Last week before Thanksgiving!
Each day seems longer and longer with the early sunset and the anxious anticipation of seeing our families and friends back home. With this anticipation comes the first real trial with the Joshua Fast for most people. We’re tasked with the awkward goal of walking out of a room once a movie is put on, silently bearing the pain of listening to our siblings’ terrible music taste, and facing the stumbling blocks we left unresolved before leaving this September to our “cult in the woods”.
In all seriousness, these two months have been such a refining fire for everyone. From learning and applying spiritual disciplines to seeing the worst parts of ourselves, Joshua truly strips away the barriers you put up between yourself, others, and God.
I’ve personally learned that I need to meditate day and night on the Word, something I neglected doing in my life back home. After practicing lectio divina (an ancient method of understanding, contemplating, and applying Scripture by Benedict of Nursia in the 6th century) on Joshua 1 for our Biblical Interpretation and Spiritual Formation class, I realized how vital it is to not allow the Law of God to leave my mouth or to let myself stray from following it. There is so much richness in the Bible that I’m just starting to scratch the surface of.
After weeks of busyness and being stretched mentally, intellectually, and physically (the hill doesn’t get easier), we were blessed with a relaxing week.
Monday night, Dallas Dewitt, our director, taught us about the Shema and showed us extremely fast-paced Winter Camp videos from his time as Meadow Ranch Director, drilling into us the concept of loving the Lord with all that you are at all times.
The girls had a fun Tuesday night of games. We played 4 on a Couch, Fishbowl and finished off with a hilarious cookie competition. As expected, the team with Emalee, who worked in the Hume bakery all summer and completed culinary school, won on “presentation, salt levels, and love,” according to Chef Jonah Ostermann, Mr. Brayden Cook, and celebrity chef Isaiah Thompson.
Wednesday, we spent an hour praying for those suffering, the lost, the Joshua community, and thanksgiving to God with the guidance of scripture and the Holy Spirit. The time showed me how good it is to simply sit in the presence of God and talk with him and his people as one body.
Wrapping up our last week here before we leave for our break will be a Hume-wide Thanksgiving Dinner on Thursday night. I can’t wait to enjoy one last time together till we leave for the reset and refresh that we all hope Thanksgiving break will be.
See you soon, family and friends!
-Ruth Visser (Current Student)
