this new life I love

Hey y’all! I’ve been here in Gainesville, Georgia for over a MONTH. absolutely crazy. It feels like it was just yesterday that I showed up here with my 50-pound backpack full of clean clothes and brand new camping gear. Now, all that gear is not so new. My tent is covered with mud and bird poop. My shoes are stained from that red Georgia dirt. It feels as though my clothes will forever stink no matter how hard I scrub them. At the beginning of this month, I honestly didn’t know if I could love a life that’s just dirty all the time.

However, I am in complete awe of what life looks like here. it’s so much different than I could ever have imagined. I absolutely LOVE IT.

I am surrounded by 40ish humans DAILY. we are almost never separated. It’s always a party:) this introvert often goes crazy in the midst of never-ending human interaction – but even with that said, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. These people have a very special place in my heart. We’ve had multiple teachings on what it looks like to build a healthy Christian community that works well together so we then go out into ministry as a team. I love being able to stack hands with them on growth, honor, and truth. I’m learning so much from them and the gifts they bring to the table. Watch out because this group is a stampede running straight for the Father’s arms.

Each day here is strategically scheduled for us. Monday through Friday are very organized. We meet for breakfast at 8:00 am. My favorite thing about meals is we all sit at one big table and there’s always laughter echoing from one end of the table to the other. At 9:00 – 10:00 am, we have a time carved out for us to sit with God each morning. It’s probably my favorite time of the day. I adore sitting in a space where we all are pursuing the Lord’s heart together and desiring to learn more. At 10:00 am we start our sessions!! We have a variety of speakers come in and each teaching relates to a theme for the week. I HAVE LEARNED SO MUCH – lots of new things – also learned how much I didn’t know. It’s wrecking me but bring me into deeper intimacy with the Father. Then lunch at 12:30 pm whoo hoo! In the afternoons, we have scheduled rotations that we cycle through. Some days we clean the porta-potties, or take showers, or do our laundry, or exercise. Dinner is at 5:30 pm! Lastly, we end the day with team time. I get to do life with six other lovely ladies and this time at night is set aside just for us. Then we have free time for a bit before we crawl (it really looks more like a dive) into our tents at 10:00 pm.

I actually love tent life. Five times since I’ve been here, we’ve had to move inside and set up our sleeping pads and bags on the floor for a big ol’ sleepover because of some heavy storms – and after a few days of that, I’m waiting until they tell us that I can move back into my tent!! it’s fun to have your own space and sleep with the sounds of the woods.

The first few weeks we showered with a bucket full of ice-cold hose water. It was quite the experience at first but I actually learned to love it. I honestly think that I was just so excited to feel even a little bit clean that it didn’t really matter anymore. We’d blast music and try not to fall dancing on the wet wood beneath us. Now we have brand new showers with running hot water!! what a luxury!!

I’ve found a new appreciation for my washing machine. I’ve personally never had to hand wash my clothes in my life. But here you wash your clothes in a bucket of hose water and a couple squirts of detergent. You put the clothes in between your knuckles and scrub. Then we rinse them in a bucket of clean water and wring it out really good. even though I don’t have my full wardrobe with me – it still takes me about 3 hours to clean all my clothes well. Finally, we hang them out to dry overnight. This was another example of something I didn’t think I was going to like but ended up looking forward to. It’s such a sweet time to have conversations with people or jam out to some music or (my personal favorite) catch up on your favorite podcast.

The weekends are full of resting and reflection. We go hard during the week and I love having the space to process everything. Nothing is scheduled except for meals, quiet hours from 10 am to 12 pm on Saturdays, and church on Sundays!! Oh my, let me tell you about CHURCH! Each week a different team will put on church for the rest of us! It’s the highlight of my week for sure. I get to see everyone’s gifts and talents come together in their own unique way. The creativity is astonishing. I consistently walk away from Sunday mornings with a deep appreciation for this community and each person specifically that I get to do life with for the next 9 months!!

There’s just a little inside scoop on what’s going on here! It all boils down to chasing deeper intimacy with the Father and loving each other in community!

Layna:)