Rose with a Mission

Today I'm cleaning my room, decorating for Christmas, and packing in preparation for my flight tomorrow! It's hard to believe that I'm flying out for a two week film school in a matter of hours. I've got my bags mostly packed and my boarding pass ready to go!  The last few days I've been getting more excited about this. When I first heard about this filmmaking course I thought that there was no way I could go. It was during holiday break. I don't have the money for the plane ticket. I'll only have been back from DTS for two weeks. And so my logic went on. And then God encouraged me to keep the option on the table. I had someone donate enough for me to buy a plane ticket. God provided me with a host home and transportation. Everything came together and I'm grateful God gave me the opportunity to get back into filmmaking.  I've been able to decorate a little bit more using things that I got during DTS. They are such an encouragement to me. 

  I'm back home and adjusting to life outside of YWAM. It's been good to be back with my family and settle into my room.  For the first time in my life, I have a room to myself. While I'm enjoying being able to decorate however I want and my own space, it's a little strange not having a roommate that I have to consult. In this season though, I'm so thankful for a place I can go and be exclusively with Jesus. A place of rest. A place that's all mine.  Last week was a rough one for me (hence the short update). I was dealing with tiredness, about a months worth of shelved emotions, and processing what God did in Panama. This is where I'm so thankful for the body of Christ. Staff members, friends, and family rallied around me. They gave me space to process and cry. They encouraged me to rest and go to Jesus with whatever I was feeling. They prayed for me. They loved and supported me. It made all the difference in the world. I was able to process through feelings

  Last Saturday I graduated!  I will be posting much more of an update later, but I wanted ya'll to know that we made it!  Marisa and I about to accept our diplomas

  Last Saturday and Sunday God gave me so much perspective for what we have been doing here.  I confided to a staff member for YWAM Boquete that I felt like I hadn't really seen anything spectacular since being here. We had mainly done work projects and hung out with kids. Nothing huge or amazing as far as I could tell. "You don't know how much what you are doing helps." She told me. "Everything here is hard work. There's a lot of manual labor goes into everything. When you come in and clean, weed, or move rocks, it frees up a staff member to do ministry. Your team has been faithful to do the little things well. You don't know how much that means to us." It changed my perspective on the work we were doing.  Then on Sunday one of the girls who had been coming to the base to practice English came up to me at church. She gave me a barrette and thanked me for all of my help. I didn't feel like I had done that much, but the gesture was like God tappin