Yesterday evening, before the Lighthouse (our church's weekly College Worship Night) I met three students from Bahrain, whose first language is Arabic. I asked them how to say "thank you" in Arabic, and I learned that it is "shukran." Today, when I made my first purchase of apples (5 for $1) and plums (8 for $1!!), I said "shukran" and had a great interaction with the vendor. I later met several members of a Vietnamese/Cambodian/Chinese family who are Christians, and invited them to my church. It was such a fun, joyful day for my heart. I felt my love for this city just grow in my heart as I walked among the people. I felt the Lord also increase my heart to see Boston prosper, and give me grace to love these people I will only live among for a few more months.
This year marks my 7th year of living in the lovely Boston area. Funny that I live only a 2-minute walk away from the Residence Hall I moved into my Freshman year at B.C. It's crazy, though, that I live with women I didn't even know existed before I came here, and have a huge community of people I get to call family. The Lord really does "set the lonely in families."
Speaking of family...
This past week I spent with my church-planting team. We spent the week getting to know each other more, discussing personalities, giftings, and sharing parts of our lives with each other... I loved it! I sometimes find it difficult to talk about myself a lot, but it was a safe and sweet atmosphere to get to do it, and I really do feel connected in a deeper way to my team. It was so sweet, life-giving, encouraging, and it's helped me to walk in greater confidence in who I'm made to be, as a daughter of God. There is so much the Lord is teaching me in this season, and I can't for all He has in store for me... He is so good!
Thank You, Lord, for your mercy on my life and for giving me hope, a future, and a life that's more FULL than I could have ever imagined!
