Here for a Purpose

Jesus Calling for Tuesday, November 19, "Leave outcomes up to me. Follow Me wherever I lead, without worrying about how it will all turn out. Think of your life as an adventure, with Me as your Guide and Companion. Live in the now, concentrating on staying in step with Me. When our path leads to a cliff, be willing to climb it with My help. When we come to a resting place, take time to be refreshed in My Presence. Enjoy the rhythm of life lived close to Me. You already know the ultimate destination of your journey: your entrance into heaven. So keep your focus on the path just before you, leaving outcomes up to Me."
I found out on Monday that Lydia would be moving out to her own host family at the end of the week so this devotional came at the right time. I didn't take the advice it offered, however, and I still worried about the end of the week and kept thinking about how I was going to be on my own and that it would get harder than it already was. I am trying to focus on the now and not ahead as God knows His perfect plan for my life. I know that everything will be fine and it will just be a minor adjustment and that I should be thankful that I don't have to go through the whole host family over again like Lydia is going through now.
My response that I wrote in my journal to this devotional was, "This is a good reminder that God has it all under control and He will me where He wants me. I shouldn't worry about the hard things or complain about what I don't like, but grasp onto the hand God has been holding out to me and accept that He is beside me throughout this whole journey. He has orchestrated it the way that He sees is best. God has me here for a purpose and I need to remember that."
Working with the teens who come on Tuesdays and Thursdays was my highlight this week. I am building stronger relationships with some of the girls and while there are still awkward moments and times when we don't know what to do, this week they taught me some more games and then Thursday myself and three of the girls spontaneously decided to hike the mountain in Mpophomeni. I mentioned that we should hike it sometime and they suggested now so we did. We hiked to the top and took some pictures on one of the girl's phone since I forgot my camera and then hiked/ran down. Because I forgot my camera, and Emily wants to join us now that she is working in Mpophomeni at a sister organization, we decided that we will try to do it again tomorrow (Tuesday the 26th). I am looking forward to spending time with these girls again.
Other highlights this week included going to half-price movie night on Tuesday to celebrate Emily's birthday, girls' night out with all the different youth groups and getting to be a princess for the night, getting free nectarines from the vegetable stand man after buying veggies for work, trying on my first sari, braai with Andrew and Karen's colleagues at ANiSA and meeting another girl my age that we can hang out with that and knows how to play Dutch Blitz, and numerous other little things that made this week a good one. It's hard to believe that this is the last week in November and today being the 25th marks three months gone from home, how time flies!