Yavapines

It's dry here. My heels are cracked beyond belief. The cracks have become filled with dirt. My feet are always dirty. The cabins are cinder block. My mattress sags. I get to sleep outside, though. Because there isn't enough room for me in the cabin. The people here are amazing. I feel at home.
Last night I kept waking up. I had no idea where I was. It was scary. I also had an dream that my little sister Emma died. And it was my fault. In my dream I couldn't stop crying. It was the worst feeling ever.
So far this week has just been preparation for the campers to arrive. It's pretty chill. Lots of volleyball! I gave this guy dreads. I've cleaned a lot of bathrooms.
I helped with the Earliteens during campmeeting. It was such a blessing to see God working in the lives of the kids throughout the week. The theme for the week was 'Jesus on the Streets' and so the kids were learning about how to take Jesus and make Him real in the real world. At the end of the week on Sabbath we took the kids to downtown Prescott and they stopped people on the streets asking to pray with them. It was really interesting to see the reactions of some people. It was like they were ashamed of the very mention of God's name. Or prayer. They all had excuses. "We're late for a birthday party" "Oh, I'm meeting someone right now" "I don't want to" "I don't need prayer" No one wanted to have anything to do with us. Except for one man. He was a homeless man named Jerry. He was obviously hung over. He was dirty. But the kids took an immediate liking to him. I stood back in shock as they took complete initiative to witness to this man. They crowded around him on a bench and told him that Jesus loved him. No matter what he had done. He could never go to far from God's love and forgiveness. Then it hit me. These kids got it. These same kids who I thought weren't paying attention. These same kids who were always goofing off in class. They were sharing the plan of salvation with this homeless man. Tears found their way to my eyes and I was immensely thankful for my sunglasses.
Now I know why Jesus said that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the little children (or earliteens, in this case). They weren't passing any judgment on this man. They didn't care that the people walking by were staring and making remarks. They just wanted to share Jesus. One of the boys in my group gave Jerry his Bible. After we got back to the parking lot he prayed a beautiful prayer that Jerry would read the Bible and come into a personal relationship with Jesus. I hope we see Jerry in heaven.

God and dreads

Last night I watched some videos on YouTube of people taking out their dreads. When it comes to dread removal, there are two ways to go - the 'comb out' or the 'cut out'. Both are difficult for different reasons. The comb out method is rather painful and very time consuming. You also lose a lot of hair. This girl at Rock Creek complimented me on my dreads, telling me that she used to sport the do herself. She decided to comb hers out after 3 years and said it took over an hour per dread. So there's that. The cut out method leaves you with very little tangles and knots to deal with, but also with very little hair. I have always wondered what I would look like with short hair, though.
It was so crazy to watch some of these people with their various dread tales. Some had had dreads for over 5 years. And then 60 seconds later, they were all gone. Their whole appearance had changed completely. I was thinking today: Maybe our spiritual lives are kind of like that. If invited, God comes in with His super-duty scissors and cuts off all of the heavy dreads that we've carried around with us for years and years. There is a noticeable change. The people around can definitely see that He's been at work.
But this haircut isn't just a one-time-fix-and-everything-stays-peachy haircut. If we don't do anything to take care of ourselves (if we use the 'neglect' dreading method), our hair gets tangled and knotted again. Little baby dreads start to form. Slowly they'll start to knot and lock up once again. Maintain that daily relationship and that all-the-time connection with God. It's so important.
It's been over a year and a half since I've had a haircut. And a couple days since I've washed my hair. I really like my dreads, but I think they might have to go soon. I don't really want to stand out even more than I know I already will next year in Peru. It was pretty cool to do something completely different. And soon it will be time to do something else, once again, completely different. I guess that's just how I like things. Gotta keep it fresh. Change is good. Change is needed.
It's just hair. Sheesh.