There really aren't words to describe the last week of my life. It has been crazy, amazing, tiring, and difficult. I have recieved blessing upon blessing upon blessing. To be honest, I don't even know what to do with myself, it's been that nuts.

Houseboats was incredible. I had mentioned some of my fears and apprehensions before leaving for the trip, but all of those were blown away. The group of students that I had the chance to work with were incredible. And the same goes for the other leaders on the trip. God used me in ways that I didn't think were possible. The talks that I gave seemed to speak directly to the experience of the students. It was all God, and really none of me. It was tough though, for sure. So many of the students are in hard places, and my heart broke for them over and over. I spent the week pouring myself out, falling in love with the group. It was amazing and exhausting. I find myself frustrated and sad that I have to leave so soon and that I'm not going to be involved on a constant, ongoing basis. I know that God used me on that trip though, in ways that I have never been used before. I learned so much about my strengths and weaknesses in ministry and God used the week to prepare me for my ministry with InterVarsity.

The week up at Shasta was a welcome break from Fund Development. I'm currently at 67Àand I have about 24 appointments set up in the next two weeks. This is a huge answer to prayer, and things look really great right now in terms of my funding. People keep approaching me and telling me that they want to join my support team. It's overwhelming. I'll be able to head back to San Diego in less than 2 weeks to be a part of all of the planning meetings we have, and I'll get to see Jake and Erin before they move back east. And it looks good that I'll be on campus full time in the fall.

Now, it's story time. There is a very dear elderly couple who belongs to our Church, Warren and Doris Nelson. Warren and Doris have watched me grow up. They have prayed for and supported me for my entire life. They were there for my family when my mom had cancer, and Doris would go to the hospital to be with my mom, to comfort her and to laugh with her. They were there for us when my mom died.

I had just talked to both of them a week earlier at church, and we were going to try to set up a time to meet and catch up and talk about my ministry with InterVarsity. When we came back from houseboats, I was shocked and saddened to learn that warren fell while he was at home and suffered some serious head injuries. Unfortunately, he passed away on Sunday morning.

I was in the Church office this morning filling out some paperwork, when Doris walked in. I gave her a huge hug and told her that I had been praying for her. She smiled back at me and told me how much those prayers meant to her. She went into a private room to speak with our Church Administrator about something, and I was surprised when they called me into the room. Doris grabbed my hand, and looked me in the eye. She told me how silly it would be for people to waste money on flowers and other things for Warren's memorial service. She told me that instead, to honor Warren's memory, she wanted people to donate money to his Memorial Fund that they would set up through the Church, and that money would all go to support my ministry with InterVarsity.

I can't even type this without my eyes tearing up. I was shocked, and I still don't know how to respond. We sat there together, and in the midst of her pain and grief, she told me how good God is, and how excited she was that the Holy Spirit had prompted her to do this. She said matter-of-factly that this was the only thing that made sense to her. We sat for awhile and she shared about her faith, and told me some stories about when she took care of my mom right before she died. I sat there with this dear, saintly woman, and we prayed together and hugged one more time. It was a sacred moment.

God used Doris to show His love for me and to bless me in a unique way, a way that cut straight to my heart. I'm still figuring out how to process it all. It was nothing short of amazing.

Yeah, it's been a crazy week. Crazy, amazing, fun, hard, hot, tiring, and full of blessing. God is good.