1 Kings 19: 21

I'm pretty sure that I have mentioned in a previous blog post that I tell my story of why I am in New Jersey often. There are always new volunteers on site and people at church for me to recite, "I'm from California and I took a year off from school so that I could come here and work for Habitat to help with Sandy re-build." There are always follow up questions... "What school did you go to?", "What grade are you in?", "What part of California are you from?" (I swear I have said the word "Sacramento" a couple hundred times since I have been here) and then I clarify that, yes, that is Northern California. Sometimes I get, "Where are you living?", "Who are you living with?", "Wait... so are you here with your family or are they still in California?" I answer their questions and at the end of it all I am faced with a myriad of responses. 

A lot more than I would have ever expected I have people tell me that I am very brave for doing what I am doing. That at my age, they wouldn't have been able to do what I have done. Hearing this repeatedly has taught me something about myself that I didn't expect to learn about myself. I now see that I am a much stronger and braver person than I thought I was. I probably never would have seen it if so many people hadn't told me it with such confidence and sureness. 

Before I left California, one of my favorite teachers from high school told Avonlee and me that a lot of times he worries for our generation but that we gave him faith in our generation and hope for the future. I was so taken a back when he told me this because it is such a strong statement and honestly I thought it was a silly thing of him to say. Don't get me wrong, I was flattered, but I also didn't really think I fit the bill. I am just some girl who likes church, art and cats... not someone who gives people hope for the future. More recently I have heard something that gave me I similar feeling. Last week I was walking past two people talking on a construction site and I over heard,  "It's not everyday you meet someone like her." I look up at the man who said it and he smiled at me and said, "It's true sweetheart." 

I stated in my blog back when it was on Tumblr that regret scares the crap out of me. Maybe I didn't say it quite like that, but I did say that I had the idea of doing this trip and that I didn't want to have regrets and that I knew that if I didn't do it I would regret it. So, I did everything in my power to make it happen. But how exactly did this happen. Why did I actually decided to ditch school for a year and move to New Jersey away from my family and friends who I love so very much? I never would have thought that I was brave enough. 

Last Sunday, one of the scripture verses was 1 Kings 19:21 which reads:

21 So Elisha left him and went back. He took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant.

Elisha literally slaughtered and burned his life without second guessing and he just left it all to follow Elijah. I was sitting there in church and I was having one of those moments where things in my brain were clicking together and I got goosebumps and suddenly things made sense. Strength and bravery come from God, duh, I've heard that a million times. BUT OH MY GOODNESS IT'S SO TRUE! He gives you the power to do things that you didn't think you would be able to do and He makes you into someone you didn't think you could be! 

If anything, this blog post is for future Lilly. In the future I will be looking back at this year and THIS SPECIFIC POST will be here to remind me of who I am and what I am able to do (WHICH IS EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING BECAUSE GOD IS SO TOTALLY AWESOME!) and to remind me of the people and moments where God was literally sitting there and telling me to chill out because he's got my back and can make me into whoever I need to be to do his will. 

Anyways, if you actually read all of this, thanks for hanging in there and I hope you are having a good day :) 
The Morris family is moving into their home in Sea Bright in a few days so I am going to have an amazing week even though I am sick with a cold. 

Update for the Newsletter

I have been in New Jersey for over two months now and I could not be happier. I have fallen into a routine with Habitat for Humanity and it feels like home. I am in the office Mondays and Tuesdays and out on the construction sites Wednesdays through Fridays.

In the office, I do everything from filing and entering data to working on our new website and database. I am also in charge of some special projects which, at the moment, include setting up a fundraising page on the internet to raise money for a family who are in need of some serious home repairs. I have also become involved in developing Habitat’s social media sites. I am always busy posting photos and I am also working hard to get a YouTube channel up and running for our affiliate. So many exciting things are happening and it will be awesome to show it to the world! 

While on the construction sites, I am in charge of signing the volunteers in and then I jump in there with them to help on whatever task we are tackling that day. I have learned a lot about building a house. I have done a little of everything from laying the foundation to hammering down the roof sheathing. I am always meeting new people, telling my story of how I got here, and building relationships with them as we learn together the new skill that is needed for the day.

Recently, a group came from Habitat International which is located in Georgia. While they were here, we gave them a tour of one of the towns that was affected most by super storm Sandy. While there, we showed them the home that we are in the middle of building now and we took them to a home that we recently finished and one that we have started but still has significant damage visible in the home. 

The woman who lives there with her daughter told us all about the night of the storm and the days after. She and her daughter were there through it all. She described in detail what it was like when the near-by sewage plant overflowed, what it was like to have to try to sleep when gun shots are going off from people trying to protect themselves from looters, and what it was like to live in a home where the mold is so severe that you wake up and can’t open your eyes because they are swollen shut. She told us that when Habitat came into their lives it gave her hope, which was something that she had lost. She then said, “You are healing my heart. You touch me profoundly.” 

This is what it is all about; being able to be in community with people, learning new things, and touching people’s hearts. I am so grateful to be here and to have the opportunity to do these things. Thank you all for your support and prayers.