Week One: New Culture, New Friendships and Renewed Grace

     Well, Week One has officially come to an end and I already feel like I have been here for Months. If I am going to be honest, the first morning I woke up in Ljubljana I was frozen with fear at what I had gotten myself into. I had made it! A year of prayer and planning, months of stretching my faith in raising money and 24 hours of traveling, and I was right where I wanted to be. Only I couldn't bring myself to get out of my bed! I don't know why I was so nervous, but it took me all morning to lay my fear down and put my faith into action. No one likes to be uncomfortable and unfamiliar with what's ahead, but it is this process that makes our FAITH grow so much stronger. This process had started the moment I opened my eyes that morning. However, once I got passed this stillness of fear, I was immediately comforted by exploring this beautiful city and the grace that brought me here. That first day I got to explore and decode this new environment and the people within it, and I loved talking to the students. It was great when they could speak better English than me. The fact that I was talking to people who lived thousands of miles away from my home about their lives was mind blowing. I'm getting a clearer perspective on not only the size of this world, but the infinite number of life experiences that exist within it. What is so crazy is seeing our vast differences while recognizing how we are all the SAME. 
     As aforementioned, I feel like I have been here for months, and I think it has to do with the incredible group of people that I am here with. We have only known each other for 5 days, but it already feels like we are a family. Everyone genuinely cares about each other and are truly invested in the stories behind how we all ended up here. It is incredible to listen to each story and recognize how uniquely God has designed them to GLORIFY Him. YESTERDAY, 5 other girls and I stared at each other after spending 6 hours sharing God's story in our lives. It was such a refining moment because we had just shared the depth of our sin to each other, yet we all responded in love and rejoiced in what it has brought us to. I was introduced to the reality of GRACE about a year ago when I finally confessed the depth of my past to a good friend of mine, and it was such a moment of FREEDOM. Since that moment, I was able to experience God's grace TANGIBLY. This same experience of RENEWED grace returned when I told my life story again to this group of women who looked at me and smiled while I resurfaced my own history of brokenness. But each story, while revealing brokenness, revealed healing and restoration and told the beautiful story of JESUS CHRIST. This was a moment when I was reminded of why I am here and in an instant, whatever was left of fear was gone.  
     Within a week I can already feel God reshaping my heart to be more like His. I think I still get a little nervous as each day comes to a close and I have to prepare for a another day of unexpected movement, but I am getting to the point where I am giving up all control. We start a full week tomorrow, and I'm excited to see what lies ahead in this incredible city! I can honestly say that I hate being uncomfortable, but I  am looking forward to where it brings my heart and those around me. I am just so THANKFUL that God brought me here...