As I sit at the end of many long white tables, I can’t help but thank the Lord for these past 33 days living here in Georgia.

   The early mornings reading my bible and getting deep in prayer on this porch. The meals eaten and music played, late night card games, and so much peanut butter eaten at these tables. The hands held in prayer, the water color paintings, and the things we’ve learn just upstairs. The amount of laundry that’s been done down the hill. The radical worship and teachings that changed our lives in the training center. The early morning sunrises that continually come up from the trees. The memories of all of us piled inside when the rain poured harder than ever and all of our belongings got wet and moly. Movie nights together, laughing, but also crying at the injustice in our world, deepening desires in our hearts to do something about it. All the days of a porta potty being our only bathroom. The shipping container showers where we sang our hearts out taking cold showers. The ravine where we sung to Jesus and had spontaneous dance parties and jumped so much our calves hurt. The days of the leaves changing to fall colors. The endless cups of aeropress coffee at breakfast. The moments walking around seeing everyone call their families, trying to put into words what we’re all experiencing.

Camp. Sweet camp. The place where all of our little homes reside. The continual fighting of a million bugs and spiders. Laying in our hammocks taking naps and talking out how life is going. Lines everywhere with towels and clothes drying. Moments in our tent of tears and moments of prayer. Laying back and looking up to the Georgia trees, seeing the stars peaking through the branches. Nights in sleeping bags on sleeping pads. The day we all made a slip n slide in the valley, resulting in muddy clothes and lots of giggles. The rainy and the sunny days. The water coolers where we filled our (sometimes moldy) water bottles with hose water. The endless walking laps taken around campus. The uneven steps we walked up and down every single day. The field where endless spike ball, volleyball games, picnics, workouts, have occurred. The early morning fog and dew that covers the tips of the trees as we walk to breakfast. 

Who knew that a place that once felt so far from home could shift into a home itself. Some of us have been counting down the days till we leave, and some of us are clinging tight to the Georgia soil. But all I know is that it’s time. 5 weeks of being equipped, pruned and refined. 5 weeks of receiving a love that we can’t help but go pour out. I’ve experienced joy like never before. I’ve gotten messy and broken. I traded a dorm for a tent. A shower for a shipping container  A washing machine for a bucket. In that sacrifice, I found myself trading bitterness for softness. Pride for humility. Anger for gentleness. Irritability for undeniable joy. 

I never want to forget my time here. I never want to deny how hard it was. And I never want to deny how absolutely changing and growing it has been. My squad and I are family now. The love we have for each other does not waiver on hard days. We are knit in unity and now we get to go across the world together. 

So heres to the next chapter of the world race. Here’s to the moments to come. To the souls we get to serve. The healing to come. 

Gainesville, you now have a special place in my heart. Thank you Jesus for what was, what is, and what is to come. 

Bye for now! - MG