Hello all! We are safe in beautiful Kyoto, Japan. Soon we will be heading to Ibaraki for our homestays, and I cannot tell you how excited I am. Already, Japan is so different from China. For one, everything here is clean. I mean SUPER clean. Oh, and I don't have diarrhea anymore, thank the Lord (maybe that's too much info for a blog, but it has become one of the main topics of my conversations here so I guess I'm desensitized). It's so peaceful and natural here... I love it.
Needless to say, though, there have been struggles. I have experience culture shock on this trip moreso than ever before. And it's no easy task maintaining an identity when everything that you feel makes you who you are is miles away and nothing ever stays the same. So tonight, I really felt God whispering to me who I am, and I think it can be shared with all children of God. I really believe this to be the identity of all followers of Christ. I hope it blesses you wherever you are. Your prayers are sooo appreciated, and you are missed.
I am Hallie.
I am a child of God, created in His image to bear His image around the world. In the mundane and the mighty, I am called to LIVE-truly live-for His glory and to walk in the path of His freedom. I am called to sacrifice, to give mercy, and to love unconditionally. But I am also called to fight fiercely and work diligently against the Evil One and anything that is not of Him. I am enabled to enjoy Him, to be made glad in Him, to live joyfully and righteously. And I am privileged to give Him all praise for all things. This is my Christ-given, cross-ensured identity, and today, I will embrace it to the fullest.
And we are thinking of you and praying! We had our September college kid dinner tonight! We missed you and Logan! It was beautiful and we ate on the patio, despite Weston's dislike of that. Thankfully, there were no bugs to "bug" him!
ReplyDeleteThere is an amazing realization of how little you are and how little you know about this world when you are out of the country. Glad you are remembering you are a child of the God who created it all!
Hallie, I remember sitting in a small group with you one time several years ago and you praying... it felt like I was invading a conversation between you and God because it was so real, sincere and natural. And sweet. You have such an incredible way of expressing yourself and being so open to the voice of God. Believe me, I learn so much from you all of the time.
ReplyDeleteThank you for so openly sharing who you are, and who God is. I am blessed to know you.
i love you.
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