1st Journal Entry

This is my first journal for the summer. I am required to write a weekly journal for the summer so most of them will probably be posted on here, although they may be modified some.

Well I can’t believe it’s been one week since I’ve been in Indiana. So much has happened in just the little amount of time I have been here, at the church, and interacting with the people of the church. Within this week, I already feel as if I’ve grown and learned many things. I guess it makes sense to feel like I’ve grown because I moved to Kokomo just five days after getting back in the United States. I came to a place full of people I had never met in person, only through emails, in a land that I had never even visited before. Now after a week I am comfortable in the church, have been invited to spend time with people outside of church, and have ventured to Kokomo on my own. People keep saying it has been a crazy week and I’ve just been thrown in to it all just as Ben and Sarah have this week. I completely agree with that statement and remember as I wait for it all to slow down that this is life. I may be new and in a new territory with new people but God knows what God is doing.

In the first week, I already feel as if I have learned so much from the people I have been around. I have learned more about faith, prayer, kindness (especially in and through community), and Indiana. I’ve said to a few people that I feel like I have been here more than one week because so many people here have made me feel welcome and at home. This has allowed me to truly feel like this is where I am supposed to be this summer and like I can open myself up to growth and questions. Already so many ideas and thoughts have sprung up in my mind as I begin this journey.

In this opportunity I am thinking a lot more about my relationship with God. I have realized that at many points in my life it has not been my first priority. This is something that I have learned from the people I have interacted with here. I have been reflecting on this and how I would like to change this more in my life. The books I have started reading so far are also helping me realize this and find avenues to change. Through the people here, I understand it can be different.

Again, so much has happened in the first week, I can’t wait to see what will come as the summer continues.