Be Still - weeks five through seven SMSM

Be still, and know that I am God. 

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth!

Psalm 46:10

Hey yall!

I have successfully not completed a blog post every week.  In fact, I have not even completed it every other week, since it has been three weeks since my last one.  With that being said, it has been a crazy three weeks, and by crazy I mean busy, exciting, emotional, and everything else you could wrap up into that word, yet I remain calm and still in the Lord because through all of that craziness he is teaching me so much and I want to share that with you.  I have been soaking up the scenery here in Gatlinburg.  The rivers and mountains, all if it is breathtaking.  It has been a journey of learning to be okay in silence and listening for God to speak to me. I am reminded of a new song by Hillary Scott & The Scott Family, "Still".  While here this summer, a large part of where I see God showing himself to me is when I am still and indulged in the masterpieces he has created.  Finding the words to share with you has come from sitting in silence and allowing God to paint a picture of what he has been doing with my time in Gatlinburg.

"You're parting waters
Making a way for me
You're moving mountains, that I don't even see
You've answered my prayer, before I even speak
All You need for me to be
Is still"

I will first start again with how blessed I am to have had the opportunity to work at LandShark these past seven weeks.  Our time is coming to an end, which makes me incredibly sad, but I know that God has his hand over the people at LandShark, now and when we leave in two weeks and four days (as Emily has reminded me).  LandShark has also become our Friday night hangout, where we talk to our co-workers even more, and meet up with some of our international friends.  It is now to a point where our co-workers are no longer surprised when we walk through those doors at 10:00 on Friday evenings, instead, they lead us to a table and begin casual conversation.  If that doesn't show how much of a relationship we have formed with our co-workers, then I don't know what would.  But for that I am so so thankful.  I truly am going to miss these people.  The people here are so open to sharing their lives with us and being such good listeners to us when we speak. Remember, how at the very beginning of this trip, I had a hard time deciding if LandShark was where God was calling me to be for the summer?  Well, there I was again trying to make a decision for myself, when God had far better plans for me.  Shocker right...believe me, being humble enough to acknowledge my wrongness in this situation was hard, but God is so good it doesn't even matter.

Let me continue to share with you how our amazing God is showing up through my team of 42 other students.  Over the course of the last three weeks and some days, one international student has accepted the Lord Jesus as her savior, the gospel has been shared many times, and spiritual conversations continually take place!  We all use the tools and resources that were provided for us, Soularium, Perspective Cards, and Knowing God Personally, along with casual conversation that turns spiritual.  I have loved getting to know the other students that are here in Gatlinburg, and have enjoyed watching them interact with international students and other people of the community.  Leaving them is going to be very difficult.  God is so good yall, I cannot put into words how sovereign he is.

This past week the 15 or so staff left for the remainder of the summer.  This means that their roles are now a student's responsibility.  It has been really awesome so far to see how much we have grown as a community since they left on Thursday.  But since staff left, that also means my discipler, Sarah, also left.  Sarah has been such a blessing in my life.  I looked forward to our weekly meetings, discussing anything and everything.  I never would have imagined being so open with someone so quickly, but Sarah was able to get me to my rawest form.  Sarah was part-time staff, so this was her last shindig before leaving staff.  I am so thankful that she was here for the summer.  She poured so much of God's light into my life.  I am sure going to miss her these next couple of weeks.  Whenever I needed to think through something she was there to listen and then give me such great godly advice.  Sarah Willadsen, you are going to do such great things in your life! 


The people I have met here will forever hold a special place in my heart.  Community is something that we have been studying as a group and it has become so apparent to me how important community is for our growth in our walk with the Lord.  There is so much good that comes out of community and I am going to soak up these last two weeks, in what my roommate and friend Reva, calls a "social incubator."  I am so thankful God has placed all of these wonderful people in my life.  Please continue to pray for us while we are here, and that the Lord will continue to use us to reach those we are surrounded by everyday.


Enjoy some of these pictures from our mid-summer banquet that was held before the staff left.  We had a great night of reflection and encouragement.

Keara