seeds [and more anticipation]

Well, this is it. I'm really leaving. My journey starts tomorrow morning-- early, at 5!-- when my Dad and I leave for the airport. My bags are packed, and I'm ready to go, but it is still hard to believe that what I have looked forward to for so many months is actually here.

The first two weeks of the summer we are staying with a host family in Tlaxiaco. The idea behind it is that of bonding-- that by being immersed in the culture from the very beginning we will bond to the people of Tlaxiaco, not just with other Americans. I know that it will be challenging at times, but I am excited about the opportunity. I don't really know what to expect, but I am expecting God to do great things. Staying with a family means I don't know if I'll have Internet access for a while (all of my updates will be from an Internet cafe in Tlaxiaco), so be patient! It might be a while before you hear from me again...

Today I read 1 Corinthians 3. In it, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth about some of the issues going on that are keeping them from becoming mature believers-- things like jealousy and pride. The believers were declaring allegiance to Paul or Apollos, not to God. Paul wrote about how that was a really bad attitude to have because while he planted the seed and Apollos watered it, only God could make it grow.

I don't know what my role will be this summer, or in the years to come-- whether I will be planting seeds, watering them, or serving in some other way. But no matter what, only God can make them grow. I am but his servant.

This summer, I pray that through 2 short months of my life and the lives of the other interns, seeds in Oaxaca could both be planted and watered. But more than that, I pray that God provides everything needed to make growth possible-- in the lives of the people we will meet, but also in all of us as interns and full-time staff of GFM (Global Frontier Missions). I pray that this journey will help us all become closer to God, and closer to who he created us to be.

To Him be the glory!
Elizabeth