According to Keara

Hello from Gatlinburg, Tennessee! What an amazing time I am already having.  I feel like I have already been here for weeks and I love that feeling, it only makes it feel more like home.  The Smokies are INCREDIBLE!  There has been so much hurt here in the recent months due to the wildfires that broke out in November unexpectedly, but that does not take away from the beauty of this place.  God truly knows how to take something so terrible and turn it into a humbling experience for many. Johnna and I arrived early Wednesday afternoon, after driving a little bit from Virginia.  We woke up feeling ready and excited, but nervous. We were about to meet 40 other students plus staff, and if that's not the most intimidating thing, I don't know what is.  However, by God's comforting hand, we are on day six and I feel like I've known some of these people my whole life.  I have four awesome roommates, two of which are from North Carolina, one is from ...

Back in January, I received a phone call that I was accepted to spend nine weeks in the Smoky Mountains on a Summer Mission Project through CRU.  Over the past two years, CRU has been the one thing that has changed my life for the better.  It has been a place of growth and learning for me.  If it weren't for CRU my relationship with Jesus would not be anywhere close to where it is today.  I accepted Christ as my savior when I was 7 years old, but never truly knew what it meant to have a relationship with God.  CRU has given me so many amazing opportunities that I would not have gotten anywhere else.  And this summer is no exception. So when I applied to go on a summer mission, I was trusting that this is what God had in store for my summer. I was willingly giving up an entire summer spent at home with my friends and family, and I can promise you that this was the hardest thing to do, because in that moment I truly wanted to be selfi...