Jesus leads

Sorry if this post is a little long, been gone for three weeks! Well we made it back from camping without any snake bites, shark attacks, broken bones or tragic injuries. Though we did have a few hospital visits, but nothing too serious. What an incredible and freeing experience it was. No sense of time, no wifi, no place to be and no reality. I definitely have never experienced the great outdoors like that before. The first day we all swam out to these huge rocks in the ocean a little ways from the beach. We had to jump off one rock to swim to another about 15-20 feet away to get to the bigger rocks we could jump off of. I guess it was a little dangerous considering the current was extremely powerful. The rock we had to make it to was incredibly slippery and covered in barnacles so there was a little blood from the falls people took-but no sharks! The jump was only about 20 feet high, but the whole experience was definitely worth it. One day when everyone went surfing, Morgan and I went snorkeling and the water was crystal clear. Didn't see much wildlife, but seeing a wave go over you from underneath is a real rush, and it was still beautiful. We drove to a national park about forty five minutes away from where we were camping, and there you can climb this massively tall tree with a lookout on the top. There are metal rods coming out the entire way up making it somewhat easy to climb. The view was beautiful. People who had previously climbed the tree before had written their names on the lookout so we signed ours and climbed back down. I'm not afraid of heights, but looking down made my stomach drop. Another memorable experience that wasn't necessarily funny in the moment (hopefully it's funny now), was when Morgan and I got the car stuck. The place we stayed consisted of roads of pretty much just deep sand. We wanted to go snorkeling but forgot our stuff at camp, and of course were too lazy to just walk back, so we thought we decided to drive the manual 4wd truck to go get our stuff. Neither of us know how to drive stick shift, but I got in the drivers seat and hey how hard can it be? My confidence got a hold of me, and we got very stuck. We looked ridiculous too. These German people pulled up and tried to help us and while they were doing so, I looked over and they were laughing and video taping the entire process. Then at the end asked to take a picture of us in front of the car which was now unstuck because they wanted to post in on their Facebook page. They probably didn't get the best impression of Americans, so sorry to America for such poor representation. Don't think the rest of our group thought it was that funny, but the next day we learned to properly drive in manual. You win some you lose some.      

The last week we drove to Jasper Beach to try sand boarding. Definitely has a spot in my top three favorite things we did while camping. We tied ropes to the back of the truck, took the fins out of a surfboard and sand boarded behind. It was hard not to get a mouth full of sand while doing it, but still a blast. The weeks went by quick, sad to leave, but it just means we're getting closer and closer to outreach, and leaving for Indonesia! 

What I'll remember most from that camping trip is the incredibly intimidating sunset we saw on our way back from sand boarding. Every single color evenly displayed, the light showing perfectly through the clouds reflecting symmetrically against the water painting a picture that truly looked fake. And that moment, among such raw beauty, beats having all the money in the world, it tops any drug. That kind of sunset is unmistakeable, impossible not to look at. There's just no question where it came from. 

That sunset was a beautiful moment of realization of how happy my heart is. How this is the happiest, and best version of myself that I've been in a long time. Why is it considered "lame" for the youth to be passionate about Jesus? Why is it something peers mock, laugh at or almost look down upon? I have come to a point where I don't really care what people think, this happiness is something that I am proud of, something I wish everyone could have. I was thinking about this blog and what to say about this kind of happiness, how I could find a way to get around the whole Jesus part, and honestly just leave His name out of it because of what others might think of me. And I stopped and asked myself, "what am I doing?". Jesus went through all this pain, torture and agony to die on the cross for MY sins, and I can't simply utter the word "yes" when faced with the question if I know Him, if I believe in Him, if my life is good because of Him? That was a pathetic and embarrassing feeling. I have to ask myself the essential question-what do I want people to get out of these posts? I am happy because I have been introduced to the knowledge of thankfulness, not having to rely on anything materialistic or physical to bring satisfaction, the simple importance of kindness. And so what if people of my generation want to mock that, or laugh at that. I honestly don't mind because I have this joy that I shouldn't be embarrassed to hide, something I should never apologize for. There have been so many moments in my life where I chose wrong, so many times where I could have stood up for somebody but instead didn't because it went against the definitions of what society thought was right. It's a simple question: how do you want to have lived? We as youth don't have to have this certain demeanor about us. We don't have to judge or be judged. If you want to be the difference, make an impact or change minds you have to acknowledge to yourself what you believe in. So I'm deciding to include Him. If it's anything I want people to get out of this, it's courage. To be kind, and to not fall under the opinions of others. I've stopped asking for an easier life, but instead to be a stronger person. To stand up for others, to be generous, to not think judgmental thoughts, to accept everyone as they are, to treat everyone equal, to give people patience, understanding and time, to not fall into gossip and cruelty, and to be capable of choosing the kind thing. And if that's something people want to look down upon, I don't really want anything to do with that kind of "living". Ask yourself, what direction are you pushing people in? What is your influence? I've always wanted to make an impact, and maybe I won't, but I realized I can never do that without putting the person that changed my perspective and my heart out there in the open. I don't want people to be confused about where this happiness comes from, and I want them to be curious to find it for themselves. I don't think it's the bad things in life that hurt us, but it's the good things we never get to experience. 

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven". Matthew 5:16

I talk a lot about living passionately, and living abundantly. I hope we all remember who died today so that we could all have a chance to do that. A huge shout out to God, and a huge shout out to Jesus on this Easter Sunday for giving me a pure happiness, and an irreplaceable joy for this world we're all living in.