LEX

coming full circle...almost

so we were sitting on the roof having some worship time (which is much better now that barrett is back) tonight, initiating our first group of the summer. and it wasn't that i wasn't focused on the worship, because i was, but i was also thinking about this time last year, as well as my first time to have worship on the roof, and the many other times i've had worship on the roof over the past 10.5 months.

this time last year i was helping out with Camp NIKOS. i spent a whole week with inner city kids, no a/c, intense heat, and lots of bugs and dirt. and i loved it. i learned some good lessons that week, both related and not at all related to camp. and i am thankful for them.

and i've spent the last year with batey kids (the DR's version of the inner city, you could say) and adults, no a/c, heat so intense it beats austin heat any day, and lots of bugs and dirt and mud and germs. and i am loving it. i learned (and am learning) some good lessons this year, both related and not at all related to living as a missionary in the DR. and i am thankful for them.

it's interesting to me how life works sometimes, how the biggest lessons and the best times in life are always the unexpected ones, the ones that happen when you're most uncomfortable, the ones that happen despite your resistance.

and sometimes i start to worry that once i get back to the comforts of the US i'll once again become numb to these lessons and experiences. but i realized tonight that that is not where i'll be. yes, i'll be in austin. yes, i'll be living in my very well air conditioned apartment, devoid of all bugs and dirt. but i have realized that i enjoyed the uncomfortable and difficult experiences for a reason. it's not just random. it's what i was made for. it is why i'm returning to austin to make my thesis a reality. so while my residence may be in one place, my life will be in another. and if you see it is not, you may call me out on it.

posted by Alexia & Jeffrey @ 9:25 PM