for a while, reality hit yesterday (which I guess was handy as I left early this morning). Yesterday was my last day at IHOP-KC (for now) and it was a really lovely, yet sad day. It was really special because I felt so loved all day. Getting numerous hugs from people I have only known a short while, and just feeling loved by the amazing people I’ve had the privelege to know during the past months was really precious. Sad because it was time to say good-bye, and many I don’t know when, or even if, I’ll see again. Still, it was also a time of discovering God’s faithfulness and really seeing how my prayer for Him to give me friends while I was in Kansas City had been answered in abundance. Spent the day in class, the prayer room and also just chatting to people and having final cups of coffee at “Higher Grounds”. I finished my evening off by going to the 10-12pm set in the prayer room (i.e. the prayer meeting), which was really lov...

Two days to go…I’ve had a great weekend. We had something called the “Israel Summitt”, which was bascially like a conference about Israel and God’s heart for Israel. Very good! I learnt so much about God and Israel and God’s heart! And I’ve had some really good bonding times with friends I’ve made here, trying to not think that soon I’m yet again going to have to say good bye to people I have come to love. But that is the nature of life, I am starting to understand that. As always I am sat in the prayer room writing. Even if I know that God is going with me as I leave and I know that I will continue to grow deeper in Him even as I depart from this place, I am determined to make the absolute most of having access to this place and spend as much time as I can here. Feeling so mixed about going…sad I because I am so aware of what I am leaving and what I’ll be missing, but I am also looking forward to especially see my wee niece again and of course family and friends I haven’t seen for a w...

Suddenly I only have one week left. How did that happen? It feels so surreal, having gotten into a daily routine and really in a sense found the place I fit into, I am yet again uprooting. Next week seems so far off, but I know that suddenly I’ll blink and be on the plane! I am really seeking to make the most of this time. And I am really making a conscious effort to not start to “leave” now, especially with regards to the friendships I’ve made. It’s so easy, knowing that I’ll have to say goodbye in just a short while, to withdraw to “ease” it. But it’ll be hard anyway, so I might as well make the most of the time I have with them. I am sat in the prayer room (as usual) writing this- it’s so great to be here!. Today I was just thinking about how God is touching my heart, and trying to look at what He is speaking to me about the next step, which is rapidly approaching. I have no clarity, but I am trusting in God, and I have peace! So here I am! Filled to overflowing with gratitude to Go...

I was walking along the pavement on my way to the prayer room. The weather was humid, yet warm; the sky grey, bordering on black, as if it was just waiting for an opportune moment to relase rain (which I was really hoping would be after I’ve reached my destination and not before). I was walking with a heavy heart. The whole day I’d been feeling a bit strange, but I hadn’t managed to identify why. Then it hit me. It was because of the really bad news I received in an email yesterday. Two of the boys, now young men, I’d worked with on the streets from my first week in Fortaleza, Brazil back in January 2001, had been killed. I still feel kind of shell-shocked. It’s strange to think that Cesar, who was such a wild boy, yet with such sweetness to him at times, is gone. And Eduardo Vitor, who always meant that he knew best, is no longer with us. A few weeks ago I was told about how one of the girls I’d worked with on the streets had been stabbed to death after severely beating her 3-month ol...