Coming Home

All my bags are packed. All my electronics are charging. In the morning, I will be boarding a plane that will be the first leg of my journey back to the States. It's a weird feeling. I can't believe it's actually here. I am beyond excited to be coming home. However, I am still a little sad to be leaving Spain and summer 2013 behind.

The JSIs left Monday. It was bittersweet to see them off at the airport. It soon got sweeter when we saw Sarah walking through the doors. We were blessed to have her join Hunter and I in Madrid for a few days. We were able to debrief our summers, catch up, and enjoy a day trip to the city of Toledo. I learned more about Spanish history in about 6 hours than I did in the rest of my 6 weeks here. It was a great excursion. The three days Sarah was here were quick, but they were wonderful. It was good to have my best friend/roommate in the same city again. We laughed and cried and ate amazing food. Everything you could ever hope as you hang out with two of your favorite people in a foreign country.

Tonight, after Sarah started the first leg of her journey home, Hunter and I got to have dinner with the family we partner with here. It was the best time. We have loved getting to know this family over the past 6 weeks. They have 4 kids from 9 year to 17 months old. Seriously, a whole lot of fun. We enjoyed a homemade dinner and great conversation. We got to recount some of the things that happened this summer. They shared that having us there helped them feel like they aren't out here working all along. They were blessed to have us come and bring students to pr walk the same streets they do, and then some. There is a genuine sense of partnership and mutual encouragement. It was the best way to end our time here in Madrid. It was hard to say goodbye to that precious family, but it was nice to be able to say "See you next year" rather than "See you in heaven".

It was a long, hot, and challenging summer, but boy was it good. My last week in Spain has consisted of a mountain retreat with the JSIs, time with two of my best friends, and a sweet dinner with an amazing family. Despite being absolutely warn out, I am already excited to go home to prepare for summer 2014. If 2013 was any indication, it's going to be great and Father is going to blow us away with how He works.

Please pr Hunter, Sarah, and I as we all fly home tomorrow. We have a short layover at Heathrow in London. If you've ever travelled through there you know how stressful that can be. Please pr for no delayed flights at any point so we make all our connections. We are all flying from London to Dallas then Hunter and I are flying on to cities closer to our homes. And we just want to get there. To see our families and also to eat Whataburger or Chick-fil-a or something good like that.

Thanks for keeping up with me this summer. This is my last post from Spain, but it is not my last post. Stay tuned for more about what I learned this summer.

Love y'all!

Last Week

A week from today, this very second, I will be on my journey back to the US of A. I don't even believe it. This summer has both flown by and dragged on. It has been difficult, but so rewarding.

Tuesday we sent our second and last group of one weekers back to Texas. They were a younger and more rowdy group than the first, but they were still rock stars. Spain is very much a night culture. They take their siestas very seriously here. Our students spent a majority of their time out plowing (pr walking) for hours with little opportunity to sow (have gspl conversations). Not only do people just now come out until the evening, it is Ramadan. This is where the vast majority of the people in the areas we work in fast from sunrise to sunset. They do not even drink water during the day. Because of this, it was much harder to find people to talk to. Despite this obstacle, our students pushed through. They took joy in knowing their prs were softening the ground (hence plowing) for future workers to come and sow, and eventually be a part of the harvest. It was a hard week, but they were not discouraged. They were able to grasp the importance of pr in a way only Father could show them.

Our JSIs rocked it. Most of them had nothing left in the tank, nothing more to pour out. But they all learned to turn everything over to Father. He provides the strength we need when we have none. We all learned about what Paul talks about in Col 1:28-29. We have nothing on our own, but we toil with the energy that is provided from beyond our abilities. It was a sweet week. But it was not without hardship. In the middle of the week we had to say goodbye to the couple who had been guiding us through the summer. A complication with their pregnancy sent them back to the States much sooner than they expected. Even though their world was turned upside down, they clung tightly to the One who weaves us together in our mother's womb as well as weaves our lives into his marvelous redemptive story, all for his glory. They taught us much about suffering well and how to keep emotions from distorting our we view Father or his word. It was sad to see them go, but we had all we needed to keep the week running smoothly.

