August 5th. The day before Creation Fest. I was feeling really sick that day. That morning we heard a devotional about Peter's mother in law. She had been sick, but once she was healed she got up and made food for her household. The speaker talked about how she must have felt frustrated about her illness and how it prevented her from serving her guessts. So much so that once she got her strength back she headed straight to work. I could definitely relate to this because at this point laryngitis had set in. I wanted so much to talk, but couldn't. I was still very frustrated by the fact that God would have me get the flu the day before we left and then take away my voice two days after our arrival. It's almost as if God was telling me to really take things in, be an observer, and just to serve with a good attitude. I think He was also stirring up the desire to use my voice once it did come back. It made me realize how much I take for granted when I am completely healthy. I am for the most part a very healthy girl with working limbs and a sharp mind. Yet I find excuses not to do the simplest things because of laziness or fatigue. Not to say that we should work until our entire well being is at risk, but I know my body and I know that I have never come to a point of exhaustion where i have been near death. So what excuse have I when it comes to serving the Lord with my whole heart and body? Once again, I was humbled and I felt God telling me to just bite the bullet with a good attitude. When my voice came back then I had better use it!
After the devo a group of us were sent to work in the kitchen. There we met Mark, who is the coolest Scottishman I have ever met! He made us tea while we washed and dried dishes. Then we were sent outside to sort food in and out of a giant refrigerator. Once that job was done Khystal and I ended up at the main gate monitoring who came in and out. We were there for 6 hours! I have to admit that I felt a little guilty having that job. I was almost sure the rest of the team was doing much more intense back-brekaing work while Khrystal and I took turn approaching the incoming cars directing them to and fro. But it was still a very blessed time. We laughed as we shared stories back and forth. I even got to share a bit of my testimony with her. Not many people know this but about a two years ago I was in the midst of a very scary depression. One that sent me spiralling down the dangerous road of anorexia. I haven't shared the full story with many people, but hearing myself tell Khrystal how God delivered me from that, how He changed the way I thought, the way I looked at myself, at others, and the little ways He revealed Himself to me as I healed brought us both to tears. Once I had finsihed Khrystal said, "I love being reminded what an awesone God we serve." And He is awesome indeed.
I am so thankful for those six hours. It had turned out to be a very nice day. The sun was popping in and out of the clouds, and there was just enough breeze to make the clouds look interesting as they rolled by. Khrystal and I listened to praise music on my iPod during the dull hours and chatted with random people walking by. A husband and wife came strolling up the lane with their dog and talked with us for a bit. The woman shared her and her husband's testimony. She said that her daughter had become a Christian years ago, and that's what got her and her husband to really look into what being a Christan was all about. They had been going to church but never really dedicated their life to the Lord. The "version' of Christianity that their daughter was into made them worried that she had joined a cult. But she was just so on fire for God they had to check it out for themselves. You must forgive me because I can't quite remember where and when they decided to become Christians. But I do remember her saying that she and her husband were sitting in their car either after a church service or something like it and that she turned to him and said that she felt like God was trying to get their attention. To her surprise he said he felt the same and so they dedicated their lives to Christ. She told their story with a such a sweet and peaceful joy about her. I remember thinking that that joy made her look like such a beautiful person. When she had finished we chatted about where Khrystal and I were from and why our team had come to England. Khrystal and I played with their dog for a bit and then sent them on their way. They walked hand in hand down the lane with their dog follwing close behind. It's a mental picture I don't think I will ever forget. I really wish that I could remember their names. Hearing their story was definitely a highlight to my day.
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