Lake Tahoe Fire

I think this week as taught me to not trust the news.

The fire here, as most people have heard about, is mostly under control now and I'm back at work (I decided to take a break from talking to angry people on the phone haha). However, it was so intense a few days ago. The fire started on sunday, and we thought it was under control until tuesday a controlled burn got out of control and everyone on the property here had to evacuate. I had to leave work and drive around the whole lake because the fire was so close to our property that i could not get through.

Finally I was able to meet back up with the rest of the group, and we are now staying at these incredibly nice condos on the beach for free! And fortunately we are going back to our property tomorrow and it was not harmed at all. But I have heard everything on the news from Tallac Village (the place where we live) is completely destroyed, to that it was partially destroyed, and I went there today and it was completely untouched!

God has provided to much for me and for the rest of our group. We have been fed amazing meals for free, stayed at wonderful condos for free, and the community has definitely reached out to us. it's been an interesting learning experience though, because I feel really awkward accepting help from people because I feel like there are so many people who deserve it and need it more than we do. But i guess all I can do is not complain and thank God for what He has done for us. I am just amazed by that!!! We all just keep praying for those who lost their homes. I think the total number is at around 200 homes that have been destroyed, and just walking around tahoe and talking with people everyone either knows someone whoes home was destroyed, or their own home was destroyed.

I feel like I have so much more to say about all of this, but if you guys want to know any more feel free to send me an e-mail or give me a call! I appreciate all of the people who have been praying for us!!! I heard that there are people on different summer projects praying for us in colorado, south east asia, korea, new york, alaska, canada, austrailia, the list goes on! This is crazy, I am so thankful for it!!!!

This is insane!

Ok, so I don't have a whole lot of time to write all this, but it is incredible and highly worth reading!!!

So today, a girl on Summer Project here in Tahoe named Ashley, was hike by a car while riding her bike. She was fine and her worst injury was scrapped up toes and she had to get a few staples in her head, but no concussion or anything.

ANYWAYS

Even though it was technically her fault, the guy who hit her was pretty shaken up. He went with her to the hospital and waiting in the waiting room with Tim, our project director. Tim sat and talked with him and during there time talking and waiting, the man who hit ashley prayed to accept Jesus! How incredible is that? This man said that he always believed that God works in mysterious ways, but never thought that it would take hitting a girl to bring Him to Christ! I just thought that story was so cool!!!

bathroom+tv+phone=multi-tasking at it's best

I have arrived in Tahoe! Not at my final destination yet, but in a hotel about 5 mins from the property that we will be staying at for summer project. I am excited, nervous, sad, anxious, etc...etc... I don't even know what to feel.

Before I go on here is an amazing picture of the bathroom in the hotel we stayed at last night:

It was extremely exciting.

Last night we decided to drive to where the property was, and because my dad has no sense of "no trespassing" or "private property" signs, we saw that one of the doors was open in the cabins we will be staying at so we looked inside. Fortunately, I don't think anyone saw us, and the cabin was empty, but if anyone was on the property and saw people trespassing last night, my apologies lol

So this has been an interesting experience so far. I am someone who likes to know whats going on, so I have a hard time not being informed about something. Even though I know a lot of superficial things about what Tahoe will be like, I really have no clue as to what it is really going to be like and I think that's why i'm having such a hard time. I feel so out of the loop, but I just have to keep trusting that even though I am clueless, God is not.

What a beautiful song

"And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive.
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone.

And I cannot hold it in and remain composed.
Love's taken over me and so I propose
the letting myself go.
I am letting myself go.

You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.

And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive.
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone.

And I cannot hold it in and remain composed.
Love's taken over me and so I propose
the letting myself go.
I am letting myself go.

You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.

I need to catch my breath, I need to.
I need to catch my breath, give me a moment now.

You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.

I'm laughing so hard... "

~"You Are My Joy" by David Crowder Band

One Week

One week until I leave for Tahoe. That scares me. I feel like if anyone reads this who is going to Tahoe with me, they will think that I absolutely didn't want to go and have a negative opinion about it. Well, they might be right. Or, more accurately, they would have been right. I don't have a negative view about Tahoe anymore, but rather a hopeful one. Doesn't mean I'm not scared out of my mind about going there. I feel weird when I hear so many people so bubbly and excited for summer projects. I am looking forward to going, but i'm apprehensive because I don't want to be gone that long.

I feel as though i'm being tugged in two different directions. One side of me wants nothing more than to be at home this summer. To hang out with friends, to go to creation, to be with Tim. But the other half of me longs for a closer relationship with God and to be broken so that I can be molded into something better. God has provided more than enough for me already to go to Tahoe and I know that is what I need to be closer with Him. I have this attitude of going down there that I don't want to be like everyone else. Yes, I want to make friends while I am down there, but No, that is not my motivation for going. My primary reason for going is God. My attitude is also one of not doing what everyone else is doing. But I don't want to go down there, become super opinionated, and have no one like me. But I don't want to get rid of my passions and beliefs for the sake of others opinions.

One of the things that best describes what I am going through/have been going through for the past few months in this portion of the book my Bible study was reading called The Barbarian Way. The author's son went to a camp and got in a fight then wanted to leave when the author came to visit his son. They were having a conversation in the car about God and God speaking to us:

"I asked [my son] a simple question: 'Aaron, is there any voice inside you telling you what you should do?'

He paused and then responded, 'Yes.'

'What's the voice telling you?'

'That I should stay and work it out.'

I asked him, 'Can you identify that voice?'

He immediately said, 'Yes. It's God.'

It was the moment I had waited for. I didn't expect it to be under those circumstances. Nevertheless, it was there. I turned to Aaron and said, 'Aaron, do you realize what just happened? You just heard the voice of the living God. He spoke to you from within your soul. Forget everything else that just happened. God has spoken to you, and you were able to recognize Him.'

I'll never forget his response: 'Well, I'm still not doing what He said.'"

The son ended up staying and working things out, but he definitely did not want to. I sometimes feel like that with God. I know He is calling me to do something, I recognize His voice, but the stubborness in my heart screams out "Well, I'm still not doing what You said". It amazes me that God still love me through all of it. More importantly, it amazes me that even in my stubborness, God does not let me down and will not allow me to stay where i'm at.

One of the verses that really stands out to me in this situation is when God decides to destroy Sodom and Gomorah (?), but save Lot and his family from the destruction. Anyway, the Bible explains it better:

"With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, 'Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.' When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and lef them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them." (Gen. 19:15-16)

I feel like Lot a lot (haha...). But I am thankful that God has been merciful to me and even when I did not want to go where He was calling to (where he was rescuing me), He still grabbed my hand and wouldn't let me be destroyed, even when I hesitated. Praise God that He is bigger than me.

thoughts

As I was driving today I became bombarded by thoughts. Since my brain is only capable of holding so many thoughts, I kinda went into overwhelm mode. But then, I went into calm mode.

Some of things going through my mind were things that have to do with the upcoming summer and God. I don't want second-hand faith. I want a full, personal experience, not something I read about in a book. I don't want to just feel good on sundays or thurday nights. I don't want rules. I don't want to be a cookie-cutter Christian. In fact, I don't want to be put into that mold at all. I want to have an incredibly relationship with the Maker of the Universe. I want substance, I want intimacy, I want more than what I am getting right now but I can't seem to get out of my rut.

As hard as it has been for me to make the decision to go to Tahoe, I truly feel that this is where God wants me to be and I just take hope in that He will provide.