“The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patience in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Ecclesiastes 7:8
This was our first normal routined week here at the Joshua building. We’re getting used to doing our morning devos, chores, and we even had our first speaker last night: Shea Sumlin. Each week can have its individual challenges, but it’s encouraging to have a class full of compassionate people.
Monday Morning Mania class started with Bob and we officially started our own jingle, credit to Winson. Our group of people is such a blast. The people here are full of humor, forgiveness, and accountability. We are each truly blessed to be living under the same roof together. It is also nice that we make each other laugh till we cry on the floor and just be perfectly comfortable being ourselves in this building. It’s truly a blessing. We also went over to Wildwood to finish cleaning up and we sure gained some laughs out of that one. From finding a mess in the bathroom, to Winson getting soaked with water, and the tents having difficulties, it was an experience that not only challenged us but also brought us together as a team.
Our speaker this week, Shea Sumlin, is going over the different parts of suffering by studying James 1 and Romans 8. Everyone has gone through different things in life, but the fact that each of us as disciples of Christ lift each other up in encouragement is marvelous to see. Pain is something no one wants to go through, but life isn’t perfect. We each come to learn, as believers, that leaning into Christ as our foundation and primary focus is the only way we can remain pure amongst the darkness of this world. Just after the first night, it is obvious that we are all very excited to hear more about how we can grow spiritually through our trials and suffering.
We also had a birthday this morning for Raymundo who is now 20 years old. It’s definitely a big step in life transitioning out of the teens. We surprised him with a balloon and some gifts that truly warmed his heart. It has been really cool to see the variety in ages this year. Our youngest is 17 and our oldest is 23. It is cool that even though we differ so much in age and experience, we all come from different backgrounds, and have found common ground that has brought us together.
We have come to see that each and every person is different and unique in their own way. We learned this week that our likes and dislikes were wired into our brains by God the moment we each were conceived. It still continues to amaze us and help us grow as disciples of Christ.
Writing with a dull pencil is pointless…
(Written by: Kendall, Faith, Winson, and Ray)
