the time has come.

well, the time has come around for my very last adventure. [and with much anticipation and joy]. my last stop is Bourg d'Oisans, France. I will be working at a camp that I worked at last summer called, Camp des Cimes. It is most definitely the most precious and meaningful camp I have ever served at and I cannot waiiiiit to return. The people, the relationships, and the Alps are calling my name, for sure.

I have been unable to write in the blog for a few weeks now, though I intended my updates to be quite frequent in the beginning. However, due to my lack of internet service [or the great expense that is cost], I was unable to get on the web. Bare with me...this will be a long post. I have a lot of ground to cover....but I don't want to leave you shortsighted or in the dark. I want each of you to know of God's faithfulness and His work that is stirring.

Wow. I am not sure where to start. [or where I left off last time, for that matter].
The Passion conferences in Paris and France were beautiful. The 1,500 that came to the conference in Paris were ready for this conference and ready for France to awaken to the hope of Jesus Christ. In fact, I spoke with some of the French while waiting in line for the conference and I was able to hear of what is really going on in the hearts and minds of the French believers. I spoke with a guy named Manny who told me how at every Christian event for the French, he sees all of the same people. He said that the population of believers in France is so small that he recognizes the same friends because they all gather together for every Christian conference. Pretty crazy. However, God most definitely did a work in my heart, as well as others. I couldn't believe that God had given me the unique opportunity to see the Jesus worshipers of France on all sides of me, raising their hands, believing in His Great Love, longing for their country to give up their lives. I have no words.

After France, we returned to London for the conference. It blew me away how different each conference was and the responses of the students. In London, it was so evident that they had been waiting for this event and thirsting for the hope of Jesus to be POURED out on their city. Immediately when the worship began, they were wholeheartedly in it, proclaiming His Love to the ends of the earth. Their voices were bold and shouting with joy and praise to the heavens. Something that blew me away was that at first, to be honest, I was skeptical of the worship, only because I did not want this to just be a "feel-good", emotional experience that would merely fade back into the night and hardly scratch the surfaces of the students' hearts. It amazed me that Louie Giglio [the conference speaker and founder] spoke about this very thing directly after I had been crying out to God, just praying for genuine worship and for these students to see that to follow Christ is MORE than worshiping and praise in song. It is our lives, our entire lives. It is giving up self, trusting and having faith in the power of Christ to move all over the world and in the hearts and lives of all people. God was so faithful. And Louie got after it, with passion and a deep longing in his speaking for students all over London to give their lives away for Jesus. beautiful.

Then, there was Edinburgh, Scotland. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect. To sum up the "Frenzy" event: I have never seen such genuine, bold worship in my entire life. I was not expecting this at all. God certainly grew my faith and took the scales from my eyes.

Needless to say, God is at work in these cities. He is moving in hearts in tremendous ways. The most prominent burden that I felt on my heart was to encourage the believers in these places. He reminded me of how desperate these believers are for encouragement. They long to meet other believers that will build them up and grow their faith. And it was a joy doing so. I learned so much about myself and was stretched in such crazy ways. More and more, I am dying to self and getting a better grasp on this great Love that He desires to be poured out to all people.

So, now I am about to leave Germany after about 9 days of a total refreshment. I was so tired and ready to have time with Jesus alone. I just needed to be quiet and find my rest in Him again; I was in serious need of some introvert time. And God was so faithful. I had a room all by myself for these 9 days in East Germany where I was able to reconnect with His heart in the silence. amazing, amazing people that I was able to spend time with. such a precious group of people. My time in Germany was spent with the church that I grew up in [that my parents still attend]...First Baptist Garland. Their choir did a tour around east Germany, singing in churches all over the place and even in some cathedrals. I was able to help set up, pass out Germany bibles, and get to know the people. There is so much I could say about this trip, but I don't quite have the words yet. Lets just say it was one of the best experiences of my life. Germans are some of the kindest people I have ever met in my life. And I have never seen so many blonde-haired and blue-eyed people in the same place.

Now....in just a few short hours....I will return to my beloved, France. Really, it is the relationships at camp and the people that make it such a dear place to me.

In a few short days, I will be posting some journal entries that I wrote in my actual journal during some of these experiences. They are more creative and express much more depth than I can say right now.

Until then,

Au revoir.

ally