moving.

http://rlowry.tumblr.com/

It's not the end.

Isaiah 59:1-4 "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear to dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things. No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; the conceive trouble and give birth to evil."

• Well that sounds like a rough state to be in... but I was there. Everyone has been there, many people still are. Thankfully God's words don't end there, he doesn't leave us to ourselves.

2 Samuel 22:17-20 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."

• Christ's sacrifice redeems us. Our horrible state, our deadness, is cleansed because of him. Think about that for a minute.

Isaiah 43:1-4a "This is what the Lord says - he who created you, he who formed you; "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you..."

• This is not a promise for a smooth ride from here on out. Though He is telling the complete truth when he says he will always be with us, we must be reminded that we have been saved for eternity. It is not in this life that we will fully see or understand the extent of what we have in Christ and the reward He is.

Well... I've been back in the states for over 24 hours now. Strange. The last 2 days have been some of the longest days of my life. Long days of goodbyes/see you laters... not really enjoyable. This summer I saw God in more ways than I could have dreamed. Glad he doesn't fit in any box anyone could ever try to put him in.

Things will not be the same. I am not the same. God is great... and is challenging me in so many ways.

I miss the kids and my friends so much it hurts, but God has given me an excitement about this coming semester that I have been praying for. God is God in Romania and in South Carolina. Romanians and Americans need Jesus - and that is something I can't ignore.

Mulţumesc foarte mult for your prayers and for your love.

Please don't stop as I continue to adjust back to the states and live my life "worthy of the gospel."

Please continue to pray for the kids of LOC, and the Romanian staff, and Rebecca - the American on staff there. I promise your prayers will be felt.

This will probably be the last blog I post on here because I am moving to another website, follow me at www.rlowry.tumblr.com

Camps are over. 7 weeks have flown by. 7 weeks full of laughter, tears, jumping, smiles, screaming, making sandwiches, singing, hugging, dancing, coloring, learning, cleaning, relay games, pulling kids around by hula hoops, attempting to play futbol, minor injuries, morning exercises, messy games, and so much more than a list could ever explain.

This last week of camp was a fun one, because I've known a lot of the kids for years. My group was six 15-19 year old boys. God continues to amaze me - even though they probably thought I was crazy at times... they were competitive in the games while staying good sports, sang the songs, sat through the silly skits and the more serious talks, and were respectful during team time when leaders gave their testimonies. I love them so much even though I can't pick them up in my arms and hug them... though they did try to do that to me a few times.

Below is a picture from the mountains we hiked in Brasov yesterday. We (the interns and 2 staff members) were able to get away for an overnight end-of-the-summer trip. As I was looking out at the mountains, the only word that came to my mind was majesty. Seriously, God's creation is majestic... and that word doesn't even begin to cover it.

This is a short post... I suppose more will come once I'm back in the states. This year it is much, much, much harder to leave than last... and some reasons are obvious to me, and others I can't seem to figure out. Thank you all for your prayers throughout the past 3 months and please don't stop yet! The other interns and I fly out in less than 24 hours, 6 am on Wednesday morning RO time... so 11pm Tuesday night South Carolina time. In less than an hour we will be spending our last time of the summer with the LOC kids... pray for us, please pray for them.

When it is/will be very easy for me to seemingly isolate myself or be cynical as I leave friends and a place I love, this is my prayer: Psalm 9:1-2, "I will praise you, O Lord, with all of my heart, I will tell of your wonders. I will be glad and rejoice in you, I will sing praise to your name; O most high."

It has been a fantastic summer. God is good, no matter what. He has a plan. His plan is good. He has a plan for me as his child. His plan for me is good.

Holding on to that right now.