Switzerland: Day 6

Davos called and we went. Today we arrived in Davos after a couple hours of train rides. Tired and a little hungry we showed up to the YWAM base where we were welcomed by the wonderful students and staff.

We mentally prepared ourselves for the Wednesday night service and then went down to dinner. We had risotto and yes it was awesome.

Then I had about half a pound of chocolate.

We met downstairs for the service and they began with worship and then Natalie spoke and Reto translated.

The service consisted of Natalie speaking and the team encouraging the congregation, some of which might not have believed in God.

The whole MLSSM team went up and gave encouraging words to individuals as well as the whole group.

Finally I decided to speak up and encourage them about seeking God and finding him.

Jeremiah 29:13 has been one of my favorite life verses for years and I'm glad everytime I get to share it.

Afterwards a girl came up to me and gave me a word about myself and how God made me. Cue the emotions.

I finally convinced myself, after I got myself together, that I would try to go and pray for the girls in the back row who Forest pointed out hadn't been prayed for yet.

If you know me at all, you know that I've been basically terrified to talk to strangers and pray for them, even when I'm not by myself. And this time I was.

So I went, and it was a bit awkward, but I told them that God thought they were beautiful and amazing and that he loved them very much. They said thank you politely and I added that I wanted to see if they needed prayer for anything. They said no. So I persisted a little further and asked them to write their names in my phone and I could pray for them later. Thankfully they did and it wasn't super awkward after. I thanked them and left, which in all honesty I'm more glad that I went instead of regretting it later.

So it's almost time to go to bed and Abi and I make our way to the door. A girl who Abi had given a word to earlier stopped me and told me she (also) got a word for me when I was standing at the front.

She got the word rockstar. She told me that she didn't know if I liked music or singing or anything but that I should be on a stage. That I should be up there on a stage as much as possible. And then I started really tearing up.

I felt so blessed, which was ironic because we came here to bless them. It just proves to show that God wants to give us more and more.

Today was only the first day in Davos and I already felt truly blessed and at home again in a new place.

My prayer for tonight will be that God will make us feel completely at home with these people and that we can love on them and become family with them like the last two places we spent our time.

Amen

I Cry

When I see other people in pain, I cry.Sometimes I cry when something is too beautiful to just say it.

I cry when people reconcile. Something as small as a beautiful voice can make me cry.

Being angry makes me cry. Getting yelled at makes me cry.

Sometimes people will snap at me and I’ll wait until they are gone, then I’ll cry.

Loving people makes me cry. Good music, and wonderful poetry make me cry.

I cry when I’m proud of someone.

Encouraging words make me cry.

I cry when I’m overwhelmed.

Sometimes I even cry when I read sweet things. I’ve probably cried during every book I’ve ever read. I’ve cried because of things, I myself, have written.

Movies are my Kryptonite. Whether it be tears of laughter, joy, or sadness.

So basically I cry a lot.

But I’m not even ashamed of it.

I cry because things are important to me. Relationships matter. People matter. Music matters. I have empathy so strong, I cry for fictional characters when they are wronged.

I’m a sensitive person.

But I’m strong when it counts.

Like when someone yells at my best friend and expects to get away with it. Or when I slip down the stairs and receive a huge purple bruise on my butt.

I’m someone people can laugh with, and cry with, or just be real with.

I wouldn’t change who I am for anything.

I’m just glad that I’ve finally gotten to this point. The point where I know that even when I cry, I am beautiful.