The previous night was a rough one. I'm glad Maggie and I got to spend our last day with the team and we all were able to go out to dinner and enjoy our last hours together. Dayne, Ben, Maggie and I prayed on that beach one last time. After doing so Maggie looked at us and said, "Do you ever feel high on Jesus?" We all kinda laughed but then admitted we did. The people around us at the public beach were high on other things but we were high on the all-powerful God...and honestly we were acting way crazier. Maggie and I wanted to get everything out before we had to leave it all behind so we stepped out onto the shore, raised our hands to the Creator, and yelled as loud as we could. Then we didn't want to stop yelling; it was so freeing. It was our way of saying, "Hey God, this is for You. Can You hear us?" As the four of us walked back to the school for the last time, we decided to sing praise songs through the streets. There were people all around us, it was July 4th and people were setting off fireworks and just hanging out in their yards. We sang loud, whatever songs came to mind. Some we could just remember the chorus, some we sang over and over. People noticed, some commented. We loved that though, we didn't mind people staring and listening. We were high on Jesus- what He's done for us and what He's gonna do on Maui. And we wanted everyone to know it!
When we got back our stuff was in the car within 10 minutes. It hit me hard when it was time for goodbyes and I struggled to hug everyone without crying. The trip to the airport was fairly quiet and I was thankful Maggie was leaving too, it would have been too hard to say goodbye to everyone alone. Having to say goodbye to the Bonheim's just made the tears keep rolling and I was a mess trying to check into the airline. Going through agriculture and security took awhile, they weren't very happy that we were taking home sand from their beaches, but Maggie and I had to say goodbye and I sat at my gate among tourists and families on vacation. As my plane left Maui, I was glad the cabin lights were dim because I was crying, really crying. I wasn't sure why I was so sad...because I was afraid I would never go back? because I just left some of the people who buried themselves deep within my heart? because I was afraid I would forget all the things we did while we were there? because I was afraid I would quickly lose the passion God has put inside of me to see the people of Maui cry out to their Creator? Whatever the reason, my heart was sad, my nose was running, and my eyes were red and puffy. Once we made it up in the sky though I looked out my window and I was eye level with the Big Dipper. I was in the midst of the stars we looked at every night! They seemed so close, yet still just as far away as when I saw them from the ground. Then a couple of hours later there seemed to be light, and I could see the sun coming up over the Pacific Ocean. As soon as I could see the sun my soul felt so much peace. I couldn't help but think of Psalm 30 where is says that: "...weeping may spend the night but there is joy in the morning." That verse had never felt so real. I left Maui a crying mess, sad of what I was leaving behind. But with the light of the morning I had complete joy, joy of what would come in the future. I began to jot down ideas and thoughts of how to catch the Gospel on fire on the island of Maui. When I landed in Phoenix I had a text from one of the team members reminding me to never forget the prayers we prayed, the dreams he shared, and the hopes we have of returning to Maui and changing it. I encouraged him to never stop believing that God will do big things on that island.
Continue to pray for the people of Maui. When I start posting some pictures of the campers I'll give specific prayer requests but for now call out to our God and beg Him to open doors for the people to fall at His feet.
No comments:
Post a Comment