Experience God.

The last six weeks of my life were very transformative, so much so that I don't quite know where to start. In fact there is so much that I can't put into words and I am beginning to learn that might be okay. God gives us people and places to experience certain things. Places where we can grow and change and gain people who understood us at that point in our lives. I experienced a lot of struggles with spiritual warfare and trust of others. I was exposed to things that I had not necessarily considered before and I was stretched beyond what I had envisioned. I was reflecting back on CIT and what I thought God wanted me to learn there and the list is just endless. I experienced healing, growth, friendship, love, sadness, confusion, grief, heartache, and loss all in these six weeks and through everything, most importantly, I experienced God.

Psalm 63:8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. 

I am at a loss for words that would do my time at CIT justice, so here are some pictures of friends (at least the ones that I can post to my blog without risking their safety..) and the amazing views God provided! I hope you get a sense of what God did through my time here, because it truly was the best gift I ever could have asked for.

I went with some friends on a beautiful hike. The mountains were beautiful and we got to see some gorgeous views of changing leaves! It was my first full hike after my lyme disease and I was just so happy to be hiking. It is cool how God gives us little boosts to remind us how far we have come! 

A few of us spent a Saturday visiting a family that had left CIT already. It was nice to get out and spend time with people we had missed. they took us to this awesome waterfall. It was definitely one of my favorite days at CIT. 

I don't know where to even begin with this girl! I have mentioned her in past posts and emails. She was and is an absolute gift from God. She was my support, my sounding board and my family! She is one of the kindest people I have ever met and I know that God has big plans for us. She is someone who I am positive will be my friend for life. It is so cool how God brought our extremely similar circumstances together to have us support each other. She has helped me become a better person and I thank God for her! 

This is one of the girls who came mid-way through the CIT program. She was such a blessing to have around. It was great to get to hear from people who had been out on the field for a while who had stories and knowledge to share. She was a wealth of knowledge and a huge support for me! 

If you thought this blog post would go without mentioning food, you were mistaken. This is a photo of the aftermath at an Ethiopian restaurant that we went to in Charlotte. If you are wondering why I did not take a picture before eating the food, then you obviously do not know me very well... It was cool to eat community style and the food was super yummy! 

One food picture just didn't seem like an accurate description of my time at CIT. I was well fed, thats for sure! This is a photo of a pot-luck dinner where everyone brought a meal from their target country. It was yummy to be able to try foods from all over. I brought some Haitian pikliz! (Its a spicy relish-y condiment from Haiti) 

Campfires galore! It was so sweet to have time to just spend around the campfire with friends. It was relaxing, fueling and fun! Its hard to be back in CT now that it is freezing, when just two days ago I was enjoying s'mores by the fire!

This is my last picture from CIT.  Sten and I left a day later than most of our friends in the building. There was an awesome worker on campus who had a golf cart that he agreed to let us borrow for the day while he shuttled people to the airport. We spent the day driving around, saying goodbyes and just spending quality time together. It was very useful for creating a bit of fun and silliness amongst all the sadness! There was a huge field on campus that we just drove around for hours. It was such a blessing to have this time to debrief and chat with Sten. I can truly see how God was in every detail of our friendship, even down to us having this time together and making sure we could travel to the airport together. God has blessed us greatly. 

I thank everyone who supported me and who has joined my financial team making it possible for me to have gotten to go to CIT this term. It was so great to see what God had in store for me. I am excited for whatever He has next!!