We only just started Joshua and it’s already crazy what God is doing in my life up here.
Although chaotic, move-in day was a ton of fun and I got to meet so many amazing people that I’m lucky to call my Joshua brothers and sisters. We went over to Wildwood, pretty much immediately, and it was very hard, but a ton of fun. The first night was very rough for me because I was still dealing with a lot of unsolved trauma that came from my grandpa’s death. Although it was hard, I talked to Dallas about everything going on, so he gave me the advice to write an angry letter to God and drop the F-Bomb if necessary. That night, everything about my feelings changed for the better and I was finally able to enjoy being in this beautiful place. We had a few activities that helped to bond the whole community together and challenge what we could do when placed in a situation. During our 4 hours of quiet time, God was telling me that he is proud of me and what I am doing here. When we got back to Joshua, it was interesting how different we all were from just a few days in the woods.
As we got back to the usual rhythm of things, I still had to sort a few things out in my heart which led to a few nights of crying out to God and questioning if being here was worth it. The next day during devo time God reminded me that he has a plan for me, that I don’t have to worry about my future, and that in his time, He will use it for the good of my family. I had just one more question for Yahweh which was “ What should I do about my idol that is my home church”. He responded very simply “Go to church”. This week is the first week that I know what I have to do and want to worship El Roi, The God Who Sees Me. It’s been great doing that through song as one of the vocalists on the worship team.
-Daniel Timothy McKinley (Current Student)
Hey y’all!
This was our class’ first full week in the building and it has been a blast! Each week we have a new speaker come and stay with us and speak to us every night of the week, and our speaker this week is Dr. Sam Meier! We are so blessed to have him for two weeks instead of the usual one week! One of the things Sam has been teaching us that I thought was super interesting, is how the different names used for God in the Bible have way deeper meanings when they are translated into Hebrew. For example, “God” translates to Elohim which is like an occupational title like creator, “Lord” translates to Adonai in Hebrew, and it means Master, and “God Almighty” translates to El Shaddai, which is only used when God is giving or taking away children. There are so many more, but those are just some of my favorites.
It’s crazy to me that this is only our first full week in the building, our whole class is already so close, that it almost feels like family. This week has been filled with card games, spikeball tournaments, spontaneous worship sessions and so much more! Our class is so musically gifted and I am so grateful for that.
On Thursday we got to meet our pause families for the first time! Pause families are different families who live at Hume full time and welcome 6-7 Joshua students to have dinner, play games, play with their kids, and really just join the family. I really love how we are able to break away from the giant group and have some quieter family time.
It has been super chilly this week and it even rained on Thursday for the whole afternoon. I’m super exited for winter to come, but sadly we’ll have to wait a little bit longer because its supposed to get back into the high 70s next week.
Have a great weekend and remember, Jesus loves you! 🙂
<3 – Aspen Adams (Current Student)
Hey guys!
I am super excited to be a part of the first blog of the 24/25 JWI class! This week is the first week that we are actually in the building since coming back from Wildwood. I can’t even express how fast everyone got so close. We are practically all best friends at this point. These past few days, we have been mainly adjusting to the normal day-to-day routine. Here are some highlights that have been my favorite so far.
- Jess makes the best food.
- I found a gorilla costume in my loft that was left from the previous class.
- We all went down to main camp on Monday as our free time.
- The weather is perfect
- Our speaker of the week Sam, came up and he might be the wisest person I have met.
- We started classes and a brief overview of what to expect.
That’s just a few of the many great things that have happened so far. I can’t wait for y’all to hear from more of my fellow students and that it brings you joy. Jesus loves you!
-Sam Dodd (Current Student)