Blessed

Dear Scholars,

I wanted to send a quick note to let yall know how incredibly blessed by each one of you.  When I was with you in June, I did not want to leave; two weeks was just too short!  Now I’m back and am in the middle of my 3^rd week. What a gift that I have many more weeks with your class!  I know that time will fly, and I sure do not want to take a single day for granted.  Every interaction with yall, whether it’s individually or as a group, teaches me something new.  I truly am honored that I get to be your college counselor and friend.  I treasure each one of you – your personality, passions, and overall uniqueness. 

Thank you for welcoming me to your country as well as to the B2R family.  I am grateful.

Much love,
JB

I sent this e-mail earlier today.  Often, my heart becomes overwhelmed with amazement.  Sometimes tears fill my eyes; I smile.  What a gift and blessing this experience already has been.   It almost seems too good to be true. 

Spending 2 weeks with the kiddos in June was a tremendous blessing – meaningful, life-giving, and straight-up fun!  I was able to kick off the college counseling process immediately thanks to a recycled Prezi.  They were so engaged! Then came the Myers-Briggs + acting out the various letters with Anna, the B2R Scholars Director.  Rwanda is such a community-focused country that people rarely look inward, so a personality assessment was a completely new concept to them.  You know me…I LOVED this!  (Enneagram is next, by the way.)  The journey of personal essay writing followed.  The 2^nd week was filled with back-to-back, one-on-one meetings to talk about essays they drafted over the weekend on whatever pieces of paper they had lying around.  Amazing stories.  I promise to share some soon.

Various blessings occurred throughout the next 6 weeks.  From learning that my roommates had decided to stay in the Cherokee house and would let me keep my stuff in the basement/would use my furniture & kitchen appliances to having a friend connect me to her aunt and uncle who were willing to keep my mattress/box spring in their insulated storage room, the Lord has provided abundantly and is continuing to do so.  I was blown away when Julee, my stylist, told me to use the money I would’ve spent on that particular haircut to go toward Africa.  Humbled!  Even down to the day I was leaving, God’s good hand provided.  The sweet guys at the airport ticket counter didn’t charge me for overweight bags; instead, they said with a laugh, “We’re helping the children of Africa!”  Wow. (& Phew!)

First day back at work, I was greeted with a hug from each of 30 students.  It was one of those moments in time I wish I could have frozen in order to really savor it.  Blessed.  

Myers-Briggs

1st drafts of personal essays

Origins of the Blog Title

"Passion is a gift from God, and it's a very elusive spirit."  I stole this quote from Dale Dawson, the CEO of Bridge2Rwanda; he said it an article published earlier this summer.  If you want to learn more about the organization I'm joining, I encourage you to read it.  Long story short...at 51 years of age, he wanted passion back, as he was in the midst of life's "halftime."  Dale continues to write, "I made the decision that if God was the giver of the gift {passion}, then I had to be available to Him."  And sure enough, the Lord has done some incredible things through this man! His explanation of passion really resonated with me and the season of life I'm in, and I immediately knew that I wanted that word to be part of my blog title.

"Do not be afraid to be different from other people.  The path I have called you to travel is exquisitely right for you.  The more closely you follow My leading, the more fully I can develop your gifts.  To follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your desire to please other people.  However, your closeness to Me will bless others by enabling you to shine brightly in this dark world."  I read this in a Jesus Calling devotional several weeks ago; I couldn't help but smile.  This pretty much sums up what I've been learning over the past year.  What a delight to put all of it into action!

To me, freedom means experiencing joy and peace to the absolute fullest.  I wish that I lived completely free every single day.  Sadly, I don't - part of being human, I suppose.  But I do have more control of this than I realized.  Obedience.  Obeying God's commands and callings produce freedom.  Whether it's spending time with Him, taking thoughts captive, choosing to believe truth instead of lies (the list goes on and on), His commands bring life.  Not obeying His call, whether big or small, equals bondage.  Yuck.  How often I settle for mud pies when I could be enjoying a holiday at sea (C.S. Lewis).  All this to say, being obedient to the Lord's call for me to move to Rwanda for a year has produced immense freedom.  I know without a doubt that this is where He wants me.  I wouldn't have it any other way!

Throughout my time in Africa (and in years to come), I desire to live life full of passion, shining brightly, while continuing to walk in freedom!  PASSION, BRIGHT & FREE...

Come And Listen...

"Let me tell you what He has done for me."  This David Crowder song came to mind when I was struggling with how to start this blog.  I've told friends that I do not want this to be a place where I showcase my life; if it ever turns into that, they are encouraged to let me know.  You have permission, as well.  I've been incredibly blessed by the countless people who have affirmed and supported (emotionally, spiritually, financially) my decision to move to Rwanda for a year.  I honestly feel that I'm surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses - friends, old and new, who believe in me and and are WITH me.  I want you to know that I am going to run with perseverance this particular race marked out for me, throwing off everything that hinders and sin that entangles.  And throughout the coming months, I am committed to working with all of my heart.

In Priscilla Shirer's study, Discerning the Voice of God, she writes, "If God calls you, He will equip you.  Give Him the opportunity to display His supernatural activity as He uses you for His glory."  (More about this study later.) The purpose of this blog is to share with you what Lord is up to in my life, in Rwanda, in the lives of students, and in any way He chooses to showcase His glory.  I'm honored to be His vessel and am so grateful for the opportunity to work for Bridge2Rwanda.  It's neat to look back and see how He's been preparing my heart for this next season; I can't wait to tell you how it unfolded!