where wonder began...

"in the chaos, in confusion...i know you're sovereign still" as i sang these words in church this morning, my mind couldn't help but wander back to the kountryside! spending the summer constantly surrounded by kiddos is certainly my momentary definition of chaos. yet it was perfect chaos where God was certainly sovereign and totally dominant. i don't think a place like k-kountry exists anywhere else in the world: a place where you are totally free to be exactly who God created you to be; a place where Jesus rules and satan is banished; a place where a sweaty shirt is prized because it means you're hype enough; a place where giving of yourself means literally pouring out everything you've got so kids might glimpse Jesus more; a place where all things of the world are totally stripped away; a place where relationships of a lifetime are built in a week; a place of complete honesty, complete brokenness, and complete freedom; a place where the entire staff is recklessly abandoned to the will of the Lord. did i really just spend my summer in this place?! it sounds too good to be true.

i hadn't heard of a "moment of wonder" until i reached the kountryside: a moment that takes your breath away and leaves you in awe of what you've just experienced. thinking back on these past two months, i have countless M.O.W's :) from barn 1 love during staff training to riding segways on my last night in branson, a day didn't pass without at least a few of these moments. seeing kids introduced on opening day to a hundred screaming college kids who are being ridiculous so that child feels loved; watching girls hearts break as their "best friend" and favorite puppet bummer has been stolen by evil villains; tucking girls in at night and praying for their families at home and this missing puppet; seeing these same girls do everything they can to defeat those villains and rescue that puppet; watching girls minds be blown as they stare into rachel's eyes as she places them in a tribe; putting on an inflatable tube and fighting kids so they can experience japanese sumo wrestling; jumping up and down for hours to worship the Lord with 200 krazy hype kampers; winning a synchronized bart-ball competition and having girls say it was the highlight of their day; seeing a helicopter land 50 feet in front of me and being just as amazed as my kampers; riding G-Force and laughing harder than anyone...and then comforting the tears it brought; catching crawdads despite my hate of bugs; tubing in water colder than ice; letting 8 year olds do my makeup and hair for a pageant; having those girls tell me "that was the best thing ever" after my pageant performance; having a precious child tell me they want to accept jesus and walking them through this...then getting to walk them to ring the bell and letting them boldly declare it; being sung to and celebrated on my birthday like never before; riding the waterslides 17 times on my birthday and my girls commenting "this has to be the best birthday ever"...they were right; making friends that will be in my wedding; being able to turn to my co and smile because of how amazing it all is; doing all of this because of God's inconceivably great plan and for His eternal glory.

k-kountry was the perfect place for me to spend my summer. it challenged me more than i could imagine: from homesick kampers who cried for 8 days of kamp to girls who couldn't seem to comprehend what kindness meant; from changing wet sheets to cleaning up throw-up; from unending patience to supernatural energy only of the Lord; from knowledge of Him to scripture memorization...God challenged me in huge ways. yet He promises to be faithful and he met these challenges with aide and taught me so much more than i could've ever imagined. on the first night of kamp i wrote that i was expectant of big things because i had experienced them before; i thought my first summer couldn't be surpassed...God did something huge because this summer was even better: i learned more, loved more, was stripped of more, and was more sad to leave than ever before. the kountryside is an incredible place where growth is inevitable and lifelong friendships begin. it's the place that taught me to experience the wonder of what surrounds me: the people, the circumstance, the creation, the lessons, and most importantly the LORD!

"this God--His ways are perfect. the word of the Lord proves true. He is a shield for those who take refuge in Him" ~psalm 18:30