oh man.

This past week has been incred-ible. As a team we all went away on a vacation to Võru, Estonia. This was a very important time for us, it was our debriefing of the whole summer. This is important because well, more than two months of things happened in two months. It is a way for us to begin to process everything that happened this summer. Let me tell you, a lot has happened.

We left with only one expectation; to get rest. And we did. It was so nice to sleep long nights and even take 30-45 minute naps each day after lunch. But, we had much more than just time to rest. We spent genuine time with our Heavenly Father. It was so nice to be in awe of God's power as he brought healing to some tough situations and genuine repentance where it was needed. You see, this summer we all made mistakes and it made me really begin to understand God's grace. As humans we were all destined for death because of our rebellion against God. Even many years before Jesus came to the earth God wanted to save us. He offered an opportunity to sacrifice animals rather than let us die for our sins. Then the ultimate sacrifice; the lamb of God; Jesus. Because of His life on the cross we now have life. We are still imperfect, and so we must repent and know that Christ gives us life.

We spent time in prayer as a team and also in personal devotion time. We celebrated the victories of this summer. Yesterday morning we celebrated and remembered the body and blood of Christ with a time of communion. It was so awesome to just be and spend time together with this family I have here in Estonia. There was wonderful food at the facility and we were able to have Sauna three nights in a row. Last night we were also able to get into the hot tub. We enjoyed a variety of food last night as we grilled out the Estonian way. The best way in my opinion!

We all headed back to Tartu today to begin the going away process. This included last minute shopping and saying good bye to friends we have made this summer and also friends whom I have known for quite a while now. I received my first Estonian Pibel (Bible) tonight and I am so excited about this and am so thankful for the people who gave this to me. I am blown away by the grace of God right now. The fact that I am able to come and serve here in Estonian and back in Atlanta and have life is just so amazing! I am so thankful to God for everything He has done this summer. It will take months to process everything and I am looking forward to the changes and adjustments over the next few months.

I have loved being here in Estonia for the third time and the second full summer in a row. I have a family and friends here now and there is no denying it. This is a home to me. I know I am welcomed here and I respect Estonians. Thank you for making things so wonderful here Estonia.

I also would like to mention that I am listening to the new Hillsong album titled "Faith+Hope+Love" and I am loving it. I am going to end this post with this:

"I will exalt You, I will exalt You, I will exalt you. You ARE my God. I will exalt You, I will exalt You, I will exalt You. You ARE my God. My hiding place, my safe refuge, my treasure Lord, You are. My friend and King. Anointed one. Most Holy."