It was such a blessing to spend three months devoted to studying in the Big Red. I can't believe that its been two months since I left. Time goes by so quick. It was quite interesting to be back in a school setting for the first time in three years. We had lectures five days a week, read multiple books, and wrote essays every week. By living in the same house as all the staff and students I was able to make friends quickly and found that you can really get to know someone even though theres a language barrier.The school really helped to give me a bigger picture of how the biblical worldview (how God calls us to live in the Bible) has positively influenced this world(I'm not saying everything Christians have done was good). I loved learning about how countries were influenced by Christians throughout history and how we are reaping the benifits from what God did through them centuries ago, especially throughout the time of the great reformation. It really showed me that God can do amazing things through people who stand up for Truth and it can have a lasting affects on generations to come. This made me think about how God wants to use us now. He wants us to stand up for the Truth about who he is, the gospel, and that he has told us how to live in the Bible. The fact that the Bible applies to all areas of our lives was one of the biggest things I learned. God stirred up a passion to read and see what he says about all areas of life and principles that he has given us to live our lives by. God wants to get glory from all we do and we are ambassadors of Christ everywhere we go. Another huge thing God reminded me of durring this school was why we love him and do all the studying and applying of the Bible to our lives. We must remember that "We love because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). It is so simple, but so important to never forget. In the midst of all the studying and gaining knowledge it is so easy for pride to slip in unoticed. This is what happened with me at some point and God had to remind me that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't even know him, let alone be able to study his Word. When we realize this truth it humbles us because we realize that w
e are able to love God, his Word, and all people only "because he loved first". It doesn't matter how much any of us know because we are all on the same level and that is we don't deserve anything, but God has shown us unconditional love and we are able to love him because of this. I pray that we never forget this, have the right perspective, and give God the praise for all that we have and know (mainly himself).This school really showed me how important it is to do the hard work and be well equipped so that I can disciple people more affectively. God has given me a huge heart for discipleship. I love being able to invest in people's lives and see God change them. I really feel like my time studying in the Big Red was just the beginning of lifetime of learning, training, and growing that God will use to help me disciple people more effectively. Thank you so much for all your prayers, support, giving an ear to listen, speaking wisdom into my life or just taking the time to read about what God is doing in my life.
