Just when the camel can't take another straw.....

"The Rescue" was intense. We were finally rescued after almost 24 hours. Chicago is still waiting. It's almost a week for them. We met at the courtyard outside the Edward Jones dome downtown. They put us into groups of 10 to 15 people, then we walked to the archgrounds (our army camp), through Keiner Plaza, holding onto a rope. The rope was to symbolize that the child soldiers are bound together. It was a chilling feeling to be honest. It's different when you are placed in a situation to kind of get a feel for what it must be like.....though our day was nothing like that of a child soldier. After we got to the arch we spent the day on the steps writing letters to congressmen, senators, the president, anyone we could think of trying to raise awareness and support for these children. As it got dark and 11pm rolled around, we walked to a concrete area across the street and laid out our mats to settle in for the night. I left at Midnight, a little later. I had been sick for a few weeks and that did me in. Let me tell you though, to lay out my mat and to be that upclose and personal with people I don't know (One girls head was on my legs and I was arm to arm with a boy in my group) was more than a little eye opening. This is what those child soldiers do everynight, this is what unabducted kids do to keep from being abducted.


So I look back over things in my life and I am starting to see a real change. I am stronger, and less insecure (though I definately have my moments). I am stepping into ministries I never thought I'd be involved in. It's only natural that I would face opposition. So while this week has been trying and I feel like I am breaking, maybe it isn't so bad to be broken. Isn't that what God really wants anyway? When we are broken, we are dependant on Him. Maybe that's been my problem. Maybe I have been trying to do so much for HIM, but not really taking the time I need to just "be" with HIM. I am losing my time with Him, and I really have decided,I don't like that.

Natalie Grant has a new song on the radio that I just love:
There's no such thing as perfect people
There's no such thing as a perfect life
So come as you are
Broken and scarred
Lift up your heart
And be amazed, be changed
By a perfect God!!

So this week is only a test...its a time of reflection, and a time of breaking that maybe I have needed. The tears won't last forever, the pain will fade, and I will overcome. (Now if only my heart believed my logic.)

If you go to http://www.invisiblechildren.com/ you can view pics, and there are also some on my facebook page. The Website also has all the updates.....it also has ways to get involved.