home "sweet"?? home

greetings from NorCal

the trip was a lot to take in and process, which i am still doing.

i have told a few of you some of the stories, but even talking about it doesn't do it justice.
how do you recreate with words the awesome power of God or the look on a child's face when they realize someone loves them and will never leave them? how to you explain the emotions you go through after standing in front of a group of children with your heart raw and open, sharing your past? how to you explain the fear and pain of growth and sanctification?

you can't.

as i spoke with a friend the other day i realized why it is so hard to come back. sure i miss england and the beautiful people that i met there and the thriving churches that reach into their communities and truely care about them and the hundreds of children we met. i miss all of that.

oh the tea too.

but on a more serious note the transition is so hard because i have come back to what is comfortable, what is normal, what is home. when you are on mission you are "Christian" 100%, or at least try to be. your focused, energized to share the gospel and make every second count. you see people as Christ sees them, lost. you do your best to be intentional and loving.

now that i am home i am forced to be that same "Christian" in the mundain. it is harder to love, to see those around you as lost in your day to day lives. it is much, much harder. and that is why being on mission is so glorious because it is a glimpse of what your life should be all the time. and it is for that reason that coming home is so hard. i must be that same person at home, when it seems like it really doesn't matter or it isn't glorified. but this lifestyle is how my walk should be.

and so i press on.

please continue to be in prayer. that God would continue to break my heart, daily, for his lost children, both young and old and that i wouldn't shy away from the task of living out my faith daily and momentarily.

thank you again for all your prayers and support while i was in england. they helped me get through the difficult times as well as add the sweetness to the joyful times.

much love. hannah pearl