Home at last!

Hey everyone!
I wanted to send you all a final update and let you know how I am!

The last 2 days of outreach were amazing, crazy, intense, and not what we expected, but really good!!! Friday was the big theater performance, which I talked a little about in my last update. It was amazing how it all came together, and I think it was really powerful! Saturday, the 7th was our last day, and the day of the big event in the streets. What was planned was some of our dances and songs, the hip-hop group from Montevideo, and a woman named Cecilia who is also from Montevideo and has a christian rock band. Unfortunately, it rained all day long, and we weren't able to have it in the streets as planned, and it was relocated to the church. It was a little bit disappointing, but God knows best! We did all the planned performances, and it ended up really good. We had about 1000 people come, they estimated, so lots were reached! Cecilia gave a very direct Gospel message, and we performed our big drama again. It was amazng to finally speak the name of Jesus, since in schools we hadn't been able to!

After the event was a very emotional round of goodbyes, and then we sat up with people from the church till 5am, just hanging out. Our bus left at 5:30am for montevideo, we were able to meet up with our friends there for a short while, and then we began the 30 hour trip back to Australia. It was a very emotional few days, but very powerful, and we were all so grateful to God for all of the opportunities he gave us the whole time, and especially the last few days. He is truly amazing!

Looking back on this whole experience, God has really done so much in my life. I've learned to be more myself, and who that really is. God's healed me of things from the past, but mostly I feel that I've been given so many tools to use in the future - how to love people, how to hear God's voice, wise principles for relationships with people. I know that these are things that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, and I am so glad that God's given me this experience.

As for the future, as I've told various people I've talked to, I feel that God has opened the door for me to return to Australia to work with the creative arts ministry some more. I am planning to go back in the beginning of December, and will be staffing the DTS in February. After that, there are some more outreach opportunities possible. I'll also be taking a course called a Basic Leadership School, which should take about a year. After all this, I'm still not sure where God will be leading me. I am still planning on going to college at some point, and I think that where God is leading me is to major in dance in some way that I can use it to work with people with handicaps. I'm still not sure what all that will look like, and when that will be. I've found that it's better to just do what God is leading me into for now, and continue to trust him that he'll guide me in the next step. Kinda scary, but really exciting!!! I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but in his hands!!!

So, all that said, please keep me in your prayers for all of this!! I'm still making final decisions, and I'll need to be looking into getting a visa, plane ticket, and support for the time that I'll be there. Right now, I'm trusting that if I'm really where I'm supposed to be, God will provide all the logistics. He has more than proved that in my life in the last year!!

God bless you all, and I want to thank you all again for all of your support while I've been gone. It's good to be home, and I'm so excited to keep doing God's will wherever I am!

Thank you so much! Love to all
Caitlin