beauty beyond expectation

hey all!


my sincerest apologies for the delay in blogging! life has been slightly more than hectic in the last little while.


last weekend, from thursday til sunday, we had the privilege of going out to a small island near here, to a cabin part owned (or leased? i'm not entirely sure, sorry :P) by the people who started trek. it was so incredibly beautiful out there; definitely a reminder of God's greatness and His creation! i loved every second of my time there. i will try not to write too much about our time there on my blog, as my newsletter is going out sometime in the next 5 days, and i have included a more detailed summary there. i will, though, include some pictures we took there! the view was magnificent, being able to look out onto the ocean from 3 or 4 sides of the cabin.

one morning, brady, megan, and i took a canoe ride out on to the ocean. it was about 8:30 in the morning, and the sun had just begun to clear the thick fog that surrounded the cabin. even though we were all a bit groggy, we had a great time just enjoying the scenery and feeling of the fresh ocean air on our faces. it was also the first time i'd been able to go canoeing since the summer! good to get those muscles back in action :)

charis and i also had the chance to go to a different part of the island and go seashell collecting! we discovered that we had a mutual love of seashells, and off we went! while this picture doesn't show the shells very clearly, you will notice charis holding out her left hand, in which she has a number of shells! they were so beautiful, and we had a lot of fun shell-hunting on that beach.

this shot was actually taken from inside the cabin, out the kitchen window! down closer to the water, jonas and ashley were building a fire, and the smoke drifted up past the window right after lunch. incredible how the sun was shining through the clouds just at the moment when the smoke floated by. so beautiful! God is so creative :)


this week we have been talking about spiritual authority. this has been a new topic for many of the people here. i had heard SOME, but not much, about spiritual authority before this week. it was encouraging to be reminded that the same power that raised Christ from the grave has been given to us - and with that, do the will of God.
this idea is a bit weird for a few of us here, because casting out demons or healing the sick or freeing the oppressed is not something that we normally talk about in our every day life. we found many examples in scripture to back this up, though, and even though it may take me a while to wrap my head around this, i don't doubt the concept.


micah continues to be a highlight for me on trek. i have never been one to gravitate to children, and being with children is certainly not my strength, but there is something about this baby that draws me to him. joanne  took a couple pictures of me with micah while on our weekend island retreat - i will try to post one when i get them from her!


well, i'm off to work on my newsletter now! hopefully you will receive that, along with my prayer card, soon!


soon,
tejal :)