Wow, I just can’t believe that during my stay here in New Haven, MO will be coming to an end tomorrow (Tuesday, 11/20).  The seven weeks that I’ve spent here seems like it wasn’t going to go fast enough for me.  I was definitely getting homesick, missing my family, friends, and the community that I had back in Michigan.  Although I still have a month of training left between Thanksgiving , and Christmas in Iowa, I’m quite content that I’m 2/3 of way done.

Being in New Haven, MO was definitely an eye opening experience.  First, it was very tough.  Getting groceries to make some food was very hard because the closest grocery store is about 12 miles out of where I live.  Second, I’ve never lived in a place where it has less than 100,000 people.  Third, I was really scared at night.  Being out here, where I didn’t know anybody and the fact that I was living in town that was so desolate and out in the middle of nowhere made me even more scared.  During nights when I sleep, I occasionally heard trains passing by town, since St. Louis is a hub for many train companies.

In addition, I had to battle through some loneliness.  I thought I was one of those people who can deal with loneliness pretty well because I really value my “alone-time” just for myself; however, not being able to talk to people and relate to people who are around my age has been really difficult (majority of people who live in this town are a lot older than I am).  Plus, I was missing my community back in Ann Arbor as well.

In the mist of all this, I’m really thankful because God has given me opportunity to seriously reevaluate my life.  I was able to think on some of the things that I knew I wouldn’t have thought about if I wasn’t settled here for two months.  These things that I thought about were pretty private, so if you want to know and/or have questions about it, just come and ask haha.

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only you can do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go throw yourself into the sea’ and it will be done.” – Matthew 21:21

I’m going to be quite honest.  Yes, I do doubt God sometimes.  I underestimate Him in many different ways.  Even when I first came here to this little town and as I’m about to wrap up and leave, that doubt is still there.  I was scared when I first came here and I’m still scared about leaving here and moving to Iowa after Thanksgiving.  I know that my heart is weak and weary and sometimes my trust towards my Father is just not there.  But what I’m confident is I know that no matter how I feel about things, God will take control over my life and the situations that I’ll be going through.  He is so powerful that no matter how I view things don’t matter.  No matter how much I doubt Him, He will protect me, love me, and take care of me…

Prayer Requests:

1. Be able to love and enjoy spending time with family during Thanksgiving.
2. Having a safe drive to Iowa for my last third of training.
3. Be proactive with my relationship with God.
4. Disciplining myself with my prayer life.