I hope you all have a great day with family and friends this holiday!
For me, after living abroad, I've gained an appreciative perspective of my home country. Lots of people want to have what we have as Americans. So, I say Thank You to the men and women who have made it possible for us to have the freedoms we do.
In the ironic contrast to today's holiday, it marks a full year of me living away from home in Nazareth, Israel. And Praise God for it has been an amazing year!
- I've had to stretch myself continually out of my comfort zone
- I'm always learning (Arabic, to history of the land, to elements of the conflict, to how to do life better, and simply what it means to grow up).
- I've met so many amazing people! Shared laughs, thoughts, wishes, goals, heartaches, and everything in between. This is what life is all about for me!
- I've seen some incredible places (some many times).
- God has reminded me over and over of how much he provides, how much he loves me and us, and led to me into opportunities to succeed.
Coming into the country 1 year ago all I focused on was:
1) I'm moving to Nazareth
2) I'm working with Young Life.
I don't know if it was intentional but it made everything simpler. It helped me not to expect very much. And because of that, my eyes and heart recognize all the blessings that God has brought upon me.
This past year sent my life in a new direction. One of the things I've thought about is, when I'm older sharing about my life experiences, I will get to throw in "this is something I learned when I lived in Nazareth." Haha, I mean how cool is that sentence in itself?!
Some direct impacts in my life from this past year include:
- I'm closer to Jesus than I was a year ago.
- I can kind of speak a 2nd language (something I've wanted for a while).
- Living a day by day life is best.
- I wake up more often than not comfortably at peace and look forward to what great things will come.
- So many new friends!
I just wanted to spend some time in thankfulness and remembering all the good things over the past year. It's necessary from to do from time to time because it fills the heart with joy and positivity.
To you, thank you for your support, your prayers, and simply thank you for you. Without YOU, I would not have seen kids lives change for the better as they encounter and fall in Love with Jesus. I would not see the kids who still feel broken and lost and have the motivation and desire to make them feel important and love them. Without YOU, I would not be who I am today (:
You are all superstars to me!
(special shout out to Dad and Mom. You guys mean everything to me, I love you so much).
A slideshow of pictures from the past year!
I am very proud that you took the step and decided to move to Israel one year ago. You have learned so much and are becoming a wonderful man of God. The slideshow is tremendous!! The slideshow is a great example of all the people that you have interacted with through your journey in Israel. We can't wait to come see you and meet your friends! Love, Dad
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