Just keep swimming

A father was attempting to teach his daughter how to swim. As he stood in the water encouraging her to jump to him, the only think running through her mind was the question of whether or not her father was actually going to catch her. She wanted to be positively sure that her father would save her from drowning, trying to build her trust in her father. As she took off and jumped into the water the father moved a step backwards, and as she continued swimming towards him he continued stepping backwards. She was giving it everything that she had each step that he took backwards as he encouraged her to continue swimming to him, to swim further and closer to him.

Now you can imagine what some of the thoughts going through the daughters head might be as she is paddling her hardest to catch her father. "Why is he moving away from me, why isn't he saving me, I'm going to drown and he is running from me?"

These thoughts, this idea of a daughter trying to catch her father, are a lot of the thoughts and feelings that I have had since returning from Fort Thompson South Dakota back to Manhattan Kansas. I haven't been home long, but I've been home long enough to know that I don't feel at home. That's a rough thing for me to say, but it's so true. I know how many friends and family and loved ones I have here, but I know that I have a calling for more.

Since I was a little girl my mom has told me that I would never be close to home. I didn't really know what that meant because until I was 17 I didn't know what God had planned for my life. I'm not going to live close to home, God's got something greater for me, and I don't know what that means. For right now I know that God has me here. That truth has been my only comfort since coming home. God has me here, and there is purpose for me being here.

Whether that be the awesome youth group I volunteer with, the kids that I'll be working with when I get back to work, the community that I have around me, the family that I'm not to far from, the awesome lifegroup and church that I am involved in or just the day to day people that I'll see. The friends that I have that aren't to far from me, and that I don't have the opportunity to see often. Whatever it is, I trust that God will show me His purpose....eventually.

I feel like I am aiming to get closer to God, to reach out to him and learn his plans for my life. The further I get from the ledge, the more He keeps looking me in the eyes and telling me to keep swimming. If I start to doubt or drown I know He will reach His hand out to save me, but He's trusting me with the swim and teaching me to trust Him with the plans.

I know I haven't shared a lot about my summer or details on everything. If you want to know those details, or if you have any questions about my summer you can email me: hfrost@mccks.edu

-Holly

Support Letter

This summer has been quite the experience. I've had the opportunity to be involved with so much more than just Cantemawaste summer camps; which is part of Diamond Willow that I am actually interning for. I've had opportunity to be active within the community, and watch some pretty miraculous things happen in the hearts of some of the sweetest youth. A few weeks ago I witnessed a wedding, and baptized a student from Manhattan, who was on her own trip up here to work a few weeks of camps. God is moving up here, and I have been so blessed to be a part of it. 

A few weeks ago we had a pretty bad storm. It ruined the camper that me and the other three interns were living in. Everyone from camp was safe. God has his hand over us. The community had one fatality, whose grandchildren are involved with Diamond Willow. For the most part the damage wasn't as bad as we could have imagined. Praise God! However, in this storm I lost a window out of my vehicle, and was not prepared financially for any mishaps. I haven't had a final estimate of costs yet, but I know I don’t have the finances to cover it.

First and foremost I ask for prayer. 1. For thanks that the storm; as bad as it was, didn't leave a bigger amount of damage. 2. That God will work and that He will take charge of showing me needs and that He's got me covered. As you can imagine this is stressful. But God has shown me more how it's stretched my faith to trust in Him. I'm not one to ask for financial support, but God's put me here to show me that He's got me. I thank you for your time and energy to share love with me, and for your prayer and support.

If you would like to support financially, the window repair is looking to be about $300. Another concern that I am having is for my cell phone bill that accumulated twice what I was expecting it to be. It is a subject of prayer for me so I can keep accountable to contact with friends and family and work. It’s about an extra $100 dollars.  Any support can be sent to:

Holly Frost

Po box 438

Fort Thompson, SD 57339

Your help is much appreciated!

To keep updated on my summer adventures and what God plans for my life after this internship, continue checking up on my blog. I have many summer experiences that  I plan on writing about and haven't gotten around to yet. Yes, one of them is all about the storm. 

God Bless and lots of love, Holly Frost