And by grace, it did. I don't think the one week students really even noticed a difference. Our second week, also by grace, had no sickies or any thing else that made the first week a little crazy. Hunter, Meredith and I were given the wisdom and words we needed to keep things going. It has been modeled for us well. Father is faithful in every situation. He just is.

Tomorrow we leave for a retreat outside of the city. Monday we will come back with just enough time to get the JSIs to the airport. They will leave on Monday. Sarah will join us from Paris and we will have a few days to rejoice together in what Father has done this summer, as well as rejoice in some much needed down time before we also leave.

Please pr both for team Madrid and team Paris as we all retreat and recount what has gone on this summer. Pr that it will be sweet time as a team, but even more so with father. I am hoping we will use the time well.

Please pr for all of us as we go back home. I always struggle between resting and just being lazy. We will all need rest. We don't need to be lazy. Pr as we all go home and fight with jetlag, we will rest well in the word and in sleep, but not let it slip into laziness.

Please pr for safe travels to retreat, to airports, and on planes as we make our ways home.

Thank you so much for your prs. I know I probably say this every single time, but I would be nowhere without them. I wouldn't have been able to do anything without support you have given me through words and prs. I look forward to telling y'all all my stories. Only one more week!

Love y'all!

Recovery. Restart.

Today as I write, our team is enjoying a free day full of rest and whatever else we want to fit into it. Last Tuesday we waved goodbye to about 50 Texas high schooler who had been here for a week. This coming Tuesday we will be meeting another Texas group of about 40 at the airport.

A lot happened in the week they were here. I think I learned more in those 7 days about what it means to be a field staffer than all the days leading up to it. I was a part of some hard conversations with a intern who had been pushing too hard on some of the rules we had set. We had several one week girls who were sick that I got to stay with and/or take to the doctor. I had to talk through decisions, talk to parents of the girls who were ill, and stay super up to date on my emails.

It was a hard week, but it was a good week. For one of the first times since I have been gone, I actually felt like I was doing my job. I wasn't just a helper, I was doing work. I know that part of that "helper" feeling is a lie that I have been battling all summer, that I haven't really been doing much work. But I have also been learning a lot about what our summers look like overseas. Until our first Texas team arrived, I had been riding with training wheels on. This past week I learned how to ride on my own under the watchful eyes of people who have been doing this for a long time. Starting Tuesday, Hunter and I will be running the show on our own, along with the Ms who live here in Madrid.

I'm not going to lie, I am a little nervous. But it's a good nervous. I know that I can't do this, but I know the One who will give me all that I will need for each day. But I am thankful that we have seen how everything is supposed to run before we have to do it on our own. That means we will be doing all of the teaching, running the meetings with the interns each morning, and staying on top of all the admin stuff that happens during the week. I think we are ready. We came into this summer not really having an idea of what an iG summer looks like in Europe. By grace, we have been able to watch and walk with people who have been running it for a while.

To be 100% honest, I am ready to be home. It's closing in on 10 weeks since I left the States. I don't mean to sound complainy, I am beyond grateful to have this opportunity to spend this much of my time in Europe. I really have loved every part of this summer. I mean, I got to go to read the Book in a meadow in the shadow of the castle in Segovia yesterday. It was marvelous and magical. I am thankful for a time of rest this week. I am looking forward to a set aside sabbath tomorrow to just dig into the word and take the time to reflect on my time in Madrid so far. But I am also ready be in a home, with my family, and to eat some Mexican food. Priorities right?

Please pr for all of us as we are tired and some of us are feeling a little under the weather.

Please pr that as we spend a couple of days resting, we would be resting in Father, his word, and making the most of our time.

Please pr for a couple of my friends who have had their lives completely changed in the past two weeks. Pr that as they adjust to life looking different than they had imagined, they would fight for joy and rest in the One who saw it all coming.

Please pr that I would be all here in Madrid. I really am glad to be here. I just need to keep fighting for joy in this work. I want to run hard my last 19ish days here. I don't want to check out. I want to pr harder for and selflessly love and serve my team.

Pr for the 40 students currently at base camp. Pr they would soak up all the teaching and hit the ground ready to run hard.

I cannot explain how thankful I am to know all these pr requests will be pr'd over. I COULD NOT do this without each and every one of you. Thanks for loving me friends. Love y'all!

Kel