Closure.
Tomorrow they leave. Unbelievable how it’s only been 8 days but this group already feels like family.
We end the week with a day of action. We send them out to put into action everything they’ve been taught. Listen to the Lord, speak boldly, help show how God is interested in the person not the behavior, share the most intimate part of you: your story, share God’s story, let their story intersect with God’s and let them hear God’s voice for the first time.
… and voila: a new lifestyle emerges. Intentional. Compassionate. Obedient.
There’s a little bait and switch that happens when we invite them to a “training camp” only to spend days on end working through the healing of past and present scars, wounds and issues. But by the end of it, the completeness of the person is really all that’s needed – a new person acts; the skills they’ll mostly figure out on their own. But now they know how to start using them.
It’s a beautiful process. One I marvel at each time.
Life’s completely changed. New passions, new compassions, new motivations to move.
There it is. My contribution to the kingdom. And I’m but the least of this community all working toward this same end. Job well done team.