River - Update 9: Debrief Blog 3

Journal prompt: How are you different after Summer Internship 2024? How have you changed? What people or experiences contributed? Are you happy about it?

One of the truly many ways that I am different on the other side of this trip is that I have grown in my faith in such a way that I let go of how I feel and allow the Lord to direct my steps. While it is something that I continue to have to grow in, things like sickness, insecurities, and fears do not have power over me like they used to. The Lord met me in a whole new way this trip, especially in consideration of my health. At any point when I felt like I could not go on any farther, every single time the Lord met me and gave me the strength to keep going. Throughout my life my health has dictated whether or not, that was not the case on this trip. The Lord picked me up when I fell down, and he sustained me so that I could keep going. And as I grew closer to my brothers and sisters in Africa and learned their stories of hardship and their resolve to only serve God with more zeal, and the other side I was inspired to lean on the Lord further and push myself even harder. Through encouragement and correction from leaders, I know that this is the life that I am only beginning to lead, ith the Lord as my source of strength and nothing else. I am so thankful for the ways that the Lord has met on this trip. I am excited and ready for what the Lord has in store for me next!