Dear Mary

(taking after my favorite blog todays letters)

Dear Mary,

I miss you so so much today. You don't know Jesus yet and you come from a muslim home but I know that He dwells in your spirit, your words, your smile. I pray that you will accept Him into your heart. I pray you remember how precious and loved you are. I know that both of your parents have passed away and you have been separated from your siblings, but I pray you know that you are eternally adopted. He can't wait to share your inheritance of His Kingdom with you. You are a daughter of God. You are loved. I wish I could give you a big hug right now! And paint your nails and remind you how loved you are. I can't wait to see you again soon.   

Dear anyone and everyone who reads this,

pray with me today for Mary. That she will know the Father's love for her. That she will know Jesus as her savior. That regardless of the hardships she faces here on earth, she is loved and adored by the God that created her. That she will be eternally adopted into His Kingdom. That someone at the BCC right now is giving her a hug and reminding her that she is God's beloved. Pray that she seeks God as her refuge and strength. 

the sweetest

smiles

laughter

hearts

joy

intentions

hope

desire

faith

generosity

humility

outlook

peace

trust

Just a few (of many) things found in the hearts of my sweet kenyan friends. In the sweetest, most God centered way. Being around my friends there was such an encouragement. I went to a slum in Kenya to share Christ's love and left with a greater understanding of what that love really is. I saw Jesus in our conversations and in our relationships, but I think I saw Him most in all of the smiles that I encountered there. 

So much joy and freedom that could only come from the Father. Being around all of these smiles and in a place where I felt God's presence filled me with an abounding amount of joy. Which makes the transition to coming back home a hard one.

Looking through my pictures from Kenya at home I'm hit with how much I miss these smiles, those places, and feeling God's presence everywhere I went.

So what now? Where do I begin with my senior year in college?

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and therefore supremely blessed are they who thirst after the Righteous One. Blessed is that hunger, since it comes from God: if I may not have the full-blown blessedness of being filled, I would seek the same blessedness in its sweet bud-pining in emptiness and eagerness until I am filled with Christ. This blessing involves a promise. Such hungry ones "shall be filled" with what they are desiring. If Christ thus causes us to long after Himself, He will certainly satisfy those longings; and when He does come to us, as come He will, how sweet it will be"

An overwhelming joy, much needed peace, and sustaining faith in the Jesus.

To find the Father here at school.

To believe in His promise.

To know that my desire to be filled comes from Him. He will be faithful.