Mountaintop Experience

     Over spring break, I went on a mission trip with my youth group.  We went to Louisville, Kentucky and worked at a mission.  It was called Wayside Christian Mission.  While we were there....

• We served breakfast at 6am twice.
• We served lunch 4 times.
• I saw God.  A lot.
• I learned a lot.
• We went to the Louisville Slugger museum.
• We went to the Muhammed Ali museum.  (I slept the whole way through that one.  For real.)
• We had a tampon lesson for the boys on our van.  Lovely.
• We went to the park.
• We got hot Krispy Kreme doughnuts.  $71 worth to be exact....
• We made new friends at the mission.
• Mike learned my name on Tuesday and felt the need to scream it across the room (and all the people eating) a LOT.
• I picked up trays.
• Janie washed dishes.
• Camden experienced his first youth trip.
• I got a cold.
• Mama got sick and didn't go to work, so she could sleep.
• Everyone ELSE got my cold, too.
• I learned how to Drop it like its Hot.  Hahaha.
• I learned how to Whip my Hair back and forth.
• Sam interrogated Emily about Cameron.
• We debated theme songs for the week: Whip My Hair, Body Language, Firework.
• Carson decided the real theme song was Drop it like its Hot.
• The "We Have Emily Van" was the BEST.
• My van listened to the SAME 5 songs the WHOLE week!!!!
• Brandon became my new best friend.
• I learned EVERY freaking word to the song Forget You.
• Baby Bray learned what the word "frisky" means.
• Roger taught Brayden that frisky is cat litter.
• Me and Cam celebrated our 1 year friendaversary.
• We ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory.
• My table at the Old Spaghetti Factory consisted of Sam and his family. (13 children.  4 of the children were dating.  His wife was also his daughter.  His first wife died in the Holocaust.  She stared over us as we ate.  For real.)
• We ate with our new friends at the mission Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday.
• We toured a cathedral.
• We changed the color of the walls at the mission when we cleaned them.
• Sam passed out doughnuts.  Everyday.
• We served a lot of food.
• We ALL learned how incredibly fashionable hair nets and plastic gloves are.
• We heard countless times that Janie is NOT a people person.
• I figured out that my mother and I are way more alike than I thought.
• Jan and I don't enjoy talking to people we don't know.
• Camden was hard to get along with.
• Alex did our devotional Monday night.
• Alex was very violent.  ALL WEEK.
• Sam got 23 more disney songs on his ipod!!
• Mama, Taylor, Carson, and I wore our new matching jackets with the thumb hole things!!
• We saw Becky and Dana.  And Jim and Chris and Ellen and the kids.
• We woke up at 5am (which felt like 3 because the time change and the different time zone)  
• We all had incredible God moments.
• I saw (again) how amazingly selfless Cameron Timmons REALLY is.
• I played with little kids.
• I discovered the effects of my new hair cut. 
• The 2-4 year old daycare kids decided to give me a make over.
• The 2-4 year old daycare kids decided to give Krevious a make over.
• I saw how great Krevious is with kids.
• I washed windows with Jan.
• Cam switched jobs with me and let me play with the 1 year olds.
• I watched people sweep and mop the dirty floor with dirty brooms and mops approximately 5 times in 2 hours.  
• I ate oreos and peanut butter.  It felt like the parent trap.
• The group enjoyed playing basketball every night in the gym.
• Cameron got 2 volleyballs stuck on the balcony in the gym....in 10 minutes.
• Dayquil and Nyquil saved us all.
• There was a "Shock pile" when we got back and were unloading.  It was great.
• We missed Addison.
• We loved people.
• We loved each other.
• We got closer.
• We went to Cracker Barrel on the way home.  Of course.
• I slept about 6 of the 8ish hours on the ride home.
• We toured Becky's house.
• We spent over $100 on ice cream Thursday night.
• We had 7 hour work days, waking up at 5, and staying awake for 20 hours after.  
• I learned that getting up for school isn't REALLY that early.
• We watched the people at the mission slowly start to trust us and open up to us.
• I saw amazing things.
• My baby brother argued with a man about our incredible Creator's existence.  
• The trip was fantastic.
• We had a mountaintop experience.

     A "mountaintop experience" is a time when you see God.  You don't want to come down from the mountain.  You want to stay with God.  None of us wanted to leave on Friday morning.  I'm at school right now.  I would SOOO much rather be in Louisville, Kentucky cleaning or cooking or washing or playing or working or serving.  I'd give anything to go back.  Even if it meant I had to get up at 5 in the morning EVERYday.  I want to go back up on the mountain.  I'm still trying to figure out how to find God here at school.  I saw Him so much through the homeless people and the workers and the amazing people at the mission last week.  It is so much harder to see God HERE.  At home.  I feel like no one understands.  Today a girl asked me about my spring break.  I tried to explain.  She still didn't get it.  I don't know what else to do to make people understand the amazingness of God and how awesome is really is to SERVE Him.  I don't know what else to do at this point. 

     On my hand today I have a cross in the same place it always it to remind me that Jesus died on a cross  SOO long ago for ME.  Next to the cross, today, I have a question mark.  When I look at that it reminds me to ask myself...."Where do you see Jesus?"  Every night on the trip last week, we would have group time and discuss where we saw Jesus EACH day.  It was so easy to point out specific times.  I saw Jesus in the face of the little boy whose face absolutely lit up when I held his hand.  He was 2 years old.  He taught me so much.  He was the same one who ran up to me and screamed "HI" in my face as soon as I walked in the room.  I saw Jesus in him.  A 2 year old little boy at a daycare in a mission in Louisville, Kentucky.  It was so easy, simple to SEE Jesus without even trying to LOOK for him.  Now, though, I'm in Tupelo at school, SEARCHING for Jesus.  It is hard to see Him.  I'm looking though.  And I'm trying to be the Jesus that someone else is looking for today.