I See You.

   So, recently I've been thinking about my decision to go to China. It was all so sudden. I don't regret it at all though. :) I have been thinking about going on a mission trip to a different country for a while now I just didn't know exactly where I wanted to go. China was always in the back of my mind. My friend went on a mission trip to China last summer and around the same time I decided I was going to take the first step and go on a trip, she decided she needed to go back to China. She decided this about 3 months before the trip and started fundraising. Her faith through the whole thing is astounding and inspiring. This sparked my interest in going to China. I definitely knew I wanted to work with kids so I went to the website for the organization she is going with called Visiting Orphans and automatically clicked on China even though they have a list of many more countries they send groups to. Today when I started thinking about it, I realized I was always going to go to China. I was put into tears from my friend's stories from her China trip last summer and one of my other dear friends adopted her sweet little sister from China last summer. As a preteen I played with two little girls down the street who were adopted from China and Vietnam by a single mother and knew I wanted to adopt from China one day.
   When thinking about my friend deciding to go to China only months before the trip, it made me think of the saying "I See You". This is how the Na'vi, the inhabitants of the planet Pandora in the movie Avatar, greet each other. Avatar is basically a futuristic Pocahontas story and some of you may think it is a little silly or geeky for me to reference this. But they don't just mean that they physically see each other standing there. They go into a deeper meaning saying that they actually see that person. They see who they really are. I feel that through this whole experience my friend has allowed me and the others around her to actually see her. My decision to go to China was not known by most of the people closest to me at first. My parents actually found out because my youth minister put this blog in our church's e-mail. I got so excited about my decision to go that I just jumped and didn't ask anyone's opinion about if I should go or where I should go. I just jumped. I decided that I need to actually be in the moment and not worry about the future so much. Like I talked about in the previous post Like A Child, I just took a step and let God take it from there.
   I am challenging myself to be in the moment during this journey. I am also going to challenge myself to actually see the people I encounter. I decided to initiate this so fast that it has taken me this long to realize all of this. I am so lucky to be able to take this journey and to watch friends around me take this journey as well. I hope my friends are able to see me more as I do this and to understand me. I want to live in the moment and not worry so much about getting enough money or packing the right things. I am going to trust in God and have faith like a child.
I see you.
~Anna

Sweet Rylie who was adopted last summer and now has a loving home and family. :)

Like a Child.

   I have recently been listening to the song "Like a Child" by Jars of Clay. The chorus really made me think. It says:
"They say that I can move the mountains and send them crashing into the sea. They say that I can walk on water if I would follow and believe with Faith Like a Child."
   This is a new goal in my life. I am going to look at everything with the innocence of a child and just trust in what is planned. I'm not going to try to push things to happen. I am going to initiate and see where it takes me. With faith like a child I can hopefully take away some of the stresses of life and just spend more time with my relationship with God. This song makes me cry sometimes. The lyrics and the fact that they have a little girl saying, "I've got joy like a fountain! Be kind one to others. In Jesus Christ Your son." in the recording just gets to me. It makes me think about letting go and not worrying about controlling my future. It helps me to think about knowing what I want and working to get there but knowing that God has it all under control.
    The children in the orphanages may have not been exposed to letting God take control. They may wonder why they don't have parents if they are old enough to understand. I hope that I can spread a little joy and faith into their lives and allow them to believe in what they may not understand. But from experiences I have had and heard about, they continue to have some sort of faith even if they don't know it. This is something I am so excited to witness. I can't wait to start to get things finalized and to begin planning this trip. I am beyond words for my excitement. Everyday I think of something I hope to capture on film and share with people.

A sweet little girl praying at Vacation Bible School at Harpeth Presbyterian Church.

~Anna