Finishing the New Testament

This week marked the end of the New Testament for us! Actually, we’re saving Matthew for the very last book of SBS, so we won’t REALLY be done until June, but we’ve done all the other NT books! A week ago we finished up the book of Revelation, and this week we spent Monday and Tuesday working on 2 &3 John. Wednesday we had a huge New Testament oral exam which we’ve been studying for like mad (click here to see why!), and immediately after that we started in on the Old Testament!

This experience has been priceless already, and we aren’t even halfway done. It’s such an unbelievable privilege to be here and do this. I probably don’t mention it enough, but we’ve seen God’s faithfulness SO clearly during this time. As we reach this milestone, I feel like we need to enter the next phase with thankful hearts and eyes wide open to the ways that God has blessed us so far. Ready? In no particular order…

1. We have a HOUSE—and unless you’ve had to combine marriage and dorm life before, you can’t imagine what a blessing this is. It is also something I somewhat hesitantly BEGGED God for as we were making plans to come out here.
2. We have some really awesome friends—something I was really concerned about. Not because I thought people wouldn’t like us, but because I haven’t made any really CLOSE girl friends in about three years. I needed some people to lean on, and God has provided them! Yay, God!
3. He’s consistently provided money just when I’m starting to get worried about upcoming bills.
4. He’s put us in a place where its safe to go running! If you didn’t hear any of my lamenting when we were in South Africa (a really high-crime place), this might not seem like a big deal. It’s HUGE. Not to mention that YWAM schools are notorious for a trend most know as the “freshman fifteen”…except in YWAM every 3 months is a new school, and as such it usually means a NEW fifteen pounds for each girl (somehow all the men seem to lose weight. Weird and unfair, yes). Running is a blessing. End of story.
5. I have an oven. This is a separate blessing from the house, because cooking is definitely in its own category of awesomeness. I feel so much more relaxed about life when I can take a break from my work and eat warm, gooey, homemade macaroni and cheese. And chocolate cream pie. And homemade applesauce. I’m pretty sure there are ovens in heaven. I’ll find a verse to prove it if you give me long enough!
6. We’re in the United States—which is not a statement about patriotism, but rather about the fact that we have cell phones and reliable internet and get to talk to our families all the time. Again, new appreciation after the Africa experience.
7. Maybe this should be lumped with #6, but I think it deserves its own number because it is one of the biggest blessings: NOT BEING HOMESICK. Thank you to those who have prayed your little lives away for this. I have a major problem with homesickness…usually. However, due to God’s unending faithfulness and miracle-working powers (and due to many of the blessings listed above), I have not been homesick at all! If you know the Shevenell Clan well, you’ll understand. They’re amazing people, and it’s pretty hard not to miss them. Yet I miss them with a content heart this time. THANK YOU, JESUS.
8. Last night we had a big party to celebrate finishing the New Testament. We had hamburgers and hot dogs and a “Gong Show” (a talent show in which the talents displayed might not be particularly good). I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard! It was the perfect ending to an amazing four months :)

The moral of the story: READ THE NEW TESTAMENT. If you’re in YWAM or are considering doing a DTS, do an SBS too!