Today has offically made it one week since I left California. Words cannot tell what I feel like I have learned in this week alone. Things about love, about selflessness, about life. Tonight was our first "friday night meeting". Simply people from around the community, and everyone involved at the base, coming together to worship Jesus. Since it is the start of the July quarter, and many of the new students do not know what took place last July quarter, we had a night devoted to talking about it. The birth attendant school running last July was on feild assignment in Nigeria this past December, and was involved in a terrible van accident. This accident took the lives of two of the birth attendant students, and the lives of six people from the base in Nigeria. It also badly injured most involved including the school leader who is still recovering from about six months a semi-coma state. One of the girls with some of the worst injuries has been staying with us the last week. I have fallen inlove with her, as well as some others involved. Tonight they showed a slide show of the two girls who were killed. I watched as i sat next to the girls also involved in the crash, mourning the loss of dear dear friends. My heart broke as i saw them break. At the end of the time, we started to worship again. One of the girls still badly injured, using crutches to walk, scars covering her stomach, stood up, and lifted her hands as high as they could go, singing at the top of her lungs to Jesus. Just behind her another girl involved in the crash, not as badly injured physically, but lost one of her closest friends from the school, stood just as tall, just as sure, unashamedly praising God. I watched, in awe, broken, encouraged, speachless. We had just earlier in the room, looked at pictures from the crash. My mind was brought to those images, then to pictures of new born babies, then back to these girls worshiping God in the middle of their brokenness, and I was changed.

I am not sure I'll ever understand why I stayed in Connecticut and didn't come here for last years school. I know I'll never understand why such beautiful lives had to be lost that day. I know I'll never understand the magnitude of the choice those girls made tonight in standing and worshiping, choosing to see God's character over circumstance. But I do understand love. A love that casts out all fear. A love that conqures death. A love that never fails. A love that longs for healing and wholeness. A love that gives beauty for ashes.

Thank you Jesus for your love. Thank you Jesus for this time. Thank you that I have the honor of serving along side these amazing women of You for the next year of my life. Allow me to be your arms to them, that I could hold them as you long to. Allow me to be your mouth to them, that I could speak life, truth, healing and peace, as you long for restoration in their lives and hearts. Allow them to teach me what it is to be courageous. I commit this time to you and say I am more than forever greatful. You truly are a wonderful God.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!