Feeling loved in an airport

I am currently sitting in an airport, with a one-way to Ecuador ticket in my hand. I will arrive to Quito (capital city) tonight, spend the night there, then get a ride to Misahuallí tomorrow. It's been such a long build up to get here, but it feels like summer just started- cue the reflective montage...

I have to admit, at the beginning of June this year, I had no idea what this summer was going to look like for me. I thought this summer was simply going to be a time of preparation for the fall. I forgot that God isn't satisfied with me living my life in preparation for something that may or may not come, rather He asks me to be present in all moments so that He can glorify Himself through me at any time.

So, while I did spend a good portion of my summer packing and preparing, I also had the opportunity to spend two weeks in Alaska working with Tanalian Bible Camp as a counselor and was challenged and blessed in ways I've never encountered before. Family and friends have reached out with intentionality to encourage me and send me off well. As a result of that I've felt more deeply rooted than ever before in my community of West Michigan that I now am leaving behind. I've begun the process of grieving what I expect to give up in the next two years, along with other painful things that hit me with no warning. In all this, I've learned something that someone much smarter than I stated much better than I could:

"Christian brotherhood is not an ideal, but a divine reality," (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Life Together).

There is something unique about Christian community that cannot be explained by human logic. It is a way for us to experience the love of God while still in a broken world. In this, we get to receive and reflect the love of God to one another, but only because He chose to love us first.

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us," (1 John 4:10-12).

I really have no words to describe how incredibly loved I have felt the past month. I am so grateful. But it has also made me uncomfortable. This lesson that the Lord is teaching me about His love, specifically His love for me, is one I have been trying to grasp for a while as I wrestle with lies from the enemy seeking to deter me. This constant reteaching of the same lesson can be discouraging, but I choose to see it as God showing Himself as patient with me. Even when I don't trust it, He is there with open arms.

Yesterday in church, my pastor discussed the idea that we can't just say "I love you" to God, rather it is always "I love you, too." It is a response to the reality that we are loved, not something that can be initiated on our part; nor is it something I can alter in any way. It simply is.

This is something I anticipate learning further as I begin my time in the jungle! And I hope this can serve as an encouragement to you as you read through my thoughts.

A couple prayer requests:

• Safe travels!

• Visa Paperwork- I am currently entering the country under a tourist visa (90 days) and will be applying for my religious volunteer visa (2 years) in-country. Please pray that the process goes smoothly and I can get my visa in time so I don't need to leave the country after my 90 days are up.

• Transition- Starting a new job in a new place with new people. Lots of new. Yikes.

• Antioch Christian Academy- As the school year starts up again, asking for wisdom in decisions on moving forward in a pandemic as well as preparing students' hearts and minds for the year.

Thank you for partnering with me on this journey.

Que Dios te bendiga, May God bless you.

-Katie

P.S. Please enjoy this amazing song that gives a good look into how my journey with God and His love for me has been thus far. It beautifully depicts my hesitancy and His consistency.