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