Creation Fest Begins!

August 6th. First day of Creation Fest. This morning was absolutely lovely. I woke up earlier than usual so that I could take a walk. It was going to be a long day and I needed to just get away with God for a while. I put in my iPod and let it shuffle around some of my celtic playlists. I wandered across the playground and into the pasture (being careful not to spook the sheep) and into the outer plain. There I found a little cluster of trees with a perfect place to sit and pray. I found myself looking into the sky, pleading that God would use me. This being my first time helping with Creation Fest, I realy wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't sure what kind of oppportunities God would bring my way, but I so wanted to be used so I prayed that God would help me keep my eyes open, my heart bold, and my strength sustained. After I had finished I was pleased to see a few sheep had wandered a little closer to me. About four of them just stared at me for the longest time. It made me chuckle. Could they tell I was a foreigner? Haha. How beautiful this place was. The sun was doing its best to creep out of the overcast clouds, but everything was still very gray. I usually don't like that kind of weather, but set it against a backdrop of rolling green hills and a few curious sheep and it can be very ideal. After reading my Bible and journaling for a bit I headed back to my cottage for some breakfast. Oh how I love toast and tea!
At the festival site Morika, Khrystal, and I were placed at the main gate (an all too familiar stomping ground for Khrystal and I!) to be part of the Welcome Team. Everyone that was camping had to pass through us and we would direct them according to their needs. It was so fun to see the expression on their faces when they heard my accent. Lots of wide-eyed children gave me a look that read, "Why is she talking like that?" Oh, and I absolutely loved our supervisor! His name was Alam Manchester and he was such a cheery fellow! He had that cool British humor that everyone remarks about. It soon got to be very windy, but thankfully they had brought us a little beach hut the day before so we were able to shelter ourselves in there if it got too cold. Morika and I got to bond in that little hut as we shared testimonies. And Alan was kind enough to bring us some snacks and water. But because i was talking so much I lost the little voice that I had left and my throat was on fire. I felt so bad but I had to let the other girls take over directing traffic because my throat was on fire. I was trying so hard to be optimistic but this was really starting to irritate me. Seriously God? This stinks like poop on toast. What am I supposed to do now without a voice? Just sit and knit like a pokey old woman?? By lunch time I was chilled to the bone and left with nothing but a Gollum like rasp to my voice. I was feeling very discouraged. I ate my lunch in silence and started to mope my way back to my station. As I was leaving the volunteer tent I looked to the fields on the other side of the fence and spotted a rainbow. It lasted for about 10 seconds and then it disappeared. A rainbow...God's promise...A demonstration of His covenant to never destroy the earth with a massive flood again...a sign of His desire to prosper His creation, not hinder them. I knew God was telling me, "I'm here. I promise to do something good with you."  I had to stop putting God in a box. That evening our team met for some prayer and shared stories about our day. Sari opened up and shared a story about how he helped a man in a wheelchair by opening a door for him. To say thank you the man extended his arm and gave him a look of gratitiude. Then Sari quoted St. Fancis of Assissi when he said, "Preach the gospel. If necessary use words." That struck me to the core. Not having a voice was no excuse for not sharing my faith nor should I let it it stop me from taking advantage of the time that I had here. The mere presence of our team was already a blessing in and of itself. Did I really think that my lack of voice was going to put a damper on God's plans? Once again I felt the humbling of the Holy Spirit as it told me to have a willing and malleable heart. God would work through me; just not the way I had planned.

August 7th. First day as a Steward. I get to be security! Haha! I know, I know. Little me? Well it's not actually security but I get to wear a flourescent vest, a radio, speak in code, and have a call sign and everything. I didn't like that I was stationed outside again today because it was so cold but I met another Steward name Shira. She is super sweet and has a soft spot for Americans she says. Oh! And I forgot to mention that a couple nights ago I was asked to be part of the after altar call prayer team. I felt so honored! I had to admit that I was kind of nervous though. I have never been part of that kind of prayer team before. But it turned out to be such a blessing because I was given the privilege of praying with two people. One of them was a young boy named Anthony. It was his second year at Creation Fest and he had just rededicated his life to Christ. He was about to go into the army and felt like he needed to get his priorities straight. After I had finsihed praying with him he looked so happy.

And then there was Hannah. She couldn't have been more than 10 years old. And she was the cutest little thing. She had long, blonde hair and clear blue eyes. She came up to me for prayer and to get a Bible. I tried my best to explain as simply as possible what it meant to be a Christian and to love Jesus, but I somehow felt like I wasn't making any sense. But one thing I knew she did understand was that Jesus loved her. Every time I said that she would smile so beautifully and her eyes would light up. The joy on her face almost made me want to cry. That's when I realizewd that at it's core, Christainity is about embracing the love of Christ and responding to it. It's all about how much God loves us. As I lay in bed that night I had another revelation about Hannah. But first let me back track a little bit. About two weeks before we left for Creation Fest and before I knew what job i was going to have I had an interesting dream. In my dream I was on a trip or at some sort of event that required a group of young adults to escort little kids to another place. I was in charge of this little blond haired blue eyed girl. Now if I were to be perfectly honest then I would have to confess I have a love/hate relationship with kids. Sometimes I love them and then other times I feel like there is such a disconnect between then and I so I don't even know how to deal with them. But in my dream I felt perfectly at ease with this little girl. She and I were walking hand in hand and I had this overwhelming sense of love and delight having her by my side. And to further my delight I could tell that she liked me too. Somewhere in the background there was praise music playing. I sang along with the music until I heard her voice take over the chorus. Listening to this little girl sing praises to Jesus brought so much joy to my heart. I remmember thinking, "This is what it's all about. Teaching kids to love Jesus so that they grow up learning to love Him and live a life that pleases His heart." And with that thought, I woke up. That morning I received an email detailing that I was going to be in the kids tent. My heart rejoiced! I was going to get to work with kids just like in my dream! I was so looking forward to it. I felt like that dream was God preparing my heart for the job...but then I was made a Steward. When I found out I was a pretty disappointed. "What about my dream, God? Don't I have an appointment with a little blond haired blue eyed girl?" I figured the dream meant nothing after all and I forgot all about it. That is until tonight when I was reviewing my day. Hannah was the only little girl that I had close contact with during my time at Creation Fest. So I did get to keep my appointment with a little blonde haired blue eyed girl who was learning how to love Jesus. Funny how God works those little things out isn't it? ;)