after a week of Wilder in Las Vegas...
January 23, 2009
I wish there was a way to easily write everything in my heart and all the experiences of the last week...
Like eating a Bahama Breeze with all the State coordinators for Campus America, and driving past the fountains at the Bellagio on the strip - the ones that dance to music.
Like eating huge omelets at Omelet House with friends from around the country. Paul Kim from AZ ate a 12-egg omelet. Crazy. We got into an ice throwing skirmish and I threw a few pieces at him, he ducked and I ended up hitting some other guests at the restaurant. oops.
Like the evening at Red Rock Canyon... when I started climbing and just couldn’t stop until I got to the top. Even though I was NOT dressed for climbing and was wearing flimsy slip-on shoes. David Watkins and Cory Newell were hiking too... So fun. It was nearly dark, and I worried that we wouldn’t be able to get back down before dark - and indeed it was quite scary and slippery. But the breathtaking sight at the top and the exhilaration of climbing was worth it. I was shaking by the time I got to the bottom - ayayayayay. I said two things. 1) I want to climb mountains for the rest of my life. 2) Why do I live in the Midwest? It was definitely the most exhilarating two hours of my whole week - maybe the whole month. How I love God while exerting my body and using it to get me somewhere and breathing fresh air and taking in grandeur... Shabala.
Like staying at the YWAM base, painting a boiler room that’s to be a prayer room, hanging out with Mel and Sarah and Sam.
Like going back to Red Rock Canyon, climbing a hill - marveling at the desert, the sunset, and the glory of Jesus.
Like listening to Curt Vernon talk and sing about Jesus and being stunned... and wishing all over again that I knew Him.
Like laughing and joking over In & Out Burgers.
Like taking random pics on my new Macbook with Ryan and David.
Like hiding behind counter at Kinko’s and spooking this kid named Glen that we’d met earlier that week. A 6’5” 280 lb. black dude who is oh-so-cool. We went bowling with him in a casino - it was great fun. He creamed us all the first round, then tiny little Mel beat him barely, then Ryan kicked his butt... and then we talked to him about Jesus! Agnostic one minute, believer the next. That’s what I call transformative power :) So incredible.
Like talking to random students about Jesus. Asking people if I can pray for them. Asking people if they like their Blackberries and THEN asking them if I can pray for them :) Meeting international students. Talking about Jesus. Praying.
Like talking to a Taiwanese girl named Sheena about Jesus and watching her face contort when she heard about Jesus’s death and resurrection. And praying with her that if God is real that He would show Himself to her.
Like driving out to the foothills outside the city late at night... overlooking Las Vegas. A million lights, shadowy mountains, a guitar, funny friends, somber prayer, and laughter too. Feeling so many emotions... feeling so vulnerable... so aching to be loved... emotions heightened.
Like getting dropped off at the wrong apartment in the middle of the night, sticking my key in two different doors, getting yelled at by an old lady, and texting like mad until I figured out I was in the wrong complex.
Like praying & singing in the cafeteria
Like going for a run in a tank top and shorts - and its January!
Like meeting Anthony, the dear old guy who works on campus. He’s been divorced, wandered from place to place, is estranged from his family. We just got to bless him and pray over him. It was truly beautiful.
Like realizing how very, very grateful I am for the gospel. How the more I talk about Him, the more I long to know Him. How I realize pride and arrogance in my own heart... and how I just really, really need Jesus.
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