where my heart is (part one)

love my Shay Shay.

it's no secret that i love kanakuk and all things in the k-world. i struggle to put into words how huge an impact it has had in my life, especially the past five years. i wouldn't own my faith and convictions the way i do. i wouldn't have such a solid core of men and women surrounding me to challenge and encourage me regularly. i wouldn't have such a strong desire to serve and disciple others. the k-world has changed me forever. and i'm better because of it.

i love surprises. especially when they involve people and unexpected visits.

that being said, i snuck out to missouri this past weekend to visit my kanakuk family at their various kamps. it was almost impossible to contain my excitement building up to this trip. i cracked a few times and posted vague tweets about being so excited i could hardly stand it. so, when friday night hit, i made myself go into social media hiding. no tweets. no facebook. i was so close and i didn't want to let the secret out. i was also afraid someone would somehow be able to see my location and know that i was tweeting/facebooking from MO instead of FL. it's possible, i just don't know how. somewhat creepy, i might add.

my time at kamp this weekend was absolutely perfect in every way. i was able to see every single person i wanted to see and get great quality conversations with each of them. that might not sound like much, but in the kamp world of chaos and too many things going on at once, it's quite the accomplishment. i firmly believe that the Lord was orchestrating each conversation's timing. i'm still not sure how i was able to get all those conversations squeezed in, so thanks Lord for making it seem effortless.

i walked away from my 30 hours at kamp with a full heart. it was refreshing to be able to be myself. here in tampa, i'm still meeting new people and getting to know the ones i've met, so i'm still in that "hello, my name is..." phase of not quite being fully able to let my guard down and be real with folks. i dislike this phase of new relationships, but there's no way to avoid it. thus, it was beyond wonderful to be back with people who truly know me and allow me to be real. my conversations were brutally honest, encouraging, uplifting, sharpening, completely ridiculous, filled with laughter and even a few tears. not by me, though i did feel my heart rip out a few times.

[if we're being really honest, i had a few pep talks with myself about how blessed i am to be in tampa and how i know this is the right place for me now despite my strong desire to still be in missouri.]

tomorrow's post will have lots of pics as i recap my day in branson/springfield with the Boone girls and my springfield buddies. seriously, i am one blessed girl. i miss my missouri fam like it's my job and i'm so grateful for those friendships and the fact that they are strong enough to withstand 1,000 miles of separation and still be just as strong.

stay tuned for recap part two tomorrow...

bekah

live unashamedly :: laugh uncontrollably :: love unconditionally.