Friends -
A good word from my friend Ben!
After returning from Fiji, we only had three more weeks before it was time for each of us to return to our own corners of North America and continue school, work, or whatever new adventure the Lord has in store. Our last days were sweetly spent in our original routine with the added bonus of 11 intern baptisms, extra surf days, and making sure to squeeze in all our favorite restaurants. One of our last events as a class was our internship graduation. I want to share my friend Ben’s poem that he wrote for our ceremony - full of inside jokes and truth, he captured our experience as STN interns perfectly!
STN Internship Grad Life Poem
Life is now, life is present.
It’s not what we present but about who was sent.
Life is for God, life is with Him.
To others it may be odd, whose eyes are blinded by sin.
But whether they like it or not here they come charging in.
This place that loves acronyms, STN.
A place that breeds life.
A place that meets life.
A place that feeds life.
And a place that leads life.
All because they know the way, the truth, and the life.
So God brought us all your way.
We came here to stay for 3 months, not really knowing that we would leave radically changed.
Not only leaving changed but witnessing change.
Seeing Jesus rearrange the hearts of people we thought had hearts of stone.
Praying in the Spirit as we head to the battle zone.
Having Him speak through us to men who are grown.
Seeing Him meet us in the times when we felt forgotten and alone.
Being taught that our identity is something that we are supposed to own.
And learning when to declare, “Not the time and not the tone.”
This property has taught us.
This community has “surrounded” us.
Through that, this Jesus has brought life to us.
We seek Him in our journals page by page.
We can listen to His voice at any time and place.
Learning how to run this race like we are the winners.
Not because we are any less a sinner, but because we can see the glimmer.
The glimmer of hope at the end of this race.
The glimmer of hope that He has prepared a place.
A place without hardship and a place without strife.
A place with no worldly grip, a place of eternal life.
So while we are here, we don’t live it for our fame.
We live it believing and having life in His name.”
(Ben Ebberhart - August 6, 2019)
I said goodbye to my island home August 9 and headed back to the great state of Texas. Emotions were high (aka we all bawled like babies), but what a beautiful indicator that we invested fully into this season. Thankful is an understatement!
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