I have been hit by the truth

I can truly honestly say, that the last week has changed me! I cannot express enough how those young people in the camp encouraged me and how much I had to learn from them!

Even this Christmas and some hard talks with my mum have brought me clarity of who I am and how little I bother to take time to look at myself from outside!

But about the camp....

You see, many times you think you go and lead something. But then the table is turned the other way around and you realize that all you can do is just be yourself and learn from others!

I am so thankful to all those young people I had the opportunity to meet! And my co-leader Helari! Ahh, I learned so much from you! Your faith and devotion, desire to love and serve others is just so admireable!

God really taught me some basic things again....I just keep forgetting them, but He keeps reminding me. That is called grace!

It has been an amazing time of looking inside of ME and realizing that:

1. I have bad attitute and heart like a stone - my pride gets on the way of really being who I was created to be! On one side I want to help people and make an impact in this world. On the other side I am always thinking of how will I be praised and thanked for what I do.

I definately did learn the meaning of servant leadership and that the only way you can lead people is not pushing your own ideas and thought on them, but helping others discover their strenghts and encouraging them to step out and be at the upfront! A good leader is willing to step back, tie together the loose ends, see that all that is happening would form a nice unity, that peoples needs would be met individually yet the common goal would be reached!

A good leader quarantees a positive and encouraging atmosphere for all that! Good leader is like a clue holding everything together!

2. My heart has been broken so that I could understand better when Christ was broken on the cross and so that I could understand better the brokenness of others!

Wow, that hit me like a bomb this New Years Eve! I have been focusing on being disappointed all this year that I did not realize that it is one of the biggest lessons of my life!

My own brokenness has been used for the benefit of others and that is just so beautiful! I do believe from the bottom of my heart that nothing happens in this life for no reason at all!

Everything we experience, all the difficulties, are the opportunities to learn and get closer to God! I am so thankful for all the lessons and my group!

I have been just amazed by being part of it all and seeing how great things happen, how peoples lives and attitutes are changed, mine included. And the result is rewarding!

Like the moto of the camp said - Be bold to shine! I want to shine! I hope this new year will be learning all this in even more depth! I hope I learn to shine more!

Thank you so much: Helari, Helina, Jürgen, Illimar, Gaspar, Pirgit, Merike, Saara, Kaur, Kristjan, Triinu. You are the best!

Happier Piret :)