It is a year later, and I have yet to share all my newsletters on this blog. Last summer, I went to Arizona on a summer mission trip. I posted my newsletters on WordPress before I decided to put everything here on Wix. My summer in Toronto is already up, and I am excited to start reading through last summer's adventures again with you.
*Inspired by Claire's summer mission trip this year (her posts are available here on this blog too), I am going to start posting my previous newsletters from Arizona, along with possible additional content.
SUNDAY , MAY 28 TO SATURDAY , JUNE 3
After three summers, I have realized there is a lasting impact on a person going away for an extended period of time. I cannot go very long without thinking of the times I have dedicated for personal growth, trusting God, and sharing His love. More specifically, it has become muscle memory whenever "Ants in My Pants" plays and my arms start flapping like they once did the summer after my freshman year at Kanakuk. I still believe it would be amazing to live near a creek like the one I swam in at Arkansas. Although I do not use snapchat anymore, my camp bestie "Jojo" still sends me memories she gets from that summer of what-are-the-odds and random adventures. Brooms up, Raf. After being so close to Lake Ontario, I am only more convinced that I have to live near a body of water one day. Whenever I see a public bus, I remember only being able to travel using public transit and actually enjoying it. Also, I think of how wonderful it would be to have more Sri Lankans in Mississippi. This is where I began fantasizing young adulthood and hosting church friends at my house. Toronto was also the summer I began drinking tea like the Asian I was meant to be. Now that my friend AG's wedding is coming up, I think back to our conversations about her future husband, as well as all the silly times we had. Speaking of weddings, I went on a bachelorette trip this past weekend for my friend "Mully" to the mountains in Tennessee that had me longing for the mountain ranges of Arizona. At the Warriors Center thrift store (shoutout) back at home, I actually bought Nike trail shoes half a size too big since they looked so cool and new. I cannot help but think how nice it would have been to not be in sneakers on the loose rocks of Arizona's mountains. Even more so, I miss that intimate circle of friends and family that I can never get back now that two crucial members are now married and moved.
Though I have typed all this, these are only bits and pieces of the stories I could tell, and I have hardly mentioned how God used that time for His glory. Like I mentioned earlier, I have already posted my Toronto newsletters, and I intend to get all of my Arizona newsletters on this blog.
Anyways, I highly recommend for those of you with summers left in between your college years to use them wisely. I was very hesitant with going on both summer mission trips because I felt I needed to get an internship. Now coming from the future, I see that God worked it all out. During my senior year, I had an internship the fall semester and worked part time the spring semester, gaining valuable insight and experience that has led me to my full-time job post college. I was able to use my summers to grow in ways I did not know I could. If God is calling you somewhere, it is a much better place to be than anywhere else.
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