7-9 Day Fourty Two (The End)

Oh my days. My time in Providence has come to an end. This morning, we as a team finished our revisions on our presentation and spent the rest of our time packing before having a team lunch in the place it all began, Ocean State Sandwich. I only have merch from one of the places that meant a lot to me during my time here, but if I were to have just a day longer, maybe I'd figure out how to get something from Ocean State, too. 

Skipping a whole lot of the day, our presentation was at 6pm tonight. We started at 6:30 since there was a bit of a miscommunication between people about the time we were starting. The believer that I met in Seven Stars a few weeks ago came, and it was really sweet! I was able to give her a letter I wrote telling her how grateful I was to have met her this summer, and I encouraged her to get involved in evangelizing in Providence, the city needs it! 

Whenever I am on stage, I don't know what comes over me and possesses me to act in the way that I do. It's as if any filter goes out the window and I'm instantly trying to get laughs out of people. Maybe it's a sign I should pursue comedy? Surely not. I thoroughly enjoyed presenting my section with our strategy. I got to use some of my PR knowledge to explain our surveys, which was unexpected. There was a time for questions at the end, which we held in a panel format. I ended up answering a lot
of the technical questions regarding outreach, since the group all turned towards me during those times. The team was able to answer more opinion-based questions, which was good because I struggled more with finding words for that.

It has been amazing to be able to reflect on all that the Lord has done this summer. After our presentation, we spent time saying our goodbyes to Sacred City, and it was an uber sweet time. We left with the guy who became a believer during our time here; that was a really hard goodbye. We stood with our arms around one another, standing at a street corner. He gave each of us a hug, and some of us prayed for him before parting ways. While earthly goodbyes are hard, we rejoice in the fact of seeing each other again in eternity with Christ. Praise God! 

Then, as a team, we said our goodbyes to one another before bed. The girls all sat in our rooms reading the notes we wrote each other, and some cried (I didn't, in case you were wondering). It's been insane to see the way the Lord has moved throughout the team, just simply in actually making the team, but also in the growth from this summer. God is not a God of coincidences, and if anything, this summer has solidified that even more.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, "Be we ought to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